Page: Led Zep couldn’t meet fans’ demand

Jimmy Page says Led Zeppelin couldn’t meet the demands of fans during the height of their success.

And he reveals they could have played more live shows if their tours across the US weren’t so hectic in the 70s.

He tells the Associated Press: “There was a supply and demand – and the demand always outsourced the supply that you could give as far as concerts go.

“The States is a massive continent and it got to the point where, during the 70s, we were doing multiple shows in New York, Chicago or LA and it would just be sell-outs. There was demand but we had to move on.

“You know the volume of record sales, you’ve heard about it, and it’s exactly the same with the attendance. We broke records, I know we did, but we still couldn’t supply the demand.”

The guitar icon insists having use of The Starship, the Boeing 720 the band hired between 1973 and 1975, was essential in their travel plans across the US as it enabled them to fulfil their live commitments and be based in one location.

He continues: “If you put it in the context of one week, we probably had five shows and each of those would be a minimum of three-hours long.

“That’s some serious workout both musically and physically and it gets to the point where people will go, ‘Oh, that was really excessive that they had a plane.’ Well it wasn’t because it meant you could be based in New York while you flew to Philadelphia and Washington.

“It starts to add up and makes sense if you’re doing multiple shows. It all has to be seen in context.”

Page has been working on remastering Led Zep’s back catalogue and will relaunch 1975’s Physical Graffiti on February 23 via Atlantic/Swan Song. Ahead of the official launch, the album will be aired via a Yahoo Live stream tomorrow (February 19) at 7pm GMT.

Following the broadcast, Page will take part in a live Q&A session in front of an audience at London’s Olympic Studios where parts of the album were laid down 40 years ago.

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.