Legendary Jimmy Page back on the road after long layoff

[Cat]

Legendary Jimmy Page back on the road after long layoff

Pacific Stars And Stripes, Tokyo, Japan, May 05, 1985

By Gary Graff

His life, livelihood and image were tied up in the instrument, but for a nine-month period during 1980-81, Jimmy Page was unable to pick up and play his guitar. For fans of rock's dominant power player, the silence was ominous.

A rock and roll legend since 1968 when he pioneered the numbing blues-hard rock synthesis of Led Zeppelin, a forebear of heavy metal, Page's searing guitar solos and use of multitracked electric and acoustic guitars catapulted him into that select class of influential rock stylists. There was Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards and Page, who reached a peak with the 1973 classic "Stairway to Heaven."

Zeppelin's high-flying days ended in September 1980, when drummer John (Bonzo) Bonham was found dead, having choked on his own vomit in a drunken sleep, after a late-night rehearsal at Page's mansion west of London. Within days, Page, singer Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones issued a cryptic statement saying they couldn't continue without Bonham. More than an end to the music, it was the conclusion of a lifestyle that had become a drug- and sex-soaked rock cliche.

Page, who had been arrested twice for possession of cocaine, bolted from the music scene.

"After the loss of John, I couldn't bear to touch the guitar," explained Page, 41, who avoids answering too many questions about his Led Zep days and is now back on the road, in Detroit this time, with his new group, The Firm. "It simply reminded me of John, a friend who wasn't there anymore. I just went through a period where I couldn't work with it anymore. Anyone would understand."

Page fished and read, and spent time with his daughter, now 14. He said the regressive nature

of British radio prohibited him from keeping up with current music. Snooker, a British form of billiards played on an oversized table, became "the most exercise I take, bending over the table with my right arm." Born in a suburb of London — his father was a corporate personnel officer — Page was a self described loner with a dark side that eventually led to a fascination with the occult.

He started playing the guitar in the late '50s, after hearing Elvis Presley's "Baby, Let's Play House," and during the '60s worked sessions with the Rolling Stones, The Who and Donovan before joining the Yardbirds, a seminal blues rock outfit. Rock guitar has been Page's only line of work. While polishing his musical chops, he did make a pass at art school, and even went on one nonmusical

job interview. "It was as a lab technician, in a hospital sort of thing," he remembered. "I got turned down, so I really didn't fancy going on other interviews and getting turned down again."

A year after Bonham's death, Page was lured back to music by a film. Filmmaker Michael Winner called in his chips on an old agreement for Page to do the soundtrack for Winner's upcoming "Death Wish II." Though Page admitted, "I could'nt hardly play at all anymore," the project appealed to him.

"It was absolutely the perfect thing to do," Page explained.

"I had to come up with the mechanics of doing a film score; it's 45 minutes of music, but the longest piece is just 2 minutes and 20 seconds. I had to work out a way of doing all that. It was perfect for the discipline; I needed something like that."

"Death Wish II" brought Page back into the studio to work with Plant and former Yes members Chris Squire and Alan White in a group called XYZ (XYZ standing for ex-Yes, ex-Zeppelin). Plant dropped out to start a solo career, but Page stuck with the other two and renamed the project Cinema.

Page said the trio was really just jamming and didn't have permanent plans. It was the A.R.M.S. Benefit tour in 1983 that really brought Page back into the full recording and touring regimen of rock and roll. A.R.M.S. was organized by a contemporary of Page's, former Faces bassist Ronnie Lane, who

was stricken with multiple sclerosis. There had already been one benefit show in London, and the group, which included a bevy of British rockers like Paul Rodgers, Clapton, Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones, decided to play four cities in the United States to keep raising money for the cause.

"It came at just the right time," Page said. "A whole part of my life was missing, which was playing live in front of people. It helped to just have a vehicle for playing as opposed to just getting up and jamming at the end of someone's set because I was spotted in the crowd.

"And working with someone like Ronnie Lane, who had such an inflicting disease, it gave me a kick in the ass, mentally. You can't feel sorry for yourself in that situation. It got me to kind of get myself up by the scruff of the neck and say, 'Come on, let's do it.' "

What Page did was form The Firm. While appearing on Plant's "Honeydrippers, Vol. I" album and performing with bluesman Roy Harper (live shows recently released as "What Ever Happened to Gujueula?") in 1984, Page joined with former Free-Bad Co. singer Paul Rodgers, veteran drummer Chris Slade and bassist Tony Franklin, and started playing concerts to work out the group's sound.

"It was a bit intimidating at first, coming back onstage," he said. "I hadn't done anything onstage for about three years. I still wasn't really sure about getting back into all this until we started doing dates on the road with The Firm. It's really refreshing, gives you a lot of confidence."

Now, Page said, his layoff is history and he's "just sort of totally dedicated to the guitar 100 percent now." The Firm's first album is out, capturing old fans of Zeppelin and Bad Co. (though the group isn't playing any old material in concert), and putting Page back in the public eye, where he intends to remain for a while. "We'd be selling ourselves short if we didn't do another LP at least, but we don't

have solid plans yet," he said.

"I just really want to be playing music, playing in totally different situations, unusual situations for what you'd expect me to be playing in. I can't tell you what they'll be yet, just different areas.

"It's good to be back, though," he added. "It was just a matter of finding a way of coming back, finding good quality people. I really had to work hard at it for a year or so there. It's taken a

long time, but everything's been a good springboard.

Thank God it's finally happened'

[SteveAJones]

"Death Wish II" brought Page back into the studio to work with Plant and former Yes members Chris Squire and Alan White in a group called XYZ (XYZ standing for ex-Yes, ex-Zeppelin). Plant dropped out to start a solo career, but Page stuck with the other two and renamed the project Cinema.

I think there could be some errors in that chronology:

I show starting Feb 28th 1981 (at his Sol studio in Cookham) Jimmy, Chris White & Alan Squire of Yes wrote and recorded about seven tracks and there is no evidence to suggest Robert Plant was ever a part of it.

Jimmy was not even asked to do the Death Wish II soundtrack until the Summer. He did not begin working on it until Sep/Oct and it was done in eight weeks.

Jimmy did use some of Squire's musical ideas from those early Spring sessions for The Firm's first album.

[swandown]

I think there could be some errors in that chronology:

I show starting Feb 28th 1981 (at his Sol studio in Cookham) Jimmy, Chris White & Alan Squire of Yes wrote and recorded about seven tracks and there is no evidence to suggest Robert Plant was ever a part of it.

Jimmy was not even asked to do the Death Wish II soundtrack until the Summer. He did not begin working on it until Sep/Oct and it was done in eight weeks.

Alan White confirms that Plant attended at least one XYZ session:

"Jimmy kept calling Robert saying how great is was and he should get involved but Robert thought (the music) was too complicated. He came and listened to it and I think he thought it was too complicated"

As for the "February 1981" date, I've also seen reports of "April 1981" and "June 1981", which would be much closer to Jimmy's claim of 9 months without playing guitar.

February does seem a bit early, considering that Zeppelin had been defunct for all of 12 weeks at that point.

[SteveAJones]

Alan White confirms that Plant attended at least one XYZ session:

"Jimmy kept calling Robert saying how great is was and he should get involved but Robert thought (the music) was too complicated. He came and listened to it and I think he thought it was too complicated"

As for the "February 1981" date, I've also seen reports of "April 1981" and "June 1981", which would be much closer to Jimmy's claim of 9 months without playing guitar.

February does seem a bit early, considering that Zeppelin had been defunct for all of 12 weeks at that point.

Perhaps Feb 28 1981, which is pretty much confirmed, is the date Squire and White began working together at The Sol and Jimmy began his participation in the project at

a later time. It's clear Robert was strictly an observer.

You've raised some good points, as always.