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The two late 80s bands that Jimmy Page said he liked
After Led Zeppelin came to an end in 1980 due to the tragic death of their drummer John Bonham, guitarist and producer Jimmy Page took some time off but then worked on many projects. He contributed to the soundtrack of the Death Wish movie franchise, created the supergroup The Firm, and also released his only solo album in 1988. Although he was busy with his own projects, Page was also paying attention to new bands that were emerging.
In the early ’90s, he mentioned two bands that had started in the early ’80s as some that he liked at the time.
The two late 80s bands that Jimmy Page said he liked
Beck
In the 90s, during a press conference to promote the Plant & Page tour, the Led Zeppelin guitarist and producer Jimmy Page mentioned some of the new bands at the time that he liked. The first one was Beck and he said: “I think Beck is good, I mean, the new one, not the Jeff one. The Jeff one is good too but (we are talking about new bands). I think the material on his album is really, really imaginative.”
Beck is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in Los Angeles, California back in 1970, when Led Zeppelin already had their first two albums out. His musical career started in 1988 and in 1993 he had the chance to release his debut album “Golden Feelings”. Until 2024 he released 14 studio albums and still is one of the most influential artists from the past decades.
Soundgarden
The other band mentioned by Jimmy Page was Soundgarden, the Grunge group formed in Seattle back in 1984. Their classic line-up had Chris Cornell (Vocals), Kim Thayil (Guitar), Ben Shepherd (Bass) and Matt Cameron (Drums). Curiously, on some albums of their career, the group was compared to Black Sabbath, another legendary British band formed around the same time as Led Zeppelin.
Jimmy Page admired Chris Cornell a lot and even was interviewed by the late singer during a special Guitar World event in 2016. Cornell’s career was tragically cut short at the age of 52 when he decided to take his own life in 2017. Page lamented the musician’s death at the time, saying: “RIP Chris Cornell, incredibly talented, incredibly young, incredibly missed.”
The musician also sent a message to be played at the Soundgarden tribute show made for Cornell in 2019. “Hello, I’m Jimmy Page and I’m actually over here in London sending this video link to Matt, Kim, Ben. I’m sorry I can’t be with you there this evening, But, believe me, I’m there in spirit.”
Jimmy Page continued:
“I want to congratulate you for having got this event together to celebrate Chris’ music. I also want to say that the input that you put into Soundgarden, from the records. Because I got hooked on your music from the first album.”
“But I also came to hear you play, you guys. I was always astonished at the way you all glued together. I mean, it was just really what, for me, bands are all about.. Yeah, have a great evening, have a wonderful evening, this celebration of Chris’ music,” Jimmy Page said.
