Paul Rodgers to The Firm Bandmate Jimmy Page: ‘I’ll be Doing the Solo on This One, Jim’
Jimmy Page needed time to find the desire to join a band after Led Zeppelin folded. Drummer John Bonham’s tragic death in 1980 brought a sudden end to the band Page formed in 1968 and guided to worldwide success in the 1970s. The Firm, featuring Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers, was that band. He was the unquestioned boss in Led Zeppelin, but Rodgers told Page to take a back seat on The Firm song “Radioactive.”
Paul Rodgers got ‘ballsy’ and told Jimmy Page to stand aside as he played the solo on 1 The Firm song
Page’s quiet career in right after Led Zeppelin folded — composing the Death Wish II soundtrack and piecing together the posthumous Led Zeppelin album Coda — received a boost in 1983. The guitarist was one of many classic rock icons who joined the ARMS (Action into Research for Multiple Sclerosis) benefit concerts.
Page performed alongside an all-star cast, including the Yardbirds’ other two guitarists (Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck), Rolling Stones members Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, and — at U.S. performances — Joe Cocker and Rodgers.
Rodgers, the former Free and Bad Company vocalist, played during Page’s ARMS sets in the United States. One thing led to another, and they formed The Firm with Tony Franklin on fretless bass and Chris Slade on drums. The singer and guitarist announced their formation of The Firm in 1984 and released their self-titled debut in 1985.
Though the Led Zeppelin founder possessed more cred among classic rock fans, Rodgers told Page to stand back and let him handle the solo on “Radioactive.”
“It was a finger exercise that British blues pioneer Alexis Korner taught me years and years earlier, and it was so robotic and weird that I wanted it to be part of the song. When I think back, it was actually kind of ballsy of me to say to Jimmy Page, ‘I’ll be doing the solo on this one, Jim.’ But he was fine with it, and he contributed some great chords.” Paul Rodgers to ‘Light & Shade’ author Brad Tolinski
Rodgers was right on two fronts. First, telling Page to take a back seat while he performed the “Radioactive” solo was a ballsy move. His best guitar solos with Led Zeppelin were among the greatest in classic rock. It was like Bob Ross telling Picasso to sit one out. But the singer was right — the robotic-sounding finger exercise somehow fit the song’s tone perfectly, and Page provided the perfect accompaniment with his acoustic guitar scratches just underneath Rodgers’ solo.
How did The Firm’s debut album fare in England and the United States?
Though he arguably had more name recognition than Rodgers, Page didn’t solely write any songs on The Firm’s debut album. He co-wrote five of the eight original songs while Rodgers wrote three on his own: “Radioactive,” “Make or Break,” and “Money Can’t Buy.” (The ninth song was a cover of the Righteous Brothers’ tune “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”).
The Firm didn’t enjoy the same level of chart success as Led Zeppelin’s albums (or Bad Company’s earliest releases, for that matter), but it reintroduced Page to the masses in a positive way. The record climbed as high as No. 17 on the Billboard albums chart in April 1985. “Radioactive” simultaneously rose up to No. 28 on the Billboard singles chart during a multi-week stay.
Over in England, the album performed much better than the single. The record peaked at No. 15 during a five-week run among the best-selling albums (per the Official Charts Company), while the single topped out at No. 76 in two weeks on the charts.
Page’s lone solo album, his Coverdale Page collaboration with David Coverdale, and his No Quarter project with Robert Plant brought more notoriety to his post-Led Zeppelin career. Paul Rodgers telling Jimmy Page to stand back while he soloed on The Firm’s “Radioactive” was one of the only times the guitarist didn’t take the spotlight on a song.
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