Jimmy Page's Stairway To Heaven Trial Transcript Released

(Classic Rock) A transcript of Jimmy Page's testimony at the recent Led Zeppelin Stairway To Heaven plagiarism trial has been published in full. Guitarist Page and singer Robert Plant gave evidence at the trial in a California court in June, after which they were cleared of having copied the opening sequence of Stairway To Heaven from Spirit track Taurus, released three years before the iconic Led Zep song.

In his evidence, Page admits that he owned two Spirit albums, their 1969 efforts The Family That Plays Together and Clear. He says: "The two albums that I sort of recollect having had and what I do have are Family Plays Together and Clear Spirit, which I believe is the third album. Second album, third album."

But the transcript shows that Page claimed not to have owned Spirit's self-titled debut album at the time, although he has got it in his collection now. The 1968 debut contains the track Taurus. He says: "Didn't get around to getting the first album."

Asked when he did get the first Spirit album, Page says: "It was after the internet comparisons came up, which is a few years ago. My son-in-law brought it to my attention that there was a comparison of Stairway To Heaven and a Spirit song, and I said that I'd like to hear it. "Within a week of that, I went to the location where all my records are and I thought, 'I'm going to have a look and see what Spirit records I've got.'" Read more including the full transcript of Page's testimony here.

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