Jimmy Page Used His House, Which Once Belonged to Aleister Crowley, for 1 Memorable Led Zeppelin Moment
Jimmy Page was Led Zeppelin’s mastermind. He formed the band, wrote or co-wrote most of their songs, and produced the albums. Page even put the kibosh on releasing singles in England after he heard the butchered version of one Led Zeppelin classic. The band rocketed to fame and maintained their spot as the biggest band in the world for nearly a decade. Some speculate Page made a pact with the devil to ensure success. That’s a far-fetched urban legend, but Page’s house, which once belonged to English occultist Aleister Crowley, served as the setting for one memorable Led Zeppelin moment.
Jimmy Page read Aleister Crowley’s works and lived in his old house
Some people attributed Led Zeppelin’s ascendance to rock and roll royalty to Page’s pact with the devil. The guitarist played it coy with those rumors during the band’s peak. He called that talk silly in interviews after the band broke up, but there’s no doubt Page showed an interest in exploring alternative worldviews.
Page purchased Crowley’s Scottish estate, Boleskine House, in 1970. The property has an air of mysticism around it. It was once the site of a church that burned down with the congregation inside. The guitarist also said he heard the decapitated noggin from a beheading rolling around at times.
Page used Crowley’s former house, and its rustic, supernatural atmosphere, for one memorable Led Zeppelin moment from the peak of their career.
Page’s house (Crowley’s former property) was the setting for his hermit montage from ‘The Song Remains the Same’
Page purchased Boleskine House after Led Zeppelin made it big, but before they earned a $2 million paycheck for one song. The guitar maestro filmed his hermit sequence for the film The Song Remains the Same at the property, according to Led Zeppelin FAQ by George Case.
The movie mixes concert footage with short segments for each band member. Page’s segment sees him climb a mountain. At the summit, he reaches for a cloaked figure holding a lantern. Page then becomes an aged, weather-worn hermit, who then de-ages and re-ages, similar to the final moments of 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Robert Plant rides a horse through the open country and engages in a slow-motion sword fight. John Bonham takes a hot rod for a high-speed drive).
Led Zeppelin’s mini-films within The Song Remains the Same made it more memorable than a run-of-the-mill concert film. The vignettes provided a brief glimpse at the interests and personalities of the four band members.
The estate on the southeast side of Loch Ness in the Scottish highlands provided the perfect rustic and rural backdrop Page required for his segment, but that might have been his longest stay at the property.
The guitarist rarely visited Boleskine House
Boleskine House’s remote setting among a rugged landscape proved to be ideal for Page’s scene in The Song Remains the Same. The man rumored to posses deep knowledge of magic and the occult relied on his understanding of Eastern principles during the shoot.
Page’s hermit makeup had to be altered between shots; there was no CGI in the 1970s. That meant he had to remain absolutely still so he didn’t ruin the upcoming shot or force the crew to move lighting rigs and cameras. Page drew on his yoga prowess to stay as still as a statue, per Led Zeppelin FAQ. And he pulled it off. When you watch the sequence in the movie, his position and facial expression don’t change noticeably.
Still, shooting The Song Remains the Same might have been Page’s longest stay at the property. Boleskine House is nearly 600 miles from Zeppelin’s home base in central London. Between recording, touring, and living as a tax exile for a year, he rarely made it to the property, as noted in Case’s book.
“I bought Crowley’s house to go up and write in,” Page once said. “The thing is, I just never get up that way.”
Page used Crowley’s house sparingly while he owned it, but he relied on the property for one memorable moment in Led Zeppelin’s history.
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