Peter Clifton

Who is Peter Clifton?

Peter Clifton is an Australian film director and producer, perhaps best known for directing the Led Zeppelin concert film The Song Remains the Same.

Clifton was born in Sydney and had experience in music film production prior to his involvement with Led Zeppelin, having made a 30 minute cinema short about Australian band The Easybeats' tour of England in 1967, called Somewhere Between Heaven And Woolworths, and also having filmed Jimi Hendrix live in concert. In 1973 he also directed The London Rock and Roll Show, which documented a major rock and roll festival held at Wembley Stadium, London, in August 1972. In 1974 he was planning to shoot a reggae film in Jamaica when he was approached by Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant, to complete their concert film. The film had originally been begun by director Joe Massot, but Massot was fired by the band prior to its completion.

After completing post-production on the film Clifton had a falling out with Led Zeppelin. Suspecting that Clifton had 'stolen' negatives of the film, Grant ordered that his house be searched while Peter and his family were away on holidays.