It’s been common knowledge for quite awhile now that Jimmy Page relied on a Telecaster for the ferocious and punchy tones of Led Zeppelin’s 1969 debut album, not the 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul that he would become so synonymous with (he didn’t own it yet).
When that band’s story came to an end (aside from one full and a few partial reunion concerts) in 1980 with the tragic death of John Bonham, though, Page was left slightly adrift.
Over the coming years, he’d score a film, play at a smattering of charity concerts, and make a few surprise onstage cameos with old friends, but it wouldn’t be until 1984 that he’d find himself in a proper band again.
Oft-forgotten in discussions of the great rock supergroups, the Firm teamed Page up with legendary rock belter Paul Rodgers (he of Free and Bad Company), bass virtuoso Tony Franklin, and future AC/DC drummer Chris Slade, and brought the guitarist into arenas once again.
Though there were some familiar tools in Page’s onstage arsenal (see below), the guitar legend – eager to not simply re-hash his old band’s sound – also took the opportunity to switch things up in the guitar department, notably picking up the Tele once again. This, however, was a Tele with a twist.
Now, it wasn’t the famed ’59 model he used on Led Zeppelin I. This was a ’53, painted a unique shade of brown; and it was, crucially, fitted with a neat little tool called a B-Bender.
For those uninitiated, allow me to momentarily pass the baton to GW Editor-in-Chief (and resident B-Bender expert) Damian Fanelli…