Jimmy Page says his greatest moment outside of Led Zeppelin was performing Whole Lotta Love with pop star Leona Lewis at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
He admits his choice will “surprise everyone” but insists the moment, part of the event’s closing ceremony, was important and made him proud.
Page tells Uncut: “I’d be very sincere if I said doing the Olympics with Leona was phenomenal. She’s really plucky – she’s superb, and she sang Whole Lotta Love brilliantly.
“We managed to do the full length. It wasn’t edited. It was so cool the way she approached it. For that audience, and the fact we didn’t fuck it up, that was important. It was a Led Zeppelin number, but it took on another persona.”
Page will personally imprint copies of his photobook with a unique ‘Zoso’ stamp in London on December 2. He recently told how a fortune teller had predicted Led Zeppelin’s success while he was still in the Yardbirds. Former colleague Robert Plant this week discussed the moment he considered refusing to work with John Bonham because the pair lived 20 miles apart, which he thought was too far.
