| The Starship | |
|---|---|
| |
| The Starship being used by the Allman Brothers Band for their tour in 1974 | |
| Type | Boeing 720 |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Construction number | 17907 |
| Registration | N7201U |
| Owners and operators | United Airlines Led Zeppelin |
| Fate | Dismantled for parts[1] |
The Starship was a former United Airlines Boeing 720 passenger jet, bought by Bobby Sherman and his manager, Ward Sylvester, and leased to touring musical artists in the mid-1970s.
The Starship, N7201U (S/N: 17907), was the first Boeing 720 built. It was delivered to United Airlines in October 1960 and then purchased in 1973 by Contemporary Entertainment.[1]
English rock band Led Zeppelin used the aircraft for their 1973 and 1975 North American concert tours. During the 1972 tour and in the early part of the 1973 tour the band had hired a small private Falcon Jet to transport its members from city to city, but these aircraft are comparatively light and susceptible to turbulence.[2] After performing a show at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco in 1973, Led Zeppelin encountered bad turbulence on a flight back to Los Angeles. As a result, the band's manager Peter Grant resolved to hire The Starship for the remainder of the tour, at a cost of $30,000.[2]
The aircraft was the same type as used by commercial airlines. Its owners had it modified to suit the whims of their clients. Sherman and Sylvester invested $200,000 to reduce the seating capacity to 40, and install a bar, seats and tables, revolving arm chairs, a 30-foot-long (9.1 m) couch (along the right side of the plane, opposite the bar), a TV set and a video cassette player with a well-stocked video library. An electronic organ was built into the bar, and at the rear of the craft were two back rooms, one with a low couch and pillows on the floor, and the other, a bedroom, complete with a white fur bedspread and shower room.[2] The exterior of the plane was painted with Led Zeppelin on the fuselage.
Flying on The Starship, Led Zeppelin were no longer required to change hotels as often. They could base themselves in large cities such as Chicago, New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles and travel to and from concerts within flying distance.[2] After each show, the band members were transported by limousine from the concert venue to the airport, as depicted in the Led Zeppelin concert film The Song Remains the Same.
The Starship was used throughout Led Zeppelin's 1975 US concert tour, this time featuring a red-and-blue paint scheme with white stars similar to the United States flag with a smaller "Led Zeppelin" logo on the fuselage. According to Peter Grant, at one point during this tour Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham sat in the co-pilot's seat and assisted in flying the plane from New York to Los Angeles.[2][1]
The Starship is included at the end of "Stairway to Heaven" on disc 2 of the Led Zeppelin DVD with both its 1973 and 1975 paint schemes.
English rock band Deep Purple hired The Starship for their 1974 US tours. In an interview with Circus magazine in 1974, Deep Purple's Jon Lord explained: "It's a 707 put together by a firm in L.A. that Sinatra, Dylan and The Band just used and Elton John uses. It has a lounge, a bedroom, a shower and a study. It's supposed to look as little as a plane as possible." According to Gregg Allman, when The Allman Brothers Band chartered the plane, they found "Welcome Allman Bros" written on the plane's bar in lines of cocaine once they boarded.[3]
The Rolling Stones and Alice Cooper were also Starship clients. Peter Frampton was the last to charter The Starship, in 1976. As early as Alice Cooper's 1974 tour the aircraft was beginning to show signs of engine difficulties, and by the time of Led Zeppelin's 1977 US Tour it was permanently grounded at Long Beach Airport.[2] The band was forced to find a comparable alternative, and tour manager Richard Cole eventually chartered Caesar's Chariot, a 45-seat Boeing 720 owned by the Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas.
The Starship had several ownership changes from 1977 to 1979 until it went into storage at Luton Airport. It was dismantled for parts starting in July 1982.[1]
| Band | Dates Used | Tour |
|---|---|---|
| Led Zeppelin | June - July 1973 | Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1973 |
| Elton John | August - October 1973 | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Tour |
| Alice Cooper | December 1973 | Billion Dollar Babies Holliday Tour |
| Bob Dylan and The Band | January - February 1974 | Bob Dylan and the Band 1974 Tour |
| Deep Purple | March - April 1974 | Burn Tour |
| The Allman Brothers Band | June - August 1974 | 1974 Tour |
| Elton John | September - December 1974 | Elton John Band Tour 1974 |
| Deep Purple | December 1974 | Stormbringer Tour |
| Led Zeppelin | January - March 1975 | Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1975 |
| The Rolling Stones | June - August 1975 | Tour of the Americas '75 |
| Elton John | September - October 1975 | West Of The Rockies Tour |
| The Allman Brothers Band | November - December 1975 | Win, Lose or Draw Tour |
| Elton John | June - August 1976 | Louder Than Concorde Tour |
| Peter Frampton | September - October 1976 | Frampton Comes Alive! Tour |
Other users include John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, Sonny & Cher, and Olivia Newton-John.
