New Jimmy Page Biography Released

[mysticman560]

The book has been available since the end of July but I haven't seen a copy in the stores. Has anyone obtained a copy yet?

[babysquid]

On 8/14/2018 at 5:26 AM, mysticman560 said:

The book has been available since the end of July but I haven't seen a copy in the stores. Has anyone obtained a copy yet?

I’m reading a hardback at the moment.

[Brigante]

Mine landed this morning. I opened a page at random and was regaled with how Jimmy had picked up a girl in Japan and Bonzo shat in her handbag while they were on the bullet train,
then how Jimmy got the shits in Bombay. About what we expected, then. Ah, well, can't say we weren't warned...

 

[Realperson]

 

Here’s a radio interview with the author.

its funny...they are positively amused that little James Patrick from Surrey became “Britian’s Greatest rock star” ever, and made “more money than anyone” from rock n’ roll.

if you listen to this, Jimmy is absolutely normal and a product of his generation...why even bother to write a book?

very entertaining listen

 

[SteveAJones]

5 hours ago, Brigante said:

Mine landed this morning. I opened a page at random and was regaled with how Jimmy had picked up a girl in Japan and Bonzo shat in her handbag while they were on the bullet train, then how Jimmy got the shits in Bombay. About what we expected, then.

Yep, just another pointless cash grab to coincide with the band's 50th.

[mysticman560]

5 hours ago, Realperson said:

 

Here’s a radio interview with the author.

its funny...they are positively amused that little James Patrick from Surrey became “Britian’s Greatest rock star” ever, and made “more money than anyone” from rock n’ roll.

if you listen to this, Jimmy is absolutely normal and a product of his generation...why even bother to write a book?

very entertaining listen

 

Listened to the interview, and they sounded like a couple of giggling school girls that you can't take seriously. The book certainly sounds like something that belongs in the trash heap.

[Realperson]

50 minutes ago, mysticman560 said:

Listened to the interview, and the they sounded like a couple of giggling school girls that you can't take seriously. The book certainly sounds like something that belongs in the trash heap.

 

Yep, quite a bit of misdirection about this book from the interview it seems. Maybe because it’s BBC radio?  Says the point of his book is that people were scared of Jimmy in the 70s, and yet goes on to detail how he has longterm school mates who love him, he was not involved in any of the LZ scandals and everything he did at the time was perfectly normal for the time...can totally see how he got to that premise...not

 

 

[Boleskine]

I don't believe the second hand shop painting story.

Actually when Page appeared at Cadogan Hall in 2014 they asked the audience to submit questions, I submitted one asking where the painting was now but they didn't use it.

Like the inner sleeve it's perhaps better if it remains a mystery.

[SteveAJones]

1 hour ago, Boleskine said:

I don't believe the second hand shop painting story.

Me neither. 

[Paganini]

The only biography worth reading will be Jimmy’s own autobiography which, he has recently said, will only be published posthumously. Hopefully a good 20 yrs or so to wait yet. 

[Brigante]

On ‎8‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 4:06 PM, SteveAJones said:

Yep, just another pointless cash grab to coincide with the band's 50th.

That's exactly what it is.
Salewicz calls 'Zoso' a 'doodle' at one point - this is the level we're dealing with, here...

[mysticman560]

From the Spectator: Jimmy Page Is a Capricorn - That Explains It All

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/08/jimmy-page-is-a-capricorn-that-says-it-all/

n 1957, aged 13, Jimmy Page appeared with his skiffle group on a children’s TV programme dedicated to ‘unusual hobbies’ — skiffle apparently qualifying as one. During the show, he was interviewed by Huw Wheldon who, following an old-fashioned BBC lunch, arrived in the studio with a hearty cry of ‘Where are these fucking kids then?’ Asked what he planned to do when he grew up, Page gave a perhaps unexpected reply: find a cure for cancer.

As we now know, this plan failed — but already, it seems, the young Jimmy wasn’t lacking in the swaggering self-confidence that true rock stars are required to possess (or at least to fake convincingly). Meeting Page during his 1970s peak, David Bowie’s manager noted with some alarm that he ‘did believe he had the power to control the universe’.

So where on earth did that level of ego come from? Well, one obvious reason is that Page was always an extraordinary musician. When he was eight, his family moved from Middlesex to a house in Epsom, where the previous owners had left a Spanish guitar behind. Page was soon practising up to seven hours a day and, while still a teenager, had already established himself as one of London’s leading session musicians. Later in the 1960s, he played on — among other hits — Lulu’s ‘Shout’, Tom Jones’s ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’. Eventually, he became lead guitarist for the Yardbirds — following Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck — before founding, and then conquering the world with, Led Zeppelin.

But, according to Chris Salewicz, a classic rock journalist of the old school, other forces were at work beyond simply musical talent. There was, for a start, the occult — which Page famously absorbed from the works of Aleister Crowley and which, says Salewicz, is ‘after all concerned with plumbing ones own mystic depths for certain truths that are beneficial to the whole of humanity’.

 

And then there’s the fact that Page is a Capricorn — because, the way Salewicz tells it, Page’s star sign explains more or less everything about him: from his ‘Capricorn earthiness’ to his ‘Capricorn love of control’. It’s also why he voted Conservative (‘He has much of the love of tradition associated with that sign’) and, less controversially for a rock star, became a junkie (‘Capricorn is an astrological sign rather partial to hard drink and drugs’).

In other words, this is a distinctly odd book. Salewicz does a fine and often exhilarating job of laying out the facts of Page’s life. Yet, his comments on them largely confirm the theory that there’s not a great deal of difference between a classic rock journalist and an old hippie. Led Zeppelin’s first concert, he tells us matter-of-factly, ‘punched their audience in their third eye’ — while, ‘as a Scorpio’, one 14-year-old groupie ‘would have made a strong connection with Jimmy’s Scorpio rising’. (No double entendre intended, I fear.)

Even more striking is the degree of special pleading. Salewicz’s narrative spares us none of Page’s faults: his arrogance, vanity and legendary meanness. (After Led Zeppelins’s first rehearsal he charged the band for the beans on toast he provided — although, to be fair, at cost price.) There’s also plenty about Page’s now somewhat unfashionable sexual attitudes, including that well-documented fondness for underage girls and his habit of showing photographs of their vaginas to the rest of the band. ‘Girls come around and pose like starlets,’ he once told Life magazine. ‘If you humiliate them a bit, they tend to come on all right after that.’

When he turns to editorialising, though, Salewicz’s punches could scarcely be more pulled. ‘Some of Jimmy’s more unfortunate character aspects,’ he writes at one typical point, ‘disguised the fact that he was really an extremely evolved human being, and also essentially a nice bloke.’

Far more sure-footed is Salewicz’s affectionate but shrewd analysis of the music — which was clearly Page’s biggest love anyway. Like Keith Richards in his autobiography, he seems to have found no drug or chick quite as exciting as the discovery of a new tuning for his guitar. Once Led Zeppelin split in 1980, Page became a depressive recluse for several years, emerging only to try and recreate the glory days as best he could, or to curate yet another collection of their work.

Meanwhile, for all its flaws, Salewicz’s biography does provide one other extremely useful service. Last year, in Uncommon People, David Hepworth made a strong case that: ‘The age of the rock star, like the age of the cowboy, has passed.’ Here, we get a particularly vivid reminder, by turns thrilling and uncomfortable, of that age in its pomp. For older readers, the result may well prove embarrassingly irresistible. Younger ones, I suspect, might be left wondering just how these people got away with it for so long.

[76229]

This tome is looking hilariously bad. "Punched the audience in their third eye"?! And the points about Capricorns might make sense (if you believe that kind of thing) except JPJ is also one and is nothing like that.

And....beans on toast?!

[jsj]

an author could write any old shite and ascribe it to astrology, as it seems this  one may have. its lazy journalism

[Brigante]

42 minutes ago, 76229 said:

And....beans on toast?!

Salewicz says that 'Plant looked on approvingly' when Jimmy charged them for it, too...  

[IpMan]

1 hour ago, Brigante said:

Salewicz says that 'Plant looked on approvingly' when Jimmy charged them for it, too...  

That's because Plant was to train to be an accountant, was a Leo, and had blonde hair. It all makes sense now.

[EaglesOfOneNest]

6 minutes ago, IpMan said:

That's because Plant was to train to be an accountant, was a Leo, and had blonde hair. It all makes sense now.

LOL!!!! I once dated a guy that was into astrology. He insisted on "doing" my chart and was "shocked" that I had no Capricorn anywhere in my signs or whatever because I was such a "hard worker". Needless to say, that was not a relationship that lasted very long! 

[Realperson]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/7096346/led-zep-jimmy-page-biography/

 

Here’s another purported excerpt from this ridiculous book lol....poor Jimmy, but he’s an “evolved” human being and a “nice bloke” so he’ll get over it....he actually sounds downright boring to me

 

 

[JohnOsbourne]

On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 7:44 PM, mysticman560 said:

From the Spectator: Jimmy Page Is a Capricorn - That Explains It All

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/08/jimmy-page-is-a-capricorn-that-says-it-all/

n 1957, aged 13, Jimmy Page appeared with his skiffle group on a children’s TV programme dedicated to ‘unusual hobbies’ — skiffle apparently qualifying as one. During the show, he was interviewed by Huw Wheldon who, following an old-fashioned BBC lunch, arrived in the studio with a hearty cry of ‘Where are these fucking kids then?’ Asked what he planned to do when he grew up, Page gave a perhaps unexpected reply: find a cure for cancer.

As we now know, this plan failed — but already, it seems, the young Jimmy wasn’t lacking in the swaggering self-confidence that true rock stars are required to possess (or at least to fake convincingly). Meeting Page during his 1970s peak, David Bowie’s manager noted with some alarm that he ‘did believe he had the power to control the universe’.

So where on earth did that level of ego come from? Well, one obvious reason is that Page was always an extraordinary musician. When he was eight, his family moved from Middlesex to a house in Epsom, where the previous owners had left a Spanish guitar behind. Page was soon practising up to seven hours a day and, while still a teenager, had already established himself as one of London’s leading session musicians. Later in the 1960s, he played on — among other hits — Lulu’s ‘Shout’, Tom Jones’s ‘It’s Not Unusual’ and Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’. Eventually, he became lead guitarist for the Yardbirds — following Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck — before founding, and then conquering the world with, Led Zeppelin.

But, according to Chris Salewicz, a classic rock journalist of the old school, other forces were at work beyond simply musical talent. There was, for a start, the occult — which Page famously absorbed from the works of Aleister Crowley and which, says Salewicz, is ‘after all concerned with plumbing ones own mystic depths for certain truths that are beneficial to the whole of humanity’.

 

And then there’s the fact that Page is a Capricorn — because, the way Salewicz tells it, Page’s star sign explains more or less everything about him: from his ‘Capricorn earthiness’ to his ‘Capricorn love of control’. It’s also why he voted Conservative (‘He has much of the love of tradition associated with that sign’) and, less controversially for a rock star, became a junkie (‘Capricorn is an astrological sign rather partial to hard drink and drugs’).

In other words, this is a distinctly odd book. Salewicz does a fine and often exhilarating job of laying out the facts of Page’s life. Yet, his comments on them largely confirm the theory that there’s not a great deal of difference between a classic rock journalist and an old hippie. Led Zeppelin’s first concert, he tells us matter-of-factly, ‘punched their audience in their third eye’ — while, ‘as a Scorpio’, one 14-year-old groupie ‘would have made a strong connection with Jimmy’s Scorpio rising’. (No double entendre intended, I fear.)

Even more striking is the degree of special pleading. Salewicz’s narrative spares us none of Page’s faults: his arrogance, vanity and legendary meanness. (After Led Zeppelins’s first rehearsal he charged the band for the beans on toast he provided — although, to be fair, at cost price.) There’s also plenty about Page’s now somewhat unfashionable sexual attitudes, including that well-documented fondness for underage girls and his habit of showing photographs of their vaginas to the rest of the band. ‘Girls come around and pose like starlets,’ he once told Life magazine. ‘If you humiliate them a bit, they tend to come on all right after that.’

When he turns to editorialising, though, Salewicz’s punches could scarcely be more pulled. ‘Some of Jimmy’s more unfortunate character aspects,’ he writes at one typical point, ‘disguised the fact that he was really an extremely evolved human being, and also essentially a nice bloke.’

Far more sure-footed is Salewicz’s affectionate but shrewd analysis of the music — which was clearly Page’s biggest love anyway. Like Keith Richards in his autobiography, he seems to have found no drug or chick quite as exciting as the discovery of a new tuning for his guitar. Once Led Zeppelin split in 1980, Page became a depressive recluse for several years, emerging only to try and recreate the glory days as best he could, or to curate yet another collection of their work.

Meanwhile, for all its flaws, Salewicz’s biography does provide one other extremely useful service. Last year, in Uncommon People, David Hepworth made a strong case that: ‘The age of the rock star, like the age of the cowboy, has passed.’ Here, we get a particularly vivid reminder, by turns thrilling and uncomfortable, of that age in its pomp. For older readers, the result may well prove embarrassingly irresistible. Younger ones, I suspect, might be left wondering just how these people got away with it for so long.

Very cool Earl's Court picture, hadn't seen it before.  But yeah, the astrology shit is just stupid.

[76229]

6 hours ago, Realperson said:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/7096346/led-zep-jimmy-page-biography/

Here’s another purported excerpt from this ridiculous book lol....poor Jimmy, but he’s an “evolved” human being and a “nice bloke” so he’ll get over it....he actually sounds downright boring to me

Funny how this book came out on the 26th July, yet is only being excerpted in newspapers now. Usually the initial serialisation happens before the release.

 

Edit: "There were claims — not denied by the guitarist — that he sacrificed a goat to ensure business deals would succeed and that the band, excluding Jones, signed their record contract in blood"

 

Er, perhaps they weren't denied because they were so obviously bloody ludicrous.

[IpMan]

2 hours ago, 76229 said:

Funny how this book came out on the 26th July, yet is only being excerpted in newspapers now. Usually the initial serialisation happens before the release.

 

Edit: "There were claims — not denied by the guitarist — that he sacrificed a goat to ensure business deals would succeed and that the band, excluding Jones, signed their record contract in blood"

 

Er, perhaps they weren't denied because they were so obviously bloody ludicrous.

Shit man, a goat? I never heard that one before. I heard they sold their souls to the devil and I guess some sort of sacrifice might be required, I don't know what Old Scratch's terms are, or were in 1968 but a GOAT? Not only is that oddly specific but why a goat? What is with these malevolent beings these days? I mean, if I were old trident dick himself, I would want a better sacrifice than a goat. Yahweh at least required circumcision of new recruits to the tribe. Now THAT'S what I call a sacrifice. That says you really mean business... but a fucking goat? Talk about low rent. Damn, I wonder what they would have achieved if they had only sacrificed TWO goats? Or maybe a goat and a duck?

Satan's a fucking punter

[The Rover]

On 8/3/2018 at 6:20 PM, NealR2000 said:

As private a person as Jimmy tries to be, I just can't see anything to write about that hasn't already been put out.  Whether it's artist Jimmy or the debauched Jimmy, it's all been said already.

Are there not any groupies or roadies, other than Richard Cole, that could insight into the band??

What's holdinh them back. The threat of lawsuits??

[Realperson]

49 minutes ago, IpMan said:

Shit man, a goat? I never heard that one before. I heard they sold their souls to the devil and I guess some sort of sacrifice might be required, I don't know what Old Scratch's terms are, or were in 1968 but a GOAT? Not only is that oddly specific but why a goat? What is with these malevolent beings these days? I mean, if I were old trident dick himself, I would want a better sacrifice than a goat. Yahweh at least required circumcision of new recruits to the tribe. Now THAT'S what I call a sacrifice. That says you really mean business... but a fucking goat? Talk about low rent. Damn, I wonder what they would have achieved if they had only sacrificed TWO goats? Or maybe a goat and a duck?

Satan's a fucking punter

Lmao....I thought the same thing...a goat? So Biblical on the wrong side from Satan....and so prosaic....

also where does one find a live goat in Manhattan if you’re at, say, Atlantic records headquarters completing a business deal ?

 

[bluecongo]

Remember kids, sheep go to Heaven, goats go to Hell

 

 

[Realperson]

2 hours ago, bluecongo said:

Remember kids, sheep go to Heaven, goats go to Hell

 

 

Yes, some passages in the Bible equate goats with evil, but they were also “sin offerings” to God....you sacrifice the goat to cleanse you of sins before God....I think Crowley sacrificed a toad to do away with the influence of Christ...not a goat lol