Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has told a court he had not heard a song he is accused of copying when he wrote Stairway to Heaven, until his son-in-law played it for him on the internet.

The British musician said the instrumental track Taurus, by American band Spirit, was “alien” to him and he was “confused” about why it was being linked to his classic 1971 hit.

A lawsuit has been filed by Michael Skidmore, the trustee of Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe – known as Randy California – who drowned in 1997 having never taken legal action over the song.

Moreover, Page said the music by Spirit began with an orchestra.

“I knew I had never heard it before. Something like that would have stuck in my mind. I would remember that.

Page was joined in court by Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant as both men face a copyright infringement trial over the opening guitar riff of Stairway to Heaven.

I knew I had never heard it before

Giving evidence on the second day of the trial, Page said he was aware of “some of sort of buzz” on the internet about a comparison between Stairway to Heaven and Taurus and acknowledged both tracks were in the same key of A minor.

The veteran rocker said he could remember owning Spirit’s second and third albums in the 1960s but only discovered later that he possessed their first and fourth albums and a live recording by the band. He told the court he owned a “massive amount” of music and a recent count had revealed he had 4,329 albums and 5,882 CDs.

The court was shown videos of Stairway to Heaven and Taurus being performed on an acoustic guitar.

The musician told the court that members of Spirit played snooker with Plant after the US group played a gig at Mothers club in Birmingham in 1970.

The trial was adjourned.