The rock icons Mick Jagger called a “thunderous racket”
When The Rolling Stones began their journey to rock superstardom, there was an obvious trajectory that bands needed to follow to be a success. Once they climbed the ladder, frontman Mick Jagger kept his ear to the ground and remained a regular at the clubs his group once played on their way up.
It could have been easy for Jagger to get drunk from his newfound riches and forget about the London club scene where The Rolling Stones cut his teeth. However, he was still part of the gang, as were the likes of Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend and many more illustrious names who had gone onto bigger things.
Everyone understood that success in the music world started from the same place, and there was no better spot to discover the next big thing than venues like The Scotch of St James in London. Mick Jagger made it a point to acquaint himself with emerging bands before they gained record deals and fame. One notable example is Led Zeppelin, who, like The Rolling Stones before them, played the same iconic venues across the English capital during their early days.
From the beginning, it was clear to Jagger that Led Zeppelin had all the ingredients to become arena-dwelling rock giants. The reason why their brilliance was not surprising to Jagger was because he was well aware of the technical talent possessed within their camp due to his knowledge of the members. Prior to the formation of Led Zeppelin, Jagger struck up a friendship with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. The latter appeared on Their Satanic Majesties Request in 1967 after Page, who first collaborated with them in 1965, brought him to their attention.
Page also worked with The Rolling Stones in 1974 on ‘Scarlet’, once Led Zeppelin were also a household name. However, the recording didn’t see the light of day until 2020, when it was released alongside a video starring Gladiator II’s Paul Mescal.
Upon the release of ‘Scarlet’, Jagger opened up about his relationship with Page and his earliest memories of the musician. During a conversation with BBC Radio 2, he described Page as “one of the best session guitarists at the time.” Furthermore, Jagger also remembered, “He was very young. They used to play chess in between takes; that was their thing.”
Further casting his mind back to the 1960s, Jagger continued: “And that’s how I met Jimmy, and that’s how I met John Paul Jones – because he was the bass player. So I knew Jimmy from then, and I knew John Paul Jones from then, and then ten years later – or a bit less than ten years later – they made this very successful band.”
After learning the inner workings of the recording process through their experience as session musicians, Jones and Page flew the nest to form their own band, Led Zeppelin. Due to his relationship with the two musicians, Jagger was immediately intrigued by this development and was a regular at their earliest shows.
Looking back fondly on their earliest shows, Jagger warmly reminisced: “I used to go watch them live; I remember watching their concerts live; it was a great, thunderous racket”.
It sparked a love affair with their music that is still burning bright today for Jagger. In 2007, when Led Zeppelin reunited for one night only at London’s O2 Arena, Jagger ensured that he was in attendance. However, his only problem is that he hasn’t been able to relive the experience, adding, “And I saw their last concert as well. And they were absolutely incredible. And I was so disappointed they didn’t actually go on [a reunion] tour and do it. But that’s their business, not mine”.
Apart from Jones, Page, and Robert Plant, a few others in the building for their farewell concert followed them from the beginning, like Jagger. It was a fitting way for the legends of rock to wave goodbye and draw a final line under their story, which Jagger took immense pleasure in watching from the side of the stage.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.