Again ran into Jimmy Page

[bonzo75]

He lives in the area. This is the third time I have seen him, first was at Wholefoods where I asked him for a pic and he said No I don't do pics. The next time we walked past each other I thought no point in asking.

Today saw him talking to a guy at a flower stall on High Street Kensington, and then Page ducked into a cafe. I went up to the flower guy and chatted with him, the guy said his dad worked with Peter Grant (Zep's manager) and the traveled with the group. He said Page is a friendly guy to chat to, and both he and Brian May keep dropping by. I said, I asked him for a pic previously and he said no. The flower guy said yeah, he doesn't do that. He did not sign my guitar either. But he chats.

So I went into the cafe and said Hi Jimmy, and shook his hand, saying congrats on the 50th anniversary (or something like that, I couldn't make out). He said what? I said, congrats on releasing the book on the 50th Zep anniversary (note to self: get your opening line for accosting rock Gods nailed down).

Page said oh, thank you. I then clicked into form, saying,
Me: your 1977 tour...
Page: Yes...of the US...
Me: Which is on the bootleg Listen to this Eddie, I think you have your best lead with White Summer there, and you and Bonzo were on song with The Song Remains The Same that day
Page: Yes that worked out quite well did it not? Do you know how the bootleg was done?
Me: No
Page: A guy on a wheelchair right at the front next to the stage had the recording equipment hidden under his chair, with mics sticking out on either side. You didn't know that did you?
Me: Oh wow no (actually, this is not what I want to know, I want to know the next point)
Me: Will you ever be releasing a good recording of it? The music is fantastic but playback on youtube is awful
Page: Yes I have a good personal one but no plans yet. Maybe eventually. The Vancouver bootleg is very good too.
Me: Please do release it
Page: Ok, can I order my breakfast now
Me: Thanks for chatting. How the West Was Won is great too
Page gave me the thumbs up and looked at the sausages. Time for me to go.

 

[MadFloyd]

Wow, so cool that you could just chat him up like that.

 

[Steve Williams]

You're da man Ked

 

[Steve Williams]

How does he look these days. I think he must be at least 73-74 now

 

[Bruce B]

How does he look these days. I think he must be at least 73-74 now

Lets just hope he has aged better than Keith Richards and Ron Wood!

 

[spiritofmusic]

Ked should have asked him how the neighbour dispute w Robbie Williams is going.

The Battle of The Listed Mansions.

 

[bonzo75]

How does he look these days. I think he must be at least 73-74 now

I did steal a pic while he was talking to flower guy

 

[Steve Williams]

He looks good

 

[DaveyF]

Great report Ked. There are a couple of 'rock legends' who live near me...all of them are like Page. They keep to themselves and don't really like to have their photo taken etc.,
Jimmy Page must indulge in conversations like you had with him almost daily, by now he must be used to it, LOL.

 

[NorthStar]

I did steal a pic while he was talking to flower guy

View attachment 44920

That photograph is the best snapshot under that lampost on a wet grey sky misty day with a reflective sloped sidewalk. It speaks more volume with all the nuances, tones, backgrounds, ...than say . . . a full Led Zeppelin music album; the one with the song 'That's the Way'.

 

[PeterA]

I like the way the photo is a bit tilted.

 

[astrotoy]

Very nice report, Ked. Sounds like he is basically a friendly guy, who still needs some privacy. I looked him up and he is a year older than me. However, his life has reflected his great success with multiple partners and wives (with associated children) and different drugs. Great to see that he made it this far. I was in grad school and then work and marriage when LZ became popular, so I missed it all. Never heard them until very recently, when R2R got me into their albums. LZ1,2,3,4, Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti. Same with the Doors.

Larry

 

[NorthStar]

I like the way the photo is a bit tilted.

You are right Peter; there is a tilting attribute.
The lines of the building on the left are definitely not straight.
Jimmy Page follows those lines; he isn't straight either.
The centered lampost is straighter.
And the man standing @ right in black in the street with a light beard; he is standing straight.*
All the background building's lines are not staight; they are all tilted.
That photo has a magic effect, and Jimmy Page.

It's a great snapshot Ked, it is very cool that you took it and shared it here.
It contains a lot...Jimmy Page in his most casual way, with its natural street surroundings.

* That guy on the right, he looks like an agent, a bodyguard, he looks . . . serious.
He's the only thing not tilted in the photograph.

 

[bonzo75]

See Larry, bet you are regretting not doing all those naughty things back in the 70s, you could have still lived this long this healthy.

I knew a classical pianist, who like you was never into rock. I gave him the page and plant no quarter DVD, where they played in the 90s with some orchestras... Since then, he got into zep, and used to listen to classical and zep.

The albums you are mentioning are studio. In sonic quality they are better, but their best music is live. Beatles would do a hundred retakes in the studio, while zep would do very few. Page wanted to keep it to live spontaneous chemistry. So as the years passed, the individual styles changed and they adapted accordingly and played better... You can hear this live, especially on how the West was won and then their double dvd. Sonically not audiophile land though. But it is amazing to watch them egg each other on.

I almost got to the point of telling Page, if he wanted to hear how his band sounded Fifty years ago, he should visit Seattle

 

[Mike Lavigne]

See Larry, bet you are regretting not doing all those naughty things back in the 70s, you could have still loved this long this healthy.

I knew a classical pianist, who like you was never into rock. I gave him the page and plant no quarter DVD, where they played in the 90s with some orchestras... Since then, he got into zep, and used to listen to classical and zep.

The albums you are mentioning are studio. In sonic quality they are better, but their best music is live. Beatles would do a hundred retakes in the studio, while zep would do very few. Page wanted to keep it to live spontaneous chemistry. So as the years passed, the individual styles changed and they adapted accordingly and played better... You can hear this live, especially on how the West was won and then their double dvd. Sonically not audiophile land though. But it is amazing to watch them egg each other on.

I almost got to the point of telling Page, if he wanted to hear how his band sounded Fifty years ago, he should visit Seattle

 

[spiritofmusic]

It would be fascinating to know how many musicians have stellar home systems. Very few, probably.

 

[astrotoy]

It would be fascinating to know how many musicians have stellar home systems. Very few, probably.

Marc, as far as rock musicians, I'll bet most of them can't hear very well at Page's age. However, we know quite a few classical musicians. Several have been to our home and were blown away with my system. Most of them don't make enough to afford a fancy system.

Larry

 

[spiritofmusic]

Hi Larry, Marc here. We met at The General's back in the Summer.

Still salivating over your collection of tapes.

I treat a professional classical vocalist. For her, the joy of music is getting to know a piece intimately thru rehearsal and performance.

She was perplexed and mystified about running a top class system at home. I guess listening to music purely for leisure is not a pursuit for her.

Indeed she doesn't even hear the live performance the way we, the audience, do. For her it's all in the giving, not the receiving.

 

[BruceD]

It would be fascinating to know how many musicians have stellar home systems. Very few, probably.

I believe Tony Levin has full house Linn System

BruceD

 

[astrotoy]

Hi Larry, Marc here. We met at The General's back in the Summer.

Still salivating over your collection of tapes.

I treat a professional classical vocalist. For her, the joy of music is getting to know a piece intimately thru rehearsal and performance.

She was perplexed and mystified about running a top class system at home. I guess listening to music purely for leisure is not a pursuit for her.

Indeed she doesn't even hear the live performance the way we, the audience, do. For her it's all in the giving, not the receiving.

Hi Marc, very interesting perspective. Especially for the soloist and chamber music performer. Most of them develop a deep connection with their audiences. That reflects back on what Ked said earlier about LZ's live albums vs studio albums. I don't know if I spent 8-10 or more hours doing something (like practicing an instrument and then on occasion performing) whether I would want to go home and listen to music as an avocation. I don't think many people go home after a long day at work and sit down and do a similar thing for relaxation at home.

Hope to see you again next summer. Larry