Led Zeppelin icon Jimmy Page says his new pictorial autobiography is the perfect reflection of his career.
Page spent months trawling through thousands of images to compile a photographic journey of his life for the book titled Jimmy Page, which was originally published as a very limited edition collector’s edition in 2010, but re-launched this week via Genesis Publications.
And the guitarist reveals the work is the “most complete document there’s ever going to be” on his life and career.
He says: “I’ve been asked on a number of occasions to do a written book but I thought it would be interesting to present an autobiography with photos.
“I wanted to make it as thorough as possible and that meant trawling through all the files the photographers had taken with The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin and from my personal collection as well.”
He continues: “It’s the most complete document that there’s ever going to be because of the amount of time that I’ve put into every aspect.”
Page has also written the captions in the book and says while it was a long process, it was a worthwhile project.
He adds: “Having captions and annotations taking you though the whole of the journey was a long task but it was worth it. It starts to make up a really a complete picture which keeps unfolding as you turn each page.”
Page, who is planning to put a band together for a tour next year, recently indicated he would only write an autobiography if it was published after he died.
He said: “If I did a full autobiography, I’d want it published posthumously. There’s two good reasons for that. The first is you can’t get sued, and the second is you don’t have to promote it.”
He’s also been working on a series of Led Zeppelin remasters featuring new versions and mixes of classic Zep tracks. The latest two releases in the collection Led Zeppelin IV and Houses Of The Holy launch on October 27.
Now he’s made a previously unreleased version of Rock And Roll from IV available to stream via The Guardian, while a clip promoting the album featuring Black Dog has also been unveiled. View it below.
**Issue 203 of Classic Rock features an exclusive interview with Jimmy Page. You can order it online from MyFavouriteMagazines. **
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