Becoming Led Zeppelin: We chat to the filmmakers ahead of epic documentary's release
They were, quite simply, the four greatest rock musicians ever to play in one outfit together. Finally, the story of their genesis is being told.
Created by the powerhouse team of director Bernard MacMahon and screenwriter/producer Allison McGourty, Becoming Led Zeppelin traces the journey of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant through the music scene of the 1960s, their meeting in the summer of 1968 and meteoric ascendancy throughout 1969, culminating in 1970 when they became the No. 1 band in the world.
Anticipation for the film’s release tomorrow is high - particularly in our region, for which Plant remains a staunch and beloved ambassador.
We were lucky enough to be able to chat to the filmmakers about the incredible journey of one of the world’s most treasured rock acts, and the equally amazing journey of putting their story on screen.
Famously, despite having spent five decades at the top of the pantheon of true music royalty, Led Zeppelin have never agreed to an authorised documentary until now. So what changed, and why did Bernard and Allison become the lucky biographers given the band’s blessing to tell their tale?
“I wanted to do something that was from the next era after our previous project, American Epic, which was like the 20s and 30s,” said Bernard. “This story picks up in the 50s as these kids are growing up and through the 60s and the late 60s as they take off.
“I’d read a paperback book about Led Zeppelin as a 12-year-old boy without knowing a note of their music at that stage, and I loved the story. This book went up to the early 70s and it was just about these two guys from the Midlands trying to make their way in the music business and trying to break into the snobby London scene with little success, and then these two other guys that are working as session musicians inside that scene.
