LED ZEPPELIN's JIMMY PAGE Is 'Worried' About Concert Industry In Wake Of Coronavirus Pandemic

LED ZEPPELIN's Jimmy Page has said in a new interview that he is "worried" about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected younger artists, particularly as it relates to the lack of opportunities to perform live.

"It's such a very sad and desperate time and what this virus has done internationally to families, to the arts, and everything we love and hold dear and the whole concert situation, it does worry me," he told GQ magazine for its December print issue. "I will never be one of those people who'll record alone and send someone a file. I never went into music in the first place to do that, it was for playing together and this is what it means.

"We need to play with people, we need gigs and we need community. Because without that, music means nothing," he continued. "Playing live is so important for young musicians. When we were young, we all had these little gigs, hoping to play somewhere bigger and it's such an important part of that communion of musicians playing together."

He concluded: "For me, it's always been the most important thing."

Page is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time, and one of the most important record producers and songwriters in rock history. Page first picked up a guitar aged 12 and performed with Neil Christian and THE CRUSADERS as soon as he left school. He honed his craft as a session musician in London and, by the mid-sixties, was one of the most sought-after guitarists in Britain. He was a member of THE YARDBIRDS from 1966 to 1968 and then, in late 1968, founded LED ZEPPELIN, one of rock's most successful and enduring bands, who have sold more than 300 million records to date.

Following LED ZEPPELIN, in the 1980s Page went on to produce a film soundtrack, "Death Wish II", toured with Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck on the fundraising "A.R.M.S." tour, formed bands THE FIRM and COVERDALE PAGE, and released a solo album, "Outrider". From 1994 until 1998, Page reunited with LED ZEPPELIN bandmate Robert Plant on two albums and two tours as PAGE AND PLANT. Since then, Page has collaborated on a wide range of projects, including performing with Sean Coombes, THE BLACK CROWES and at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics with Leona Lewis. Jimmy Page has been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame twice, once as a member of THE YARDBIRDS (1992) and once as a member of LED ZEPPELIN (1995). In 2005, Page received an OBE from the Queen, then also received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Surrey (2008); in 2012 he received America's highest award for the arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, from President Barack Obama at the White House and an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College, Boston (2014). More recently, Page produced and remastered LED ZEPPELIN's nine studio albums with companion discs, rereleased in 2014 and 2015, and in 2019, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's remarkable "Play It Loud" exhibition featured some of his most iconic guitars.