Led Zeppelin record that band wanted destroyed found on Antiques Roadshow

A rare Led Zeppelin single the band ordered to be destroyed has come to light on Antiques Roadshow, with an estimated auction value of about £1,000.

The record appeared on the latest episode of the BBC programme, which was hosted at Caerphilly Castle in Wales.

A man brought along a copy of the 7-inch single and told expert Marc Allum it was given to him in a record shop in the early 1970s.

“I was looking for records to start a disco and out of his bag came a couple of records and he went ‘you can have those’,” he said.

Allum said the single was never officially released in the UK and “shouldn’t really exist”.

“There are a lot of myths and stories that build up around these things, and I heard that 500 were pressed and they went out,” he said.

“This came about apparently because there was a kind of disparity between the relationship between the band, the management and the record company, and Led Zeppelin the band hadn’t agreed to have any singles released.”

The owner of the record replied: “Yes, they wanted all of their music on albums.”

Allum said that despite the singles being immediately recalled, some people did not return them.

The story of the record dates back to the band’s early years and a strict rule they enforced at home.

Led Zeppelin were formed in 1968 and rose to fame the following year with their self-titled album, which featured tracks including Good Times Bad Times, Dazed And Confused and Communication Breakdown.

In their home country, the band operated a strict no-single rule and concentrated on releasing full albums.

Despite this, after the success of the song Whole Lotta Love in the US – where it was certified gold – Atlantic Records pressed around 500 copies of the single.

The band’s manager Peter Grant ordered the batch to be recalled and destroyed.

Back at Caerphilly Castle, Allum inspected the condition of the record, which had a finger mark and light scratching.

He said it was “difficult to put a value on”, but added that at auction he estimated it would sell for about £1,000.

Despite its price tag, the owner said he had played it about eight to 10 times at discos and people “weren’t impressed”.

Allum: “It cleared the dance floor, didn’t it!”

After discovering the value of the item, the owner jokingly asked to keep the fact he owned it a secret.

He added: “It’s been with me for 55 years and I will probably give it to my daughters to do what they want to do with it.

“I don’t think I will play it again as it will devalue it.”

The band’s line-up featured vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bass guitarist and keyboard player John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham.

They had eight consecutive UK number one albums and six number one albums on the US Billboard 200

Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980 after the death of Bonham.