Led Zeppelin in Bologna: photos chronicling the birth of the band on display

Led Zeppelin is on display in Bologna from May 20 to June 19 with a selection of 20 shots never before seen in Italy by photographer Dick Barnatt: the exhibition, titled Led Zeppelin - 1968, Windmill Str. Photographs by Dick Barnatt, takes place at ONO Arte and tells of an important moment in the history of one of the most beloved and influential bands in the history of Rock music, that of its founding in 1968.

James Patrick Page, aka Jimmy Page, was born in London on January 9, 1944. Like most British citizens born during, or immediately after, the end of World War II, he faced a period of economic hardship and great social hardship in the immediate postwar period. However, his was also the generation somewhat blessed by the arrival of American Rock and Roll. First Bill Haley and His Comets and then, of course, Elvis. Those first 45s of ’never before heard’ music changed the British and world cultural landscape forever.

British youth managed to make that music their own to such an extent that it became, with groups like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Who, and Kinks, one of the major sources of revenue for the U.K. exchequer. If the Beatles were the spearhead of a sociocultural phenomenon that was taking over the world, London was the center of that world, and musical groups aspiring to replicate the Fab Four’s success were springing up almost daily, especially in the Capital. Swinging London was attracting young people and giving them jobs in the new and burgeoning music industry, and Jimmy Page, before he became guitarist for one of the most respected and influential groups on the London scene(The Yardbirds) was one of the most sought-after and valued turntables in the local recording studios. As Michelangelo Antonioni recounts in his cult film Blow Up, a film in which Jimmy Pagem’s own Yardbirds play live in a cameo, Swinging London was coming to an end and the music would also change dramatically.

Jimmy Page declared the experience with the Yardbirds closed and founded Led Zeppelin in 1968, going on to recruit another London-based session player, John Paul Jones, but more importantly two very young and still raw musicians from the Midlands namely Robert Plant and John Bonham. What seems like a risky choice turns out to be a winning move. Robert Plant, a great fan of blues, will lead the group toward black American music while John Bonham, with his unique and powerful style of drumming, will create a watershed in the way the instrument is played, literally raising the volume of the group. Another of Led Zeppelin’s characteristics will in fact be the power of sound which, united with the musical production rich in evergreens, will immediately win over the American public where they are still considered among the most successful groups ever.

The exhibition recounts, through Dick Barnatt’s shots, the late October day in 1968 when Led Zeppelin was born. Apparently, nothing out of the ordinary: four guys in their twenties and early twenties, semi-strangers, smiling in a photo studio. Dick Barnatt recounts that he didn’t know who they were since the job was commissioned by Warner Bros. but by their looks (they all had long hair except for Bonham) they already appear to be a successful young group about to change music and pop culture forever. The session then continues in the street in front of the studio where Jimmy Page’s Jaguar is parked. The four of them have gone outside to smoke a cigarette, and Dick follows them to get more shots while they are sitting on the hood of the sports car. The music business is very exciting and easy at the time. A young photographer like Dick takes pictures of a music group that later took over the world but, at that time, they are just four young people like many others to him. The first time he hears Whole Lotta Love on the radio, Dick Barnatt does not immediately associate the music with the October 1968 shoot. When he takes those photos, in fact, the group had already recorded their first album, an album that would not be released until January 1969 and become an instant classic, the eponymous Led Zeppelin. This is the story that the review tells: for all the info you can consult the ONO Arte website.

Led Zeppelin in Bologna: photos chronicling the birth of the band on display

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