As teenagers Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck jammed and traded licks. As young men they changed the sound of rock'n'roll. In 1999 they sat down to talk about it

Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page photographed at an awards ceremony, with Slash in the background.

One day, maybe soon, geologists and hydrographers will perform studies in and around Surrey, England, to divine the magical compounds that have contributed to a strange and almost unbelievable phenomenon: Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton – three of the most terrifyingly talented guitarists the world has ever known – all grew up in this section of Britain within 10 minutes of one another. 

The odds of such an occurrence taking place boggle the mind. Next thing you know, they’ll be telling us that something similar could happen in Liverpool. Two of these guitarists, Page and Beck, became acquainted with each other as teenagers – introduced in the early 60s by Beck’s sister.