How Jimmy Page Tested ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ Director

British filmmaker Bernard MacMahon knew getting the surviving members of Led Zeppelin to agree to a documentary about their band wouldn’t be easy.

“It was incredibly likely that once I put in a phone call, the group might say they were not interested,” MacMahon admitted during a recent conversation with The Guardian. “There was every chance we would not even get a meeting.”

Led Zeppelin famously ignored most requests for interviews and appearances. Even in the many years since the group’s demise, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones have each been very selective about who they will and won’t speak to. So when MacMahon successfully landed a face-to-face meeting with Page, he knew he needed to be ready for anything.

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To the filmmaker’s surprise, the guitar great arrived with shopping bags in his hands. “I wondered if he had brought sandwiches,” MacMahon admitted, before recalling how he pitched Page his concept for Becoming Led Zeppelin using a storyboard. When he got to the part of the narrative where Page and Plant first met, the guitarist quizzed MacMahon on what band he was in at that time. “Hobbstweedle,” MacMahon responded. “Very good,” Page confirmed. “Carry on.”

As MacMahon continued to prove he was well versed in all things Zeppelin, Page “opened the shopping bags to show he had brought his old diaries, dating back to the ‘60s.” The guitarist was on board for the film – but there was still to be one more test.

Jimmy Page’s Important Invitation

A few days after their meeting, Page called MacMahon and asked, “Would you like to go to Pangbourne with me?” The small village held an important place in Led Zeppelin’s history, as Page’s boathouse home there served as Led Zeppelin’s first rehearsal space. The filmmaker and his partner, Allison McGourty, accepted the invitation and visited the location with Page. “Later, (Page) revealed it had been a test,” McGourty noted to The Guardian. “‘If you had said no to Pangbourne we wouldn’t have done the film.’”

In the end, Page, Plant and Jones all agreed to be part of the documentary. John Bonham is also featured thanks to recovered radio interviews. “He acts as a narrator,” McMahon explained of the late drummer. “His interviews were recorded just after things had happened. Jimmy said in some ways he’s the star of the film because he’s in the moment.”

Becoming Led Zeppelin is due for wide release on Feb. 14.