‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’, the first authorised documentary of Led Zeppelin premiered around the world this past weekend but did you know Australia played a massive role in the telling of the story. The previously unheard John Bonham interview was found discovered at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra.
The John Bonham interview was conducted in 1972 and it happened purely by accident. Australia broadcaster Graeme Berry worked for Sydney radio station 2SM. 2SM sent Berry to London to interview Robert Plant for Led Zeppelin’s upcoming Australian tour.
Berry took the 174 kilometre (108 mile) journey from London to Kidderminster by train to interview Plant at his farm. Plant met him at the railway station in his Jeep and took him to his house.
Bonham just happened to turn up at Plant’s house while Berry was still there, got on with Graeme and recorded his interview at the same time.
Berry sent the tapes back to 2SM and they were used to promote the 1972 tour.
Berry was a founding staff member of 2 Double J in Sydney in 1975. I understand he has now passed away.
Led Zeppelin only ever toured Australia that one time.
Led Zeppelin Australian dates 1972 were:
16 February 1972, Perth, Subiaco Oval
19 February 1972, Adelaide, Memorial Drive Park
20 February 1972, Melbourne, Kooyong Stadium
27 February 1972, Sydney, Sydney Showground
29 February 1972, Brisbane, Festival Hall
Robert Plant has since toured Australia four times in 1984, 1996, 2013 and 2018. The 1996 tour was with Jimmy Page.
John Paul Jones has toured Australia three times. Once in 2010 as a member of Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme and also a couple of times with Seasick Steve
Watch the trailer for Becoming Led Zeppelin
Watch the interview with Becoming Led Zeppelin director Bernard MacMahon:
Becoming Led Zeppelin was made for IMAX. It will return to IMAX for two more sessions on 21 and 22 February.
From the National Film and Sound Archive Canberra:
It was early 1972 and Led Zeppelin had just released its fourth studio album, featuring the anthemic track ‘Stairway to Heaven’. They were arguably the biggest rock band in the world, and preparing for an upcoming tour of Australia.
This is when Australian broadcaster Graeme Berry found himself at the home of Robert Plant. He was there to interview the British band’s lead singer, alongside legendary drummer John Bonham, for Sydney radio station 2SM.
Before his death in 1980, Bonham rarely gave interviews or spoke in public – and if he did, he wouldn’t say much at all. But this time was different. ‘In the interview, he really opens up and engages with Berry … uncharacteristically, he seems very happy to talk’, NFSA curator Thorsten Kaeding explains.
‘They touch on many aspects of his career, as well as moments leading up to it … including how he started out in music, where his interests came from, and what he was doing before Led Zeppelin. For a documentary maker, it is absolute gold.’
‘LOST’ INTERVIEW DISCOVERED
Graeme Berry had indeed struck gold with this interview. However, as the years passed, the audio tape it was recorded on disappeared. Bernard MacMahon, director and producer of the band’s first authorised documentary, Becoming Led Zeppelin (2021), had heard a bootleg recording on vinyl and knew he had to find it.
MacMahon spent a year searching and, recognising Berry’s Australian accent, contacted the NFSA in 2019.
Researchers were initially unable to find the interview in the collection. That’s when Sean Bridgeman, the NFSA’s Access Services Manager, had a win. He reached out to the curatorial team, which was making its way through cataloguing around 8,000 tapes in the 2SM collection, many of which were unmarked or had no identifying information.‘Curator Chris Arneil had coincidentally come across a tape marked Led Zeppelin: Robert Plant and John Bonham the week before’, Sean Bridgeman says. ‘After digitising the tape and conducting research, we confirmed it was the hour-plus interview with John Bonham that Bernard MacMahon had been searching for.’
OPENING UP TO THE WORLD
After the interview was rediscovered and digitised at the NFSA, it was loaned to the creators of Becoming Led Zeppelin and is a centrepiece of the documentary.
Led Zeppelin is arguably one of the most influential bands of all time, inspiring the hard rock movement of the 1970s that was extremely successful, particularly in Australia.
Becoming Led Zeppelin is the band’s first authorised documentary, and it premiered at the prestigious Venice Film Festival in September 2021 where it gained significant attention.
Thorsten Kaeding says the Bonham recording is a testament to Berry, and his brilliant interviewing skills. ‘It’s often forgotten how successful Australian DJs and music journalists have been internationally’, he says. ‘As with this interview, they were often able to get their subjects to open up in ways that others could not.’
The interview recording is also an important reminder of the work being undertaken to digitise content in the NFSA collection, as Sean Bridgeman explains.
‘There are many items in the collection that are “hidden” or undiscovered – in that we either don’t have enough catalogue information, or they have yet to be digitised. The interview was held only on the original ¼-inch magnetic audio tape, so it was essential we digitised the recording for preservation.‘Magnetic tape formats are at risk of further deterioration, preventing digital preservation, and this is why the NFSA is prioritising magnetic audiovisual formats for its Deadline 2025 project.’
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