No, I think you're 100% correct. I don't believe Miles Davis had any issues working with white musicians if he considered them to be good enough. Whether he believed Page was good enough is open to conjecture although I would point out that a guitarist like John McLaughlin is in a different league to Jimmy Page, Page would be the first person to admit this & in fact went to McLaughlin for guitar lessons in the 60s.

He did, but he was quoted as saying (regarding McLaughlin) that if anyone could find a black guitarist better than him, he would hire the black guitarist. Having said that, it was a quote I read in his autobiography so it could've been said quite flippantly.

Although I love both Miles Davis & Led Zeppelin, I'm not so sure Davis would've been interested in a collaboration, he said that the Jimi Hendrix Experience sounded like "hillbillies" (on account of the group containing two white people), I'm not sure that 'white rock' was his thing. I suspect a collaboration with Ed Hazel might've been more likely.

I have to agree with this, quite apart from the points you have made - I find the lumping of Led Zeppelin's music in with mediocre piffle like Foreigner & Cheap trick a tad cringe worthy too. I'm sure some people love to go along to see this stuff but it's certainly not for me & that's coming from a huge John Bonham & Led Zeppelin fan.

The drummer looks like Rufus 'Speedy' Jones to me.

I put on the HOTH companion disc yesterday & was blown away by how good it is, really glad I bought all these now as they're a real treat to go back & listen to, the different mix of Dancing Days sounds great, the instrumentals are superb & the Rain Song with the louder drums is a thing of rare beauty.

That's the one I've heard & seems the most likely to me.

I love Sunshine Woman (some of Page's funkiest playing) & the '71 Communication Breakdown on the 3rd disc is absolutely killer. I also spent Saturday afternoon listening to the '71 show (second CD) & had forgotten how good it was, great versions of Since I've been loving you, Stairway to Heaven, Whole lotta love & Thank You. Does anyone else think that Page's guitar could do with more distortion on that gig though, especially on the first two numbers & Black dog? Another minor criticism is the track listing, my booklet is a nightmare to read & I feel that a track listing for each disc should've been somewhere on the inside cover.

To be fair, the people on my train tend to get a bit upset when I start doing my John Bonham air drumming & accompanying facial expressions along to the music.

I bought the BBC Sessions, the day it came out in '97, I just wanted to have a wee listen to the 3rd disc on my way to work & was unable to. I seem to recall Amazon having similar issues with the other recent reissues.

Has anyone else in the UK ordered from Amazon & if so, has it appeared in your library yet? I can't see it in mine & have been refreshing it like someone playing Honda in Streetfighter 2, circa 1993.

Fuck the era of social media, this is Jimmy Page & if he doesn't want to tell a journalist something then he's more than entitled not to. Good on him.

Texas Pop in 1969 as well, there's footage & audio from that one.

I would imagine that he didn't want his family seeing what the band got up to on the road. Given the stories about John Bonham's often generous nature, he would've looked after his family in other ways rather than employing them as members of the Led Zeppelin organisation.

Thanks, I have seen that one before, I was really looking for one of him playing.

I've been looking online & can't find any pictures of John Bonham playing drums pre-Zeppelin, can anyone help? Be great to see him playing with The Band of Joy or Tim Rose.

It's odd that Page says it's Plant singing. It sounds more like Richard Cole than Robert Plant.

Before I get started on the rest of your post, can you just confirm how it's possible to write 'a few one hit wonders'?

Imagine painting over one of Jimmy Page's guitars. I can only imagine the bloke who done it was completely off his tits on Toilet Duck or something, what a twat.

John Bonham went for a few lessons during his teenage years & said that he wished he'd stuck in with reading & writing drum music. He was clearly well versed in snare & kit rudiments, a quick watch of Moby Dick from the Albert Hall will tell you that. If someone is studying something they love & trying to improve themself then I don't see how that makes them an 'asshole', you can understand written music & be the greatest technician around and still be very genuine in my opinion.

Ginger Baker is a million times the drummer Lars Ulrich is. One of the them revolutionised drumming, the other is a bog standard heavy metal plodder.

Led Zeppelin III makes me want to cry it's so good.

The picture is the wrong way round.

Are there no clowns in California? Maybe he loves England because it's his home.