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The Three Lives of Jimmy Page


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There must be a couple of hundred pages of acknowledgements  in this book, I very much doubt any exclusives, It'll all be "We know already, go away"...

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It's great to have any new Zep books, regardless of form or function. Certainly Page was more worldly and sophisticated

than Plant. However the writer makes it seem like Page could very possibly be an accomplished astronomer, a powerful

initiate of the occult, a world- class art collecter, blah, blah. Jimmy was/is a great guitarist, and actually does possess some 

fine art, but Jimmy was also a big dabbler in many things, not a true renassaince man. I'm just reading the excerpt, not

"bad" at all, just in a overtly embellished style.. Maybe later there will be something we don't know..

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Oh boy another book.  Don't get me wrong reading about Page is always a pleasure but.....

Has the author ever interviewed Jimmy?  If not than I'm inclined to think much of what will
be  written has already circulated on this board and other sites.   Could  they simply be  
dressing up past quotes and interviews with a more colorful description?   Until Jimmy hands
the pen  over to somebody and says:  Write my bio,  or does it  himself,   then every book
about Page  will have a overwhelming possibility that it's cut and paste of things we have
already read.  

Even with Jimmy writing it himself,   a lot would be repetitive to a degree.  That's okay,  
sometimes you need to re-tell parts of the  story to get the overall picture.   I think his life
AFTER Zep would have more unanswered  questions than the period between 1968-1980.  
Okay there are few things that happened during Zep then raise your eyebrows. HA!:lol:
:shifty:

Off topic.....a bit

You know who could write an amazing book on Page?   Charlotte Martin.   I know she's not
going to  because a book about Jimmy is also an open door to details about her life.  She's a
private lady - I respect that,   but boy oh boy  talk about someone who could give intimate
details about a man who is a very closed book.  I don't mean intimate in a sexual way.  More
of a close personal description from somebody who sat through it and to see/hear it told
through that persons eyes.

 

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Honestly, I would love insight into his life from 74'- early 77' just to glean how he fell into addiction and what his life was like at that time. Then again from Oct 80' - 87' with him climbing out of addiction and getting it back together. Possibly covering 2008 - present to understand where his mind is at now.

Those would be some amazing insights.

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3 hours ago, KellyGirl said:

Oh boy another book.  Don't get me wrong reading about Page is always a pleasure but.....

Has the author ever interviewed Jimmy? 

I have never read any of his books and am not sure about his background but he is regarded as one of the better biographical writers of rock musicians. he has written books about jeff beck (rated 4.5/5 stars), metallica (rated 5/5 stars), aerosmith (rated 4.5/5 stars) and queen (4/5 stars) among others. that gives me hope that the book wont just consist of anecdotes from random online posts but actual first hand sources.

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I like others seem amost clueless about some very particular periods in Jimmy's life. And after Zep, surely, as some accounts not even exaggerating say Jimmy was in very poor health physically AND mentally. There is also the little

discussed situation even before Jimmy's addiction, where he must have had serious stomach trouble not being able 

to eat solid food. Instead he had to drink Protein shakes with vitamins and some alcohol(!!!). I've mentioned this before

and people/fans just shrug. Really ?? That is a BIG deal, vitamins from pills are not absorbed  like vitamins from food

Page may well have had other ailments, but many men feel like others may see them as wimps if  they complain about

health issues. And as Kelly said, not actually having Page interviewed or consulted is unlikely to unearth any surprises.

I must emphasize that IMO Page had other health issues not automatically related to drugs. Remember that when Page

returned from the 73' tours, his own family was extremely concerned about his mental state. Jimmy himself said

he was considering a stay in a mental ward or monastery. I just think there is a lot to this, and it could explain

various mysteries which more explained Jimmy's struggles, creativity(or lack), and personality/ behavior.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Well maybe part of the "Three Lives" refers to Page on tour(legendary carouser and living burning both sides of a candle

and the middle). Then perhaps Jimmy at home may have tried to live a healthy lifestyle( A neighbor of Jimmy's saw him

running laps around his considerable property). Now pretty sure the neighbor was Michael Winner, who only became 

Jimmy's neighbor like 79' ?? on. What's funny is that Jimmy saw Winner, and said please don't tell anyone you saw me 

jogging, it could ruin my image. Actually if it was 79', Jimmy was still too thin, but at Knebworth etc., his face looked

far less gaunt and sickly than some 77' gigs. Still, as others mentioned, who will step forward with some real secrets ??

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Well right off the bat he gets Robert Plant's early band Obs-Tweedle wrong, so I don't know how much faith I have in this book. None of his other books rise above the standard rock bio level.

Unless Jimmy himself sits down to write, like his peers Pete and Keef, I doubt we'll see an insightful book on Jimmy Page.

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On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2016 at 5:56 AM, SteveAJones said:

Perhaps, but she seldom accompanied him on tour. 

Charlotte Martin may have seldom accompanied Jimmy on tour, but she has a daughter with Mr. Page.  I think that that in itself could render a lot about Jimmy and the "domestic" life he LED with Charlotte that only she would know. 

I realize that this will never materialize, but I would love to read such a lengthy tale, from the one woman that Jimmy tried to have a "domesticated" life with, when Jimmy was at home in England and not touring the world with Led Zeppelin. 

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Well, 'legend' may have it that Robert was going to suggest to Jimmy that they covered Babe I'm Gonna Leave You and that Jimmy had also 'intended' to 'suggest' it to Robert. But Jimmy himself cleared all this up without any ambiguity in that Guitar World interview a few years back.  Jimmy quite plainly, and pretty vehemently, said that not only had he already worked out the arrangement, but that 'I told  him I wanted to do it.'  If Power is writing about Babe I'm Gonna Leave You as a pivotal moment in the initial Page-Plant relationship, you'd expect him to have researched Jimmy's own statements about it. Not very encouraging, to be honest. 

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17 hours ago, Mithril46 said:

Well maybe part of the "Three Lives" refers to Page on tour(legendary carouser and living burning both sides of a candle

and the middle). Then perhaps Jimmy at home may have tried to live a healthy lifestyle( A neighbor of Jimmy's saw him

running laps around his considerable property). Now pretty sure the neighbor was Michael Winner, who only became 

Jimmy's neighbor like 79' ?? on. What's funny is that Jimmy saw Winner, and said please don't tell anyone you saw me 

jogging, it could ruin my image. Actually if it was 79', Jimmy was still too thin, but at Knebworth etc., his face looked

far less gaunt and sickly than some 77' gigs. Still, as others mentioned, who will step forward with some real secrets ??

seeing jimmy trying to exercise would truly be one of the greatest things ever :lol:. it seems like robert was at least mildly athletic as he did like soccer and was in great shape, although that was just his natural build. during one of their shows robert announce that bonzo had been more conscious of his health and managed to lose a bunch of weight on their time off and jonesy was always just a small guy.

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13 hours ago, Brigante said:

Well, 'legend' may have it that Robert was going to suggest to Jimmy that they covered Babe I'm Gonna Leave You and that Jimmy had also 'intended' to 'suggest' it to Robert. But Jimmy himself cleared all this up without any ambiguity in that Guitar World interview a few years back.  Jimmy quite plainly, and pretty vehemently, said that not only had he already worked out the arrangement, but that 'I told  him I wanted to do it.'  If Power is writing about Babe I'm Gonna Leave You as a pivotal moment in the initial Page-Plant relationship, you'd expect him to have researched Jimmy's own statements about it. Not very encouraging, to be honest. 

it is pretty hard to gauge the validity of all the stories because as they recount them over the years the stories always change. during the interview with jimmy and robert the day that jimmy hendrix died, robert says he didnt know jimi but then later recounts that at a show jimi came up to he and bonzo and said that bonzo had a foot like a rabbit. in that same interview jimmy says yes, he met him a few times but then later says that he only met him once but hendrix was so burned out he probably didnt even notice he was there.

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In fact Hendrix from one source actually wanted to use Bonzo in a band situation. IMO that may have been overkill, as 

although Jimmy could play as busy as Hendrix, live Jimmy would lay back more and let Bonzo do his thing. As far as

Charlotte Martin, that would be a great look into Jimmy's many secrets. I must say that Charlotte got pretty chronically

ill at one point, and even though they weren't (Jimmy and Charlotte) together totally at that point, Jimmy stepped

forward and decided he had to aid and help her. Look, whatever else Jimmy did, I think he was even addicted then,

this is really a honorable trait. Also, perhaps women with bad experiences with Jimmy were silenced, but there were

so many that said Jimmy in a relationship treated them like queens. Perhaps I'm wrong, but Jimmy has had such an

interesting and varied life, if Jimmy opened up, I really think it could be a huge seller. There would also be so many

lessons learned and paths to not follow, or even TO FOLLOW.

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Yeah, it's true we don't know if Jimmy's statement about Babe I'm Gonna Leave You was entirely accurate - but when he's actually made a clear-cut comment about a particular issue, a biographer should deal with that comment instead of just ignoring it and resorting to 'legend has it'. If Martin Power either hasn't read that Guitar World interview (which someone transcribed and posted on here a while back), has read it but ignored it, or has actually chosen to go with the vague 'legend' instead, it really doesn't bode well...    

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Also, unfortunatly, Jimmy himself has often made mistakes and fibs which cast even him as a not fully reliable source.

A great example would be all the riffs,sequences and musical ideas which actually came from JPJ, not Jimmy. And Jimmy

at least a few times was very inaccurate in naming what instrument was used for aa certain song. Whatever, now there

is this murkiness about BIGLY, apparently never heard before ??!!??

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On 9/13/2016 at 2:48 PM, Mithril46 said:

Now pretty sure the neighbor was Michael Winner, who only became Jimmy's neighbor like 79' ??

June 1980.

On 9/13/2016 at 5:50 PM, kingzoso said:

Charlotte Martin may have seldom accompanied Jimmy on tour, but she has a daughter with Mr. Page.  I think that that in itself could render a lot about Jimmy and the "domestic" life he LED with Charlotte that only she would know. 

I realize that this will never materialize, but I would love to read such a lengthy tale, from the one woman that Jimmy tried to have a "domesticated" life with, when Jimmy was at home in England and not touring the world with Led Zeppelin. 

Jimmy's already said he regrets not having spent more time with Scarlet when she was a child on account of touring. Any revelations on his domestic life would do nothing but diminish his mystique. To read them I imagine I'd feel the same as I did when I saw a photograph of Peter Grant's bedroom circa 1978. On one hand, what a thrill. On the other, felt awkward. 

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9 hours ago, SteveAJones said:

June 1980.

Jimmy's already said he regrets not having spent more time with Scarlet when she was a child on account of touring. Any revelations on his domestic life would do nothing but diminish his mystique. To read them I imagine I'd feel the same as I did when I saw a photograph of Peter Grant's bedroom circa 1978. On one hand, what a thrill. On the other, felt awkward. 

Mystique? ? ? ? ?

We are talking about the same Jimmy Page who goes on Ellen to sell his music? 

 

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If you weren't around to experience Zep in studio or live, in the 70's, you probably cannot imagine ( before all the nasty

revelations) literally how god-like the band was seen. And Jimmy really was considered a rather exotic and mysterious

figure, remember that practically everything Zep did, even possibly ITTOD, was pretty much gold standard. And I fully

agree with what Steve said about Jimmy and his mystique. Make an album,fall off the side of the earth for a year or

two. Tour, same thing.  So Jimmy is silent, there is no web, blah blah. His silence becomes legendary, particularly

80'-84'. Noone knew (well fans, anyway) WHAT the hell is he up to ???

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd be interested in just how seriously he took his research into the esoteric arts i.e. was it a fascination that he held for some years or was he seriously trying to become Crowley-like in the extent of his powers and knowledge? It would be interesting also to discover 1) How did this knowledge affect his life - not talking about selling souls or crap like that but did the effect it had on him give him the drive to push the band on or 2) did he run from what he had found into addiction? Finally, what influence, if any, does his research and discoveries have on his life today? He sold Boleskine house, was that a sign he was finished with his research and beliefs or had he moved beyond what Crowley could then give him?

I know, it's all questions, but all I've heard over the years is speculation on whether he was/is into black magic, a sorcerer or sold his soul. It would be interesting to read from the horse's mouth what impact it has had on his life and to what extent it might still play a part.

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4 hours ago, Jukkin said:

I'd be interested in just how seriously he took his research into the esoteric arts i.e. was it a fascination that he held for some years or was he seriously trying to become Crowley-like in the extent of his powers and knowledge?

there is actually quite a bit of good information on that online. he has talked about it in interviews. one thing he wanted to make clear is that more than anything it was really a matter of intrigue and not obsession.

It would be interesting also to discover 1) How did this knowledge affect his life - not talking about selling souls or crap like that but did the effect it had on him give him the drive to push the band on

he has said that there were certain aspect of thelema that helped him carve a clear path for the bands direction. not musically necessarily. he said that when he went into his musical career he went into it with a childlike mindset. that he didnt even think about failure he just went out and did it. he said it is really part of an adult mindset to worry about failure and often times that can sort of gum up the works. he also said that one thing he learned from thelema was that there was no point in going out and wasting your time doing things in life that you have no desire to do.

or 2) did he run from what he had found into addiction?

given the time, place, the money and who they were, drugs were just part of the machine. I think it just got a hold of him not that he was running from something.

Finally, what influence, if any, does his research and discoveries have on his life today? He sold Boleskine house, was that a sign he was finished with his research and beliefs or had he moved beyond what Crowley could then give him?

despite owning crowleys home for a time he never really lived there. he has said that he wasnt just interested in him but in others as well and other ideas. he said that he didnt agree with everything, or even most of what crowley said. he agreed with the libertarian aspects more than anything. more important than owning crowleys boleskine house was jimmys book store equinox which I believe closed in the late 70's.


I know, it's all questions, but all I've heard over the years is speculation on whether he was/is into black magic, a sorcerer or sold his soul. It would be interesting to read from the horse's mouth what impact it has had on his life and to what extent it might still play a part.

I read an interview with someone, I dont recall who but he said he went over to jimmys house back in the early 70's and jimmy answered the door wearing a black robe and said he was never going to take it off or something like that. 

 

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