In a recent interview with Uncut, Jimmy Page opened up about Led Zeppelin’s earliest days, reflecting on how important it was to let every band member be their true self from the very start.
When Page first set out to create what was initially called The New Yardbirds, his vision was bold and unconventional. With help from legendary manager Peter Grant, he didn’t just want another British rock group—he wanted a band with total creative freedom. That vision became Led Zeppelin, a group that would go on to reshape the sound of rock forever.
From the very first rehearsal, Page knew he was onto something rare. “I said, ‘Let’s play Train Kept A-Rollin’,’” he recalled, referencing the blues-rock standard made famous by The Yardbirds. “It didn’t matter who had played it before or who knew it. I was going to drive it forward.”
The result? Instant chemistry. “We didn’t stop playing. I was trading off with Robert [Plant], and from that first moment, it was clear—it was destined to be.”
After that session, Page took Plant to his house in Pangbourne to continue rehearsing, and the momentum only grew stronger. But one of Page’s most telling decisions was the way he approached drummer John Bonham. “I told Bonham, ‘I want you to play drums exactly how you want to play,’” Page said. “Not like you’ve played for others—but how you feel, as John Bonham.”
This ethos—of trusting his bandmates and shaping songs around their natural instincts—would guide the band’s evolution. “I knew what the band could do, so when I was writing for each album, I was writing for them. I’d bring in riffs and chord changes and just say, ‘Let’s go,’ and we’d immediately be in the zone.”
That zone became the birthplace of some of the most influential rock music ever recorded. From that explosive first jam session to the classic albums that followed, Page’s leadership was clear: give great musicians the freedom to be themselves—and the music will speak for itself.
