Jimmy Page’s list of demands for interview
Alternative Nation recently created an in-depth Led Zeppelin biography profile page written by Tonechaser author Steven Rosen. In the biography, he discussed his experiences interviewing Led Zeppelin, and the requirements for his interview with Jimmy Page, including no discussion of drugs or women.
“I made my first breech when management presented me with the Rules of Engagement. Jimmy Page rarely did interviews and generally despised the press so the handlers wanted to make sure they controlled every aspect of the proceedings.
They told me:
1. It must be a cover story. It was.
2. I had to provide them with a copy of the questions pre-interview. I would not.
3. There was to be no discussion of drugs, alcohol, or women. There may have been.
Secondly, they provided me with a strict Rules of Etiquette code by which I would conduct myself:
1. Never speak with anyone without first getting an OK from a higher-up [most notably tour manager Richard Cole].
2. Never, ever bother manager Peter Grant.
3. Never wander too far away from your hotel room phone. Interviews might happen anytime day/night and you had to be available.
4. Never be late for the pre-flight rendezvous down in the hotel lobby. If you were two minutes behind schedule, you would be left behind.
An accord was reached and I scored the interview. I received the call—I’d be allowed to stay at the band’s hotel, accompany them on their plane, and be granted interviews with both Page and John Paul Jones. I screamed like a maniac and packed my bags. I flew out to Chicago from California just a few days later and met up with the band about two weeks into the first leg of their 11th US tour.”
