(Credits: Far Out / 2025 Paradise Pictures Ltd)
Sun 8 February 2026 17:00, UK
Oh, to have been in the 1960s – the decade where pop music truly came into its own and everyone was feeling wildly inspired by all of the activity.
For a young Jimmy Page, who was primarily working as a session musician in the early part of the decade before going on to join The Yardbirds and later Led Zeppelin, he had the opportunity to work alongside some of the biggest names as they were breaking through, that ultimately being one of the finest ways in which a young artist can find their feet in the industry, and to cut your teeth while working with some of the most talented musicians of the era is certainly a strong way to kick-start your career.
Obviously, Page is better known these days for his work in both of the aforementioned bands, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he was still showing signs of becoming an incredible musician in his own right before that.
However, when he was available to hire, he couldn’t help but be blown away by the talents of the others he was surrounded by, and presumably, being in their presence spurred him on to become part of the legendary groups he later joined.
In 1965, he found himself being courted by The Rolling Stones’ manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, to perform on and produce a couple of tracks for a then-unknown German singer called Nico. The resulting sessions led to the release of the single ‘I’m Not Sayin”, and its B-side, ‘The Last Mile’, which were released on Oldham’s record label, Immediate.
In turn, these songs would help Nico grab the attention of The Velvet Underground, who she would join on their self-titled debut album, and who Page would later meet as a result of his prior connection with the singer. However, despite having already been familiar with Nico’s work, his first encounter with the music of the New York band was something that blew him away.
In a 2020 interview with Classic Rock, Page explained that when he first heard frontman Lou Reed’s songwriting abilities, he was at a loss for words. “I went to the Scene Club,” he explained, referring to a venue in New York where the band frequently performed. “Suddenly, you hear this band doing this drone stuff, and Lou Reed’s writing was just out of this world. They were just phenomenal, and they sounded just like that first album.”
“I only saw them when I was going through New York with The Yardbirds,” he continued. “Everyone talks about The Velvet Underground, but at the time, people did not go to see them, and I found that odd. I loved The Velvet Underground, and it was such a thrill to have done that single with Nico, having written something with Andrew Oldham and going in there and just doing ‘The Last Mile’, which was really cool.”
While The Velvet Underground and Reed would end up taking very different paths from the ones chosen by Page, they’ve all become crucially important to the history and development of rock music in the years since, and to learn that he was just as floored by Reed’s songs as many others were is a fine mark of respect to receive.
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