Apparently, when Jimmy Page was playing in the supergroup, The Firm, he would allow vocalist Paul Rodgers to play his lead parts. In an interview with Professor of Rock on YouTube, Rodgers recalled how he would take over the lead normally played by Page by stating:
“Jimmy said go ahead. You know, it was very hard to do because the tempo by the time we played it was a lot faster than I was used to doing the exercise, so I had to work frantically at it. But, no, Jimmy was absolutely brilliant about it now that I think as well. You know, there’s Jimmy P like: ‘Are you gonna play the solo instead of me?’ He didn’t say that though.”
Formation Of The Supergroup ‘The Firm’
Formed in 1984, The Firm were a rock supergroup comprising Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, Earth Band drummer Chris Slade, and bass player Tony Franklin. Page, who lost his bandmate John Bonham and left Led Zeppelin at the time, found himself again thanks to The Firm. Rodgers believes that this band, which lasted for several years, kept Jimmy Page in the game at that time. In a 2020 interview with Classic Rock, he explained:
“It was a vehicle, as much as anything, to help Jimmy get back on his feet, musically. By the end, I felt that Jimmy was up and running and in great shape – he was in fantastic form. And I sort of thought, ‘Well, job done,’ really.”
Page later admitted that he hadn’t wanted to get ‘knocked into an album-tour-album situation.’
Chris Slade Thought The Band Would Last Long
Chris Slade was unaware of Page and Rodgers’ plans for The Firm. Rodgers explained in a 2010 interview that he and Page saw The Firm as a short-term project. However, drummer Slade was unaware of this at the time and had high expectations for its potential. Slade spoke to Ultimate Classic Rock in 2022 about his experience with The Firm. He said:
“As far as I knew, we had no illusions about where it was going, and we didn’t think it was a one-off or short-term thing at all. I can definitely say that if that was the case, I had no idea. I can’t speak for Tony [Franklin, bassist], and maybe he did know that it was a short-term thing for them.”
Slade also said that he was disappointed that the band broke up because he believed The Firm had potential. He continued:
“A big reason that we broke up was that Led Zeppelin came back into the equation for Jimmy. There were reunion talks, and they didn’t know if they were going to try and tour or not, you know.It just happened one day. I was really upset with the decision, as I knew that band had potential. If Paul and Jimmy decided that was the end, then that was it. What could we do?”
There was no Led Zeppelin reunion following the breakup of The Firm, but according to Paul Rodgers, thanks to The Firm, Page was ‘musically in great shape.