"Jimmy Page Speaks"

from the bbc - by Ruth Barnes

Jimmy Page Speaks

Exclusive BBC interview on how things are going

19 Nov 2007 - In the week that Led Zeppelin make it into the UK Top 40 for the first time with "Stairway to Heaven" entering at number 37, Jimmy Page has given the BBC an exclusive interview.

The band reunite onstage at the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert on the 10th December and Jimmy Page has said the band rehearsed in secret to see whether they could play together before announcing their comeback. Page said the band met for practice sessions before deciding to commit to a reunion gig. "We wanted to see how well we'd be playing together and once we played it was without doubt we wanted to do it," he said.

He added: "The hardest thing of having anything to do with Led Zeppelin is getting together and rehearsing without anybody finding out about it," he said. December's concert is a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun, the late founder of Atlantic Records.

Demand for tickets was intense, with punters paying £125 each in the lottery style auction. Page said they were totally overwhelmed by the response: "We were pretty confident it would sell out on the first day but the demand was totally overwhelming, I don't think anyone expected that demand in their wildest dreams."

Page also admitted the band's previous attempts to reform had not gone so well: "Live Aid was pretty shambolic," he said. "We came together and rehearsed with a drummer we'd never met before and then we were joined by Phil Collins who we'd never played with before on this great Live Aid stage. "We went there with the spirit of it but actually was pretty shambolic."

Page wasn't going to spill any beans on reports of tensions within the group, instead paying tribute to the band's legacy. "We've all had our solo careers but if I was to go out on a solo project I'd certainly play Led Zeppelin music because I love it and I really enjoy playing it." He added: "If Robert Plant is touring, he does too. There's something wrong with the picture if all of the members aren't playing together so here's the opportunity to do it," he said.