Jimmy Page could not be coaxed into playing at Brazil fundraiser

Jimmy Page, despite appearing as scheduled at a fundraiser on Saturday for a shelter bearing his name, reportedly could not be coaxed to join the musicians for what would have been his first onstage appearance all year, outside of some brief jamming at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in April.

In the YouTube video above, Page is seen making remarks at a microphone and playing "air guitar" in the absence of a real guitar.

Stiletto Group has provided one of the most complete event summaries so far. As translated from Portuguese, the Nov. 29 story says many young musicians played songs including Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker" during the event. Another translated report from O Globo says a 10-year-old drummer by the name of João Terra Santos was disappointed Page did not end up playing with him.

At one point, musician George Israel was jamming with some youth musicians on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by the Beatles when they encouraged Page to come up and play. Page declined their offer but did take the stage to encourage bidding on the auctioning of a guitar autographed by members of Iron Maiden.

With the crowd chanting "Jimmy" in hopes he would play, Page joked that since it was an Iron Maiden guitar, he would have to play something of theirs. The crowd laughed, and he went on to describe the guitar. Once the crowd erupted into chants of his first name again, he finally strapped on the electric guitar. With that, he played a single E chord, shook the guitar above his head, and handed it over.

This moment can be seen in two YouTube videos below. The first one is more complete and includes Page's words before strapping on the guitar but is shot from amid the crowd so the sound is very overloaded. The second video captures Page from a different angle from the strike of the chord onward.

O Globo is the same news source that, in breaking the story last week, insisted that Page would play. Word has it that tickets to the event were sold with the understanding that Page would at least appear at the event but not necessarily perform. Additionally, printed on the tickets were the words "Rock Fest in the presence of Rock Legend Jimmy Page." Proceeds from the auction and ticket sales are to benefit Casa Jimmy, founded in 1998 by Task Brazil as a shelter for abandoned street children in Rio de Janiero.

O Globo says Page followed instructions not to do any speaking, even if asked questions. He was reportedly friendly with the autograph seekers, particularly the females, yet smiling silently and stoically through it all. A YouTube video shows Page leaving the building and hopping directly into a waiting car while fans are lined up outside hoping to meet him.

Report: Charity concert will see Jimmy Page play Saturday in Brazil

The last LedZeppelinNews.com report about Jimmy Page didn't go so well, but let's try this.

The guitarist is said to be playing in a Rio de Janiero school auditorium this Saturday, Nov. 28, at a benefit for one of his charities. According to a translation of the Portugese-language O Globo, tickets to a concert featuring Page and other acts are selling for upwards of $100. The article says Page would be performing along with some school bands and acts called Pepeu Gomes, George Israel and Kid Abelha, the article says.

The intimate event would be Page's first concert appearance of the year. In 2008, Page played a much more high-profile event at the Olympics, and also joined John Paul Jones in sitting in with the Foo Fighters one night in London. Those have been his only onstage appearances since the Led Zeppelin reunion concert on Dec. 10, 2007.

Casa Jimmy, a shelter for abandoned street children in Rio de Janiero, opened 11 years ago as a program of one of the charities Page supports, Task Brazil. A source familiar with Page's charity work tells LedZeppelinNews.com this fundraiser couldn't have come at a better time given a current need for financial support.

Page to co-host charity dinner, auction

This news originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

Jimmy Page and his wife will co-host the second annual dinner and auction to benefit Action for Brazil's Children. The event will be held May 8 at the Marriott Harbor Beach Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

About 150 people were in attendance at the Tower Club on April 4, 2001, for the first dinner and auction for the ABC Trust. Among the items auctioned off was a Gibson Les Paul autographed and personalized by Page. In addition, there were other signed guitars and various items from artists including the Bee Gees and Gloria Estefan. Page won the $14,000 bid for a rare Gibson guitar from the Who's Pete Townshend.

The hardest item to sell in 2001 was a gift certificate for laser microsurgery hair removal. A Led Zeppelin fan who sat at that table said, "No one would bid on the hair removal thing, and I stood up and started bidding against myself for it. Jimmy cracked up!"

That bidder, Joe Hecht, managed to set a comical tone for the evening. "Jimmy thought it funny that I bid against myself several times," he said. "And before the final bid on the $14,000 axe, they made sure I did not want to outbid him again."

Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain presided over the 2001 auction. It was the third time that year that Page and Iron Maiden crossed paths in the name of charity. In January at the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, the band presented Page with a Fender Stratocaster autographed by all of Iron Maiden.

With Page's autograph added, that guitar was sold March 14 at an online auction benefiting Casa Jimmy, a homeless shelter Page helped to establish in October 1998.

Tickets, priced at $150 each, can be purchased from:

ABC, Inc.
2400 East Las Olas Blvd.
Suite 262
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 USA
Phone: 954-537-9440
Fax: 954-337-2350
E-mail: abcinflorida@yahoo.com