Product Description

Forty years since their formation in a grubby Chinatown basement comes the first truly definitive biography of the world's most legendary rock band - Led Zeppelin. They were 'the last great band of the sixties; the first great band of the seventies'; they rose, somewhat unpromisingly, from the ashes of the Yardbirds to become one of the biggest-selling rock bands of all time. Mick Wall, respected rock writer and former confidant of both Page and Plant, unflinchingly tells the story of the band that wrote the rulebook for on-the-road excess - and eventually paid the price for it, with disaster, drug addiction and death. When Giants Walked the Earth reveals for the first time the true extent of band leader Jimmy Page's longstanding interest in the occult, and goes behind the scenes to expose the truth behind their much-hyped yet spectacularly contrived comeback at London's O2 arena last year, and how Jimmy Page plans to bring the band back permanently - if only his former protege, now part-time nemesis, Robert Plant will allow him to. And Wall also recounts, in a series of flashbacks, the life stories of the five individuals that made the dream of Led Zeppelin into an even more incredible and hard-to-swallow reality: Page, Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and their infamous manager, Peter Grant. Above all, a book that tells the full, shocking story of Led Zeppelin from the inside, written by someone who has known Jimmy Page for over twenty years, When Giants Walked the Earth is the culmination of several years research. It is based not just on the individual interviews with every member of the band that author Mick Wall has conducted over the years - as well as those who knew and worked with them - but on the insight that only thirty years working in the music business alongside its biggest artists can bring.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6787 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 520 pages

Review
'So this is the big one: a fat, juicy biography of the biggest band ever...Mick Wall, the veteran rock journalist, lays it all bare in a book that can only be described as definitive.' (DAILY TELEGRAPH )

'As well as being the most complete account yet of a great British rock band, When Giants Walked the Earth is, as its name implies, a document of a bygone age....Wall has done his subject proud.' (SUNDAY TIMES )

'It deftly strikes the balance between lofty authority and finding a way to get inside the heads of its subjects' (GUARDIAN )

'This fantastic account of Led Zeppelin's wild and decadent heyday is as detailed and definitive as music biographies get.' (LONDON LITE )

'The definitive account of rock legends Led Zeppelin' (DAILY RECORD )

'A fascinating and diligently reseached account of rock'n'roll excess.' (YORKSHIRE EVENING POST )

'The definitive book about Led Zeppelin... Mick Wall has done a fine job here and certainly knows his stuff.' (BIRMINGHAM POST )

'That Wall can add so much fresh details to the Led Zep story is in itself an extraordinary achievements. That he manages to humanise these planet-striding giants while doing so puts this book into the "definitive" category.' (CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE )

'We've read about the booze, drugs, devil worship and deviant sex... Mick Wall delves a loot deeper into the dark stuff' (IRISH TIMES )

About the Author
Mick Wall was the founding editor of Classic Rock Magazine. He's the author of numerous music titles, including books on John Peel, Iron Maiden, Don Arden and Black Sabbath. He ghosted XS All Areas: the autobiography of Status Quo, and is a former dj on Capital Radio.

Customer Reviews

Monumental achievement
After having only the sleazy and now outdated Hammer of the Gods to put up with all these years, it's amazing to finally have the sort of serious, brilliantly written book on Zeppelin the band and their fans deserve. I never thought I'd live to see the day but here it is at last. Mick Wall is famous enough already as a great rock writer but this has to be the best thing he's ever done or ever likely to do. Zeppelin of course are simply the greatest rock band ever. What a combination the two make. The book pulls no punches, but at the same time goes right to the heart of the matter, telling you everything - everything - you've ever wanted to know about the band, the people in it, the music they made and the times they helped shape. Wall seems to have spoken to them all and come away with the truth at last. I literally could not put it down. There have been some great books over the years about groups like the Stones and the Beatles but this tops them all. Seriously. If Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have any sense they should go down on their bended knees and thank Wall. They may not come out of it always smelling of roses but at least he's done them the favour of burying Hammer of the Gods forever. Compared to that, When Giants Walked The Earth is the bible.

Utterly brilliant
I only started reading this because I bought it for my husband for Xmas but once I started I couldn't put it down. I used to read music books when I was younger but stopped when I realised they were nearly always fan books. This isn't like that. It's obvious Mick Wall knows his stuff and has spoken to everyone including the band but he doesn't pull any punches. I don't know if the band will like it but they should because it's not only a great book about them but just a great book anyway. Utterly brilliant.

fantastic book !!!!!
this is an essential read for any fan of led zeppelin. very well researched and beautifully written.
by far the definitive biography on the band so far and very hard to beat i'd say.