Jimmy Page formed Led Zeppelin in 1968 after the Yardbirds disbanded, bringing together singer Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones. The four first played together around the week of August 12 in a basement rehearsal room on Gerrard Street, London. They initially performed as the New Yardbirds before adopting the name Led Zeppelin during work on their debut album.
How the Yardbirds’ breakup led to a new band
The Yardbirds had disbanded by the summer of 1968. Page, their guitarist, set about forming a new group, drawing on the remaining commitments and musicians he knew. Atlantic Records’ announcement of November 11, 1968, described Page as a former Yardbirds member and confirmed that the band had ended that summer.
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At first, the new group was called the New Yardbirds. In a contemporary interview from December 1968, Page explained that the name was intended to maintain continuity with the old band. It was a practical bridge, not the name the musicians ultimately wanted to keep.
Who Jimmy Page recruited—and when
The lineup took shape over several weeks in July and early August 1968. The band’s official timeline places the contacts and meetings in this order; some dates are approximate.
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| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Mid-July 1968, likely July 19 | John Paul Jones contacted Page after his wife saw a music-press report about Page forming a band. Jones offered to play bass. |
| July 20, 1968 | Page saw singer Robert Plant. |
| July 31, 1968 | Page saw drummer John Bonham. |
| Early August 1968 | After original bassist Chris Dreja left, Page formally brought Jones into the group. |
Jones was an experienced multi-instrumentalist and arranger as well as a bassist. Atlantic’s November announcement listed him on bass, piano and organ; Plant on lead vocal and harmonica; Bonham on drums; and Page as leader and guitarist. That contemporary roster documents the quartet’s roles as the band entered its recording career.
When the four first played together
The band’s official timeline dates the first rehearsal to roughly the week of August 12, 1968. The musicians met in a small basement room on Gerrard Street in London, then a street in Soho; Jones later recalled that it is now in Chinatown. Their first number was the old Yardbirds song “Train Kept a Rollin’.”
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The surviving accounts are recollections rather than a precise day-by-day rehearsal log, so the date should be treated as approximate. Members remembered the session as immediately promising. In a 1990 interview, Jones recalled the basement room; Plant described the playing as hot, exciting and challenging. Page said, “At the end, we knew that it was really happening, really electrifying. Exciting is the word.” Bonham’s shorter recollection, from a 1972 interview, was: “We had a good play that day and it went quite well.”
Why they became Led Zeppelin
The New Yardbirds name carried the old band’s identity forward while Page’s new lineup took shape. During recording of the debut album, the musicians decided to choose a new name instead. In the December 1968 interview, Page said the group adopted “Led Zeppelin” with the blessing of a friend who had a name but no group. That is Page’s contemporary account of the choice; later retellings should not be treated as independent confirmation of every detail.
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The transition was not immediate everywhere. Plant recalled in a 2014 Guardian interview that British venues continued to bill them as the New Yardbirds, while American promoters were willing to book them under the new name. As he put it: “So America saved us, because they were willing to book us under our new name, everybody knowing who Jimmy was and not having to rely on the Yardbirds’ name.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How Page wanted the band to work
Page later described an approach designed to give the group room to establish its sound before labels or radio expectations shaped it. In a retrospective Oxford Union talk, he said he paid for the first album himself so the band could present a finished record to record labels. His exact words were: “What I did on the first album was to make sure that it was financed internally. So in other words, I paid for it.” This is Page’s later account of the financing, rather than an independent audit of the album’s costs.
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He also said he wanted the group to develop its own ideas without repeated pressure to produce a radio single. The contemporary record-label evidence shows the result had reached Atlantic by autumn: the label’s November 11 announcement said the first album had been recorded in London about a month earlier and was produced by Page. Atlantic also announced an exclusive recording contract. Its promotional language reflects a label announcement, while the roster and recording details provide period documentation.
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The formation in brief
- Summer 1968: The Yardbirds disbanded, and Page began organizing a new group.
- July and early August: Page connected with Plant, Bonham and Jones; the chronology gives approximate dates for some contacts.
- Around the week of August 12: The four first played together in a Gerrard Street basement room.
- During the debut-album recording period: The transitional name New Yardbirds gave way to Led Zeppelin.
- November 11, 1968: Atlantic publicly announced the group’s recording contract, lineup and completed debut album.
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