The year was 1970, and legendary British rock band Led Zeppelin played a noon hour concert in the auditorium of Eric Hamber Secondary School in Vancouver — shortly before taking the stage at the Pacific Coliseum.

Or so the story goes.

The claim that the iconic band played in a Vancouver high school has become an urban legend in the city — and there are just enough clues on both sides for people to argue that it did happen and that it did not.

In Eric Hamber's 1970 yearbook there is a black and white photo of the band, with a caption that says, partly: "The Led Zeppelin, in an annual-sponsored concert, entertained a packed standing-room only crowd in the auditorium during a noon concert on May 21st."

The cryptic yearbook photo

"If you look at the photo, they're very tight together on stage, it doesn't look like it's in a big concert setting. Like any conspiracy theory there's a great excuse to why something is the way it is," said Aaron Chapman, a Vancouver writer and historian who has been digging into the mystery.

The yearbook photo in Eric Hamber Secondary's 1970 yearbook which alleges Led Zeppelin played there on May 21, 1970. (Samantha Garvey/CBC)

"There are some people online that say it was just a joke, other people say they saw it with their own eyes, and it was terrific. It's sort of like a UFO sighting."

Chapman said the date in the yearbook, May 21, may be a typo. Led Zeppelin in fact played at the Pacific Coliseum on March 21, to kick off their North American tour in 1970.

He said the rumour goes that the performance was really just a "pre-production day rehearsal" of some kind.

"They couldn't get into the Pacific Coliseum when they wanted to, and somebody who worked there said, 'Hey, my kid's auditorium might work for you guys.'"

Yearbook editors reveal the truth

So did one of the biggest bands in the world at the time really play in a Vancouver high school?

The Early Edition spoke to two women who were on the yearbook committee that year.

Judi Clark (left) and Barb Jones hold the yearbook they helped create for Eric Hamber Secondary in 1970, including a photo of Led Zeppelin with a false caption claiming the band performed in the school's auditorium (Samantha Garvey/CBC)

Judi Clark, the editor for the 1970 annual, admitted the photograph was not taken at Eric Hamber: "It is of Led Zeppelin playing in the concert in Vancouver," she said.

Barb Jones, the activities' editor for the yearbook, said, "it was just a bit of irony, and a bit of fun."

"We would have felt like we'd died and gone to heaven literally if they came." ("Without the stairway," Clark added).

Jones said that "everybody who was at the school knew that this was a fake," and said that in the intervening years some might have become convinced that the show did actually take place at Eric Hamber, and that they did actually see it.

'Coolest school on earth'

"I'm happy for them, because that means their high school experience was very exciting, and they probably went to the coolest school on earth. Lucky them!"

Jones added that she had no idea it had become an urban legend.

"It's delightful, because it has brought me back in touch with Judi. I have all these great memories of all the times that we had at school, and the times we had making this yearbook, so it's been fantastic for me."

And what about those who do believe they saw the legendary guitarist Jimmy Page and the rest of the band grace the stage at Eric Hamber all those years ago?

Well it's been a long time since then, and maybe it was just a communication breakdown.

With files from CBC's The Early Edition and Samantha Garvey

To hear the full story listen to the audio labelled: Did Led Zeppelin play a Vancouver high school in 1970?