bandofjoy.uk - Oviedo, FL

Band of Joy

This website was created to tell the story of The Band of Joy, and all of it's different versions. It is about the start in April 1967 till the last gigs were played in August 1968. It featured no less than six different versions including; the most famous and last but one! with Mr Plant and Bonham before they left to join the New yardbirds later Led Zeppelin.

Learn more

"Are ye nay a Sally Ann band'' A young Scottish girl asked me on the 1967 tour of Scotland "No" I answered, "Far from it".

This was a popular misconception in Scotland because of a Salvation Army Band called The Joystrings who were appearing on nationwide TV at this time. It was easy to see why people got mixed up.

The Book

I worked with 3 versions of the band and sorting out who was in, where and when they played was confusing at the best of times. Over the 14 months two people were the driving forces behind the band: Robert Plant and Vernon Pereira, In fact it was Robert that came up with the name Band of Joy. This was the main inspiration for not only the name of the book, but what I would write about as it's something I have wanted to do for a long time.

What others are saying about the book

This book is probably not the last that will ever be written about The Band of Joy, but it's certainly the first. For the fans and researchers of Led Zeppelin, Harry Barber's book is now an invaluable reference regarding an important chapter in the lives of Robert Plant and John Bonham that has often been mis-represented until now. For anyone else who is interested in the pop/rock music history of the West Midlands then this book is well recommended.

- John R Woodhouse (Brumbeat.net)

This radio interview reveals H. Barber to be quite a storyteller; his book must have all sorts of strange tales from the road, facts and photos from Plant's pre-Led Zeppelin era. I found his comments that the Band of Joy played their last couple of gigs in August 1968 without Plant interesting as most accounts show Plant disbanded them in May 1968. It's hoped a more accurate summation of the period can be achieved by deconflicting the book's content. I have ordered my copy of H. Barber's book.

- SteveAJones (Led Zepplin Forums)

This amazing chronicle transports us back to a simpler age of spontaneity and

opportunity that Harry captures with some wonderful anecdotes and quotes, mixed

with tales of hardship and tragedy!

So, do not dip your toe into this brilliant sea of memories. Dive straight in and savour

every word of its pages. If you weren't there, you soon will be.

- Liz Hames (The Robert Plant fanzine)