February 20, 2025 • 10 mins
This gent made a fine documentary about the early days of Led Zeppelin. Bret and Bernard talk about unearthing archival footage and why Robert Plant had so much penicillin in those heady times.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
How have you been? I'm Brett. This week on the
Brett Sonders Podcast, documentary filmmaker Bernard McMahon called in to
talk about his excellent new film Becoming led Zeppelin, about
the formation and the early years of the band.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Love you, Brett. We've etend with our previous American ethnic
films and I loved it.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
And not only that, the first time led Zeppelin played
in the United States, it was in Denver.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
A fairly disinterested audience, but with the vanilla fudge you
quite right. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
I want to give you accolades for this movie because
I see a lot of music documentaries. First of all,
I saw this in Imax, which was incredible because Bernard,
at one point I thought that Sonny Boy Williamson was
going to consume everybody in the audience just to eat
him right off the screen. It's just a great way
to see a documentary.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Thank you very much. He chews you up and spits
out the bones.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
This movie is excellent. And I want to know why
you think twenty twenty five, why does this music sound
so vital and fresh? Because it really does, because.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
You're hearing the raw music with nothing done to it.
This film we're bringing you the original lack of cuts
that were made in sixty nine, and they've not been
adjusted to be relevant to the kids. It's literally the
sound as the band intended it, with nothing done to
it at all, and actually bringing purity onto the big
(01:32):
screens a lot of work. You've got to track that
stuff down and know how to transfer it, and then
you've got to do any restoration. Removing any pops and
clicks has got to be done manually. But what you're
hearing is the exact sound that the cutting engineers intended
(01:53):
in nineteen sixty nine, in the purest form possible on
the biggest Hi fi on plan. So that's what you're getting.
So it's yeah, that's why it's probably hitting you right
in the solar plexus because it's very pure.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
One of the things I love about becoming led Zeppelin
is you made all four members, including the late John Bonham,
the narrators of the film. There were there any challenges
with that because the John Bonham audio sounds like he's
here today with us.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah, it's it's if you it's a real challenge if
you want your subjects, particularly musicians, to tell the whole story. Generally,
if you look at most films, they have narrators, you know,
and they have a bunch of like talking heads that
are giving you the facts. So for the the artists themselves,
(02:46):
you've got to be very ingenious in your planning of
your infused to make sure you cover that ground. And
then and then it's it's that it's fun to watch
and it flows. We did a lot of background research
in the film, so even though it's the four of
them telling the story, I did about one hundred and
seventy five background interviews with everyone, from the people that
(03:11):
the guy that taught Jimmy his first chords on the guitar,
Rod Whyt, the people John Bonham and Robert Plant were
in bands with and on to you know, the producers
that hired Jimmy Paige and John Paul Jones for their
session work. I became really good friends with Sheelle Tawney,
who produced all those early Who and Kinks records before
(03:34):
he died, and he gave me so much of the
background on those two guys, you know how. You know,
you couldn't do a hips London session with a young
band and not use those guys, you know, So yes,
a lot of it's informed from all those one hundred
and seventy five interviews, and it also meant that when
(03:55):
I was interviewing the band, I knew what they were
talking about. But the main thing really the film is
to is to bring the audience into this world. I
wanted to bring like my twelve thirteen year old self
so I could actually be in nineteen sixty nine at
these shows, which is why it's made for imax. It's
made so you can actually literally feel like you're there
(04:18):
looking around and there's the audience and all these amazing
women around you with these great outfits and these cool
looks and stuff, and so it's it's it's like a
time travel, you know. But they're really emotionally present in
the film. I mean, the good things actually about Zeppelins
you can see from the film. I'm really honored that
(04:40):
it touched you, you know, is that that when they
just agreed to do this film, you know, they let
us have complete artists to control of the film. They
didn't try and control it in any way at all.
And they turned up to the interviews and they're like,
we're going to go for it, you know. And then
but we had all this surprises for them, Like, you know,
(05:02):
we had recordings of John Bonner, We had all these
photographs and objects and things that they hadn't seen in
sixty some years, and we're kind of constantly bringing these out.
So they're very emotional when they're telling this story because
they're constantly looking at things and going, oh my god,
remember that place or this guy and things like this,
(05:25):
and so you know, it was like you're trying to
do everything you can to make them and the audience
in the moment.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yes, Bernard, I was wondering if John, Paul Jones, Jimmy
Page and Robert Plant were eager to participate in this
project or any hesitation.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Oh not at all. I don't think they had. I mean,
I don't mean to regard to this specific project. I
when I met them initially, I don't think they had
any intention of ever doing any kind of film ever.
And I believe obviously obviously it's not a matter of
record that they have said no to everything for fifty
(06:03):
five something years. Know. What happened was that I'd done
a series of films called American Epic on the first
Blues Gospel Country Records in nineteen twenty oh. Thank you.
And so when I reached out them, I had already
written a script for the film with my partner Alison
(06:23):
mcgaudy and a storyboard, and we had done a ton
of research tracking down archive. So we'd worked for months
and months and months and months making you know, this
very detailed script for Becoming led Zeppelin, and everyone I
knew was going, you're absolutely insane, They're going to say no,
(06:43):
and we just we just had this faith, you know,
which is a faith actually that is in the Zeppelin
group that you see in the movie. And I think
that art and life mirror each other. So we came
to see them. And after all that work, the ten
years on American Epic, all the months and months of
planning on this, this follow up film, Led Zeppelin, Fortune
(07:07):
smiled and Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were big fans
of American Epic, And when we sent the DVD to
John Paul Jones, he just watched fifteen minutes of it
and he had visited the very place at the first
story in American Epic was about, and so we were
in there, you know, And so I think that's really
(07:32):
it's a testament to anyone out there that's listening to
this show. You know, there's nothing special about me, you know,
maybe more so about Allison. But we just worked hard.
You know. We had an idea, we believed in it,
and we worked really really hard, and we really prepared
and that's why they said yes. And so you don't
(07:58):
need to have like a wall full of a cat
the awards or to be, you know, the son of
Steven Spielberg. You can come from like a tiny little
house in stretch of that I did, and have an idea.
But the key thing, and this is the Zeppelin thing
you see in the movie, is work, work hard. You know.
If you work hard, Yeah, you stick at it, you
(08:21):
will get there. You know.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, I think you're downplaying your talent. But I'll let
that go because we only have a few seconds left.
Robert Plant in the film mentioned something about having a
suitcase loaded with penicillin. What what does that mean, Bernard?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
What do you think that means?
Speaker 1 (08:40):
I think it means that so he can be promiscuous.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
That is what I did not ask him for the Nation,
but I would say you would you would potentially get
the prize on Mastermind for the Yeah, I mean that
he picked up something some people you know, yeah, most
everything in this film is referred to. But it's in
(09:07):
the old it's a musical in many ways, it's in
the old thirty Star. Yeah, you know, you can these
guys tell you all this stuff, you know what I mean.
In the movie. You just got to listen to it.
You know, it's like you could, you know, like the
old Dracula films. You see the shadow on the wall
and stuff like that. You know, you actually actually have
to see the knife go into the chest and everything,
(09:29):
explain everything, and they actually refer to pretty much everything
you can think of. You know, just go listen for it,
you know. But yeah, I think you're probably right about it.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Thank you, Bernard McMahon. The film is becoming led Zeppelin.
It opens everywhere tomorrow. It gets the highest recommendation for me.
Nice to meet you, sir.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Love it to me too, and shout out to Denver.
We we love playing there with American Ethics.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Remember we have hundreds of episodes of the podcast and
the archives. I hope you'll listen. I'm Brett. I'll see
you next time.
How have you been? I'm Brett. This week on the
Brett Sonders Podcast, documentary filmmaker Bernard McMahon called in to
talk about his excellent new film Becoming led Zeppelin, about
the formation and the early years of the band.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Love you, Brett. We've etend with our previous American ethnic
films and I loved it.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
And not only that, the first time led Zeppelin played
in the United States, it was in Denver.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
A fairly disinterested audience, but with the vanilla fudge you
quite right. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
I want to give you accolades for this movie because
I see a lot of music documentaries. First of all,
I saw this in Imax, which was incredible because Bernard,
at one point I thought that Sonny Boy Williamson was
going to consume everybody in the audience just to eat
him right off the screen. It's just a great way
to see a documentary.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Thank you very much. He chews you up and spits
out the bones.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
This movie is excellent. And I want to know why
you think twenty twenty five, why does this music sound
so vital and fresh? Because it really does, because.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
You're hearing the raw music with nothing done to it.
This film we're bringing you the original lack of cuts
that were made in sixty nine, and they've not been
adjusted to be relevant to the kids. It's literally the
sound as the band intended it, with nothing done to
it at all, and actually bringing purity onto the big
(01:32):
screens a lot of work. You've got to track that
stuff down and know how to transfer it, and then
you've got to do any restoration. Removing any pops and
clicks has got to be done manually. But what you're
hearing is the exact sound that the cutting engineers intended
(01:53):
in nineteen sixty nine, in the purest form possible on
the biggest Hi fi on plan. So that's what you're getting.
So it's yeah, that's why it's probably hitting you right
in the solar plexus because it's very pure.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
One of the things I love about becoming led Zeppelin
is you made all four members, including the late John Bonham,
the narrators of the film. There were there any challenges
with that because the John Bonham audio sounds like he's
here today with us.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah, it's it's if you it's a real challenge if
you want your subjects, particularly musicians, to tell the whole story. Generally,
if you look at most films, they have narrators, you know,
and they have a bunch of like talking heads that
are giving you the facts. So for the the artists themselves,
(02:46):
you've got to be very ingenious in your planning of
your infused to make sure you cover that ground. And
then and then it's it's that it's fun to watch
and it flows. We did a lot of background research
in the film, so even though it's the four of
them telling the story, I did about one hundred and
seventy five background interviews with everyone, from the people that
(03:11):
the guy that taught Jimmy his first chords on the guitar,
Rod Whyt, the people John Bonham and Robert Plant were
in bands with and on to you know, the producers
that hired Jimmy Paige and John Paul Jones for their
session work. I became really good friends with Sheelle Tawney,
who produced all those early Who and Kinks records before
(03:34):
he died, and he gave me so much of the
background on those two guys, you know how. You know,
you couldn't do a hips London session with a young
band and not use those guys, you know, So yes,
a lot of it's informed from all those one hundred
and seventy five interviews, and it also meant that when
(03:55):
I was interviewing the band, I knew what they were
talking about. But the main thing really the film is
to is to bring the audience into this world. I
wanted to bring like my twelve thirteen year old self
so I could actually be in nineteen sixty nine at
these shows, which is why it's made for imax. It's
made so you can actually literally feel like you're there
(04:18):
looking around and there's the audience and all these amazing
women around you with these great outfits and these cool
looks and stuff, and so it's it's it's like a
time travel, you know. But they're really emotionally present in
the film. I mean, the good things actually about Zeppelins
you can see from the film. I'm really honored that
(04:40):
it touched you, you know, is that that when they
just agreed to do this film, you know, they let
us have complete artists to control of the film. They
didn't try and control it in any way at all.
And they turned up to the interviews and they're like,
we're going to go for it, you know. And then
but we had all this surprises for them, Like, you know,
(05:02):
we had recordings of John Bonner, We had all these
photographs and objects and things that they hadn't seen in
sixty some years, and we're kind of constantly bringing these out.
So they're very emotional when they're telling this story because
they're constantly looking at things and going, oh my god,
remember that place or this guy and things like this,
(05:25):
and so you know, it was like you're trying to
do everything you can to make them and the audience
in the moment.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yes, Bernard, I was wondering if John, Paul Jones, Jimmy
Page and Robert Plant were eager to participate in this
project or any hesitation.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Oh not at all. I don't think they had. I mean,
I don't mean to regard to this specific project. I
when I met them initially, I don't think they had
any intention of ever doing any kind of film ever.
And I believe obviously obviously it's not a matter of
record that they have said no to everything for fifty
(06:03):
five something years. Know. What happened was that I'd done
a series of films called American Epic on the first
Blues Gospel Country Records in nineteen twenty oh. Thank you.
And so when I reached out them, I had already
written a script for the film with my partner Alison
(06:23):
mcgaudy and a storyboard, and we had done a ton
of research tracking down archive. So we'd worked for months
and months and months and months making you know, this
very detailed script for Becoming led Zeppelin, and everyone I
knew was going, you're absolutely insane, They're going to say no,
(06:43):
and we just we just had this faith, you know,
which is a faith actually that is in the Zeppelin
group that you see in the movie. And I think
that art and life mirror each other. So we came
to see them. And after all that work, the ten
years on American Epic, all the months and months of
planning on this, this follow up film, Led Zeppelin, Fortune
(07:07):
smiled and Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were big fans
of American Epic, And when we sent the DVD to
John Paul Jones, he just watched fifteen minutes of it
and he had visited the very place at the first
story in American Epic was about, and so we were
in there, you know, And so I think that's really
(07:32):
it's a testament to anyone out there that's listening to
this show. You know, there's nothing special about me, you know,
maybe more so about Allison. But we just worked hard.
You know. We had an idea, we believed in it,
and we worked really really hard, and we really prepared
and that's why they said yes. And so you don't
(07:58):
need to have like a wall full of a cat
the awards or to be, you know, the son of
Steven Spielberg. You can come from like a tiny little
house in stretch of that I did, and have an idea.
But the key thing, and this is the Zeppelin thing
you see in the movie, is work, work hard. You know.
If you work hard, Yeah, you stick at it, you
(08:21):
will get there. You know.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, I think you're downplaying your talent. But I'll let
that go because we only have a few seconds left.
Robert Plant in the film mentioned something about having a
suitcase loaded with penicillin. What what does that mean, Bernard?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
What do you think that means?
Speaker 1 (08:40):
I think it means that so he can be promiscuous.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
That is what I did not ask him for the Nation,
but I would say you would you would potentially get
the prize on Mastermind for the Yeah, I mean that
he picked up something some people you know, yeah, most
everything in this film is referred to. But it's in
(09:07):
the old it's a musical in many ways, it's in
the old thirty Star. Yeah, you know, you can these
guys tell you all this stuff, you know what I mean.
In the movie. You just got to listen to it.
You know, it's like you could, you know, like the
old Dracula films. You see the shadow on the wall
and stuff like that. You know, you actually actually have
to see the knife go into the chest and everything,
(09:29):
explain everything, and they actually refer to pretty much everything
you can think of. You know, just go listen for it,
you know. But yeah, I think you're probably right about it.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Thank you, Bernard McMahon. The film is becoming led Zeppelin.
It opens everywhere tomorrow. It gets the highest recommendation for me.
Nice to meet you, sir.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Love it to me too, and shout out to Denver.
We we love playing there with American Ethics.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Remember we have hundreds of episodes of the podcast and
the archives. I hope you'll listen. I'm Brett. I'll see
you next time.
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