When Jimmy Page responded to Keith Richards’ “scathing” criticism of Led Zeppelin
When The Beatles disbanded in April 1970, they left a throne unoccupied at the pinnacle of contemporary rock ‘n’ roll. Most people will agree that, with regard to opening doors, driving creativity and dominating global charts, no band could quite touch The Beatles in the 1960s. However, when it comes to the 1970s, the playing field opened up to a handful of prominent bands, including The Rolling Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
Depending on who you ask, each of the above-listed bands could stake a claim to The Beatles’ throne: heavy metal fans might rally for Black Sabbath, for instance, while prog-rockers would get behind Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd. Whichever of these bands is your favourite, each had its winning attributes, and although the rock throne didn’t exist, an air of competition certainly did.
Famously, Led Zeppelin didn’t seem to enjoy each other’s music. Appraising Led Zeppelin on the History of Rock’N’Roll documentary in 1995, Pete Townshend clearly stated that he is not a fan, despite getting on well with the members. “I don’t like a single thing that they have done; I hate the fact that I’m ever even slightly compared to them,” he said. “I just never ever liked them. It’s a real problem to me cause, as people, I think they are really great guys. Just never liked the band.”
In another high-profile swipe at the mighty Led Zeppelin, Keith Richards honed in on the band’s genesis. Speaking to Uncut in the 1990s, the Stones’ guitarist claimed that Led Zeppelin was a band “manufactured” to fit a particular moment in the evolution of rock music. Richards had made similar comments about other bands in the past, including Sex Pistols.
When discussing punk music in 1978, Richards explained that, like Led Zeppelin, Sex Pistols were nothing new. “I don’t think that Bowie or Johnny Rotten or all the Zeppelins are anywhere in the future, let alone the present,” he said. “Jagger believes punk is today, is now. To think you’ve got to do something new just for the sake of doing it, it isn’t real.” When asked whether the Stones would ever try to conform with the punk movement, he added, “It’s fatal for The Stones to try that. Why the fuck do we have to sound like the Sex Pistols for? What’s the point of listening to that shit? It’s for mass-media consumption.”
It is difficult to understand exactly what Richards meant when he called Led Zeppelin “manufactured”. Jimmy Page formed the band in 1968 following the gradual dissolution of The Yardbirds. While the four members didn’t meet at the pub during a romantic impromptu jam session, their genesis was nothing out of the ordinary. Page teamed up with fellow session musician John Paul Jones and sourced Robert Plant and John Bonham from a West Bromwich group called Band of Joy. They certainly weren’t industry plants.
In 1998, Dean Goodman relayed Richards’ comments to Page in a telephone interview. “How can it be professionally put together? The way that it came together was so organic that that really surprises me,” the Led Zeppelin guitarist retorted. “I thought he was quite an intuitive person, really.”
Clearly a little hurt, Page said that he knew Richards once said he liked Led Zeppelin’s music but could never get on with Robert Plant’s vocal style. “That’s just a matter of taste, really, whether you do or you don’t,” Page continued. “But I’ve never heard him being quite so scathing, and that’s quite interesting because I’ve actually played with Keith in the past, and I’ve had some good times with him, so I don’t really understand what that’s all about”
Although Page trusted Goodman’s word on the comments, he found it hard to believe that Richards was being sincere. “That’s one of those things that’s a bit confrontational just to see whether I’ll rise to the bait, but I don’t,” he concluded.
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