I don't think he's ever acknowledged what that costume was before. (Also, I didn't know he'd worn it more than once, as I'd heard it was a costume change due the usual suit being unavailable for that day. I'll continue to monitor Led Zeppelin sites on the subject, but currently all I'm seeing is disbelief that he would even mention it.)
I, of course, filch picture for you.
He's a cool one, that Jimmy Page.
Edit to add: Apart from wearing the boots and pants to the second Oakland show (for other wardrobe failure reasons), it appears he didn't wear the outfit again.
10 comments:
i am very surprised that he would reference this ensemble as it is really something that most people would file under "what the hell was i thinking, i must have been really strung out that night? weren't the stormtroopers the precursor to the nazis? i know that there was a trend back around that time for nazi fashion. david bowie was another fashion victim of this trend.
I was surprised too. In his photo-autobiography, he refers to it as the night he wore "Hugo Boss", which is quite a funny dig at Hugo Boss, who did design some of the Nazi uniforms. There are various theories as to why he did it - the punks did it the same year, it's because he was in a zeppelin and so forth. However he certainly never showed any fascist tendencies in his interviews or actions, which is more than you can say for some rock stars. I guess we'll never know why he wore it.
i think that the appropriate caption would be, "oh my god, look what i found. i have NO recollection of ever wearing this outfit. i must have blacked out...."
i think that crowley had some fascist tendencies affiliations and jp seems to mimic a lot of his actions.
unfortunate that a man of great talent like jp be influenced by someone who was far less great.. just my two cents.
thanks for all of the great material you post on here.
just re-read my post. sorry about all the grammatical errors. yikes.
Thanks! No worries about the grammar - it was more readable than most stuff I see on the internet.
Lyle,
Thank you SO MUCH for this post. I am a life-long Zeppelin fan and know an embarrassing amount of information about the band. Collecting the various fanzines and books over the years, I noticed the inclination of photographers and writers to get the date wrong on this, even up to and including the book Jimmy himself put out a couple of years ago. The fact is, barring those that show the date of April 10, 1977, as the infamous storm trooper show, they've all got it wrong. I have written the publisher and Jimmy's website and asked them to correct it or prove me wrong, and of course, they ignored me. You'd think Jimmy would want history to be correct, right? I can find no evidence, anywhere, that Jimmy ever wore the outfit at any other time aside from the Chicago show on this particular night. As luck would have it, I was there, 6th row center, attending my very first concert. Needless to say, my mind was blown and an indelible impression forever etched in my brain. I would like to offer my opinion as to why he did it: the night before, he got sick, and was critically slammed in the press. I think it was a reaction to the press, as we all know Jimmy loved to thumb his nose at them and the establishment. I suspect he was so put out by the commentary on his alleged use of china white, and with the tour just underway for all of 10 days and the band already being insulted as bloated, excessive, and dinosaurs (to name a few of the insults being hurled) that Jimmy decided to "mow 'em all down" like a German storm trooper. And he did, as I will attest, easily putting in the best show of the 4 in Chicago, and creating a moment in rock history that made for spectacular photographs, and even a statue which Knucklebonz sold out of and you can't get your hands on for less than several hundred dollars. Nothing to do with Nazis, Germany, anti-Semitism or anything else ... just Jimmy being Jimmy. On that particular night, the only night that he ever wore the full storm trooper suit, Led Zeppelin was spectacular.
Thanks, Danny! I am very jealous of you, since you were at that show! I think you're right about his motivation that night. And I do have the Knucklebonz figurine you mention.
it's a tribute to one of his favorite movies -The Night Porter with Charlotte Rampling.
That's an excellent theory, Anon.
Jimmy wore that also at Tempe Arizona a very poor show they did not do encores let after stairway ..The night before he vomited on the Poppy outfit and wore black variations in LA and San Diego
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