Jimmy Page admits it was nice to say "hello" to his old Led Zeppelin bandmate Robert Plant when the pair were reunited to defend themselves in a plagiarism case.
The two songwriters were responsible for penning the 1971 track but were accused of stealing part of their rock hit from Spirit’s 1968 song ‘Taurus’, however, the jury in the lawsuit – brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for late Spirit guitarist Randy California – found the case in the pair’s favour in June.
Page admits he hadn’t seen Plant for some time before they were brought together in a court in Los Angeles.
Recalling their get together in unwanted circumstances, the guitarist said: "I hadn’t seen Robert for a long time. It was nice to say hello."
Page was relieved that the jury decided he and Plant, 68, hadn’t copied the opening chords from ‘Taurus’ and he insists the whole concept of music ownership is difficult for him to comprehend.
The music legend insists if he and his Led Zeppelin bandmates had wanted to they could have brought legal action against many artists who have borrowed from the group.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph newspaper, he mused: "It’s like how would you define Bossa Nova? It was a whole jazz genre and it all starts with the Bossa Nova beat. That’s every Bossa Nova record. How far would the Bossa Nova movement have got in a corporate world today? It’s really disturbing. I do know there’s a lot of music where Led Zeppelin has been leaned on. We didn’t do anything about it. And I wouldn’t want to, either."
Page has just overseen the re-mastering of the album ‘The Complete BBC Sessions’ which contains the trio of forgotten tunes, ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’, ‘You Shook Me’ and the only recorded performance of ‘Sunshine Woman’.
Although the ‘Whole Lotta Love’ hitmaker has been responsible for preserving the Le Zeppelin legacy in the last decade he claims he doesn’t actually listen much to his band’s songs.
He wryly said: "I really don’t listen to Led Zeppelin that much."
And Page is adamant the story of Led Zeppelin – which was also comprised of bassist John Paul Jones and late drummer John Bonham – is not over yet.
He said: "Led Zeppelin isn’t done yet, quite clearly, because every year since 1968 there’s been new fans. The re-releases have more than doubled the amount of Led Zeppelin work out there. I wanted it done authoritatively, because I was the one writing the stuff, I was the producer and mixer. I don’t think it’s any more weird than writing your autobiography."
The last time Led Zeppelin played together – with John’s son Jason Bonham replacing his dad on drums – was in 2007 when they reunited for the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert at The O2 arena in London.
‘The Complete BBC Sessions’ is released on September 16.
Jimmy Page enjoyed saying ‘hello’ to Robert Plant in court
