Becoming Led Zeppelin: When stars rock

‘Bombs Rain on Warsaw’, ‘Poland Invaded’, ‘Nazi Raiders Bomb London’. Such wartime headlines flash across the screen as Bernard MacMahon’s 121-minute rockumentary ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ on the iconic rock band opens. A Hindenburg airship is floating high in the sky, with the hit number ‘Good Times Bad Times’ playing in the background.

In their own words, band members — Jimmy Page (guitar), Robert Plant (vocals), John Paul Jones (bass and keyboards), and John Bonham (drums) — trace their journey from childhood and early teens to the first 18 months of the formation of the English rock band. The film chronicles the band’s electrifying American debut as it toppled the Beatles.

MacMahon introduces us to a quiet, semi-suburban, conservative post-war England, which gets enlivened up when American merchant vessels bring with them R&B records of a different kind of music. Blues and rock ’n’roll legends like Lonnie Donegan, Little Richard, Sonny Boy Williamson, Johnny Burnette soon become household names. The band’s first practice song together is Burnette’s ‘The Train Kept A-Rollin’.

The biographical film is rich in rare photos and unseen recordings from band members’ childhood and early teens.

Besides his initial stint with the Yardbirds, Page gives us a peek into his diary, listing sessions with the Rolling Stones, Petula Clark and David Bowie.

The film also shares Plant and Bonham’s nearly lifelong relationship as friends and musicians. Stepping away from a career in accounting, Plant had formed Band of Joy. Recalling his unsuccessful years, Plant says, “Sadly, not many people liked us but we liked us.”

Fans of the rock band get to hear a previously unheard interview with Bonham, who was known for avoiding the press and died early: “Each member of the group... they’re quite different personality-wise, but they’re good lads. Actually, they’re a category of their own.”

Gig by gig, the documentary captures the growth of the band, which refused to perform singles even when Page and the band’s intimidating manager, Peter Grant, signed for the mighty Atlantic Records.

Snapshots of world events like Mexico’s student massacre, escalation of troops in Vietnam, and the moon landing, add to the chaotic backdrop as the band attains new heights.

Besides Led Zep classics like ‘C’mon Everybody’, ‘Something Else’, ‘Communication Breakdown’, ‘Ramble On’, the soundtrack also features legendary gems like Sonny Boy Wiliamson’s soulful ‘Darlin Do Me a Favour’, and Lonnie Donegan’s ‘Jack O Diamonds’. The film ends with the band’s triumphant performance at Royal Albert Hall.

Covering only their first two albums, the documentary doesn’t delve deep into the rock band’s creative conflicts or controversies. It is a treasure trove for fans of Led Zeppelin and also for those curious about the music that electrified the 1970s.