Led Zeppelin, page 70
a body of water: “Bonzo walked through the fountain in the restaurant.” Danny Marcus, interview with the author, January 16, 2019.
“We all live on fucking farms!”: Peter Grant, quoted in Davis, Hammer of the Gods, p. 218.
“We snorted the drug right off”: Cole, Stairway to Heaven, p. 266.
“It was heavy-duty shit”: Lori Mattix, interview with the author, January 21, 2019.
“a boys-only section”: Maggie Bell, interview with the author, May 8, 2019.
“Jane Fonda. Warren Beatty”: Ahmet Ertegun, quoted in Goldberg, Bumping into Geniuses, p. 83.
“I was told I could”: Maggie Bell interview.
“Maggie is one of the great”: Peter Grant, quoted in Abe Hoch interview with the author, April 3, 2019.
“I’ve taken enough shit”: JB, quoted in Goldberg, Bumping into Geniuses, p. 83.
“I was devastated”: Lori Mattix interview.
“I can tell you”: JP, blind-quoted in Salewicz, Jimmy Page, p. 300.
“smashing his palms together”: Amanda Petrusich, “Where Punk Begins,” New Yorker, September 15, 2016.
“Punk bands started”: Lester Bangs, “Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung,” Creem, June 1971.
“We had more material”: JP, quoted in Schulps, Trouser Press interview, Part 3, p. 20.
“We thought, ‘Why not’”: RP, quoted in Chris Charlesworth, “Robert Plant: Recording’s No Race for Us,” MM, February 8, 1975.
“I had a lot of respect”: JP, quoted in Nick Kent, “Jimmy Page: The Roaring Silence,” NME, November 20, 1976.
“Jimmy asked me”: Peter Clifton, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 308.
“Supreme and Holy King”: Francis King, The Magical World of Aleister Crowley (New York: Coward, McCann, 1978), pp. 78–81.
“I could see that Anger”: JP, quoted in Tolinski, Light & Shade, p. 184.
“an uncompromising album”: Bud Scoppa, “Bad Company,” Rolling Stone, August 29, 1974.
“In the end”: Phil May, quoted in Blake, Bring It On Home, p. 143.
“Peter and I were going”: Harvey Lisberg, interview with the author, November 21, 2018.
“Fellas, I would love”: Peter Grant, quoted in Paul Henderson, “If Somebody Had to Be Trod On, They Got Trod On,” Classic Rock, April 5, 2017.
“I never wanted”: Peter Grant, quoted in Henderson, “If Somebody Had to Be Trod On.”
“club-soda-and-lime guy”: Goldberg, Bumping into Geniuses, p. 18.
“Do you want to come”: Abe Hoch interview.
“It was fairly remarkable”: Benji Le Fevre, interview with the author, May 19, 2019.
“We decided to do it”: Phil Carson interview.
“Do what thou wilt”: Blake, Bring It On Home, p. 143.
“being at a medieval orgy”: BBC’s Bob Harris, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, pp. 260–61.
“lacks the inspired vision”: Jonh Ingham, “Silk Torpedo” (review), NME, November 23, 1974.
A review in Phonograph Record: “It would seem only reasonable to expect the Prettys to emerge with a more confidently adventurous album next time around.” Alan Betrock, “Silk Torpedo” (review), Phonograph Record, January 1975.
“a marvelous rock ’n roll band”: Bud Scoppa, “Silk Torpedo” (review), Rolling Stone, May 8, 1975.
“When I came to Swan Song”: Unity MacLean, interview with the author, October 16, 2019.
“I knew a guy”: Abe Hoch interview.
“I’d give her a paper”: Phil Carlo interview.
Legend has it: “When they were dealing drugs, Richard put in claims for a farm tractor to get cash.” Carole Brown Woods, interview with the author, November 8, 2019.
“I once turned in”: Benji Le Fevre interview.
“Joan always wired”: Unity MacLean interview.
“As a favor to Peter”: Bill Curbishley, interview with the author, May 16, 2018.
G and his henchmen: “Peter for sure backed right down.” Phil Carson, email to the author, July 29, 2020.
“The time comes”: RP, quoted in Charlesworth, “Robert Plant.”
So were “When the Levee Breaks”: Nick Kent, “The Graffiti of the Physical . . . and the Exploration of the Metaphysical,” NME, December 7, 1974.
“Celebration Day,” “Misty Mountain Hop”: Lewis and Tremaglio, Evenings with Led Zeppelin, p. 418.
“a big bowie knife”: “He said, ‘Well, let’s have a blow first.’ ” Jack Calmes, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 274.
“How much fucking money”: JB, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 274.
Chapter Sixteen: Home Away from Home
“I was just totally numb”: JP, quoted in Lisa Robinson, “Jimmy Page,” NME, February 1, 1975.
“It’s the most important”: JP, quoted in Chris Charlesworth, “Whole Lotta Zeppelin,” MM, February 1, 1975.
“expected to be the largest”: Cameron Crowe, “The Durable Led Zeppelin,” Rolling Stone, March 13, 1975.
“In Boston, fans lined up”: Wayne Robins, “Led Zep Zaps Kidz,” Village Voice, February 3, 1975.
“open-fronted girl’s blouse”: Chris Charlesworth, “Night Flight,” Q Special Edition: Led Zeppelin, March 2003, p. 92.
“I’m catching flu”: RP, quoted in Charlesworth, “Whole Lotta Zeppelin.”
“[Plant’s flu] had given “: Lynn Van Matre, “Red Hot Led!” Chicago Tribune, January 21, 1975.
“Codeine tablets and Jack Daniel’s”: Crowe, “Durable Led Zeppelin.”
“swigging from a quart bottle”: “Bonzo’s main problem is that he is homesick.” Charlesworth, “Night Flight,” p. 91.
“a cherry adorned wrap-around”: Lewis and Tremaglio, Evenings with Led Zeppelin, p. 419.
“a sort of Sino-Afro”: Robins, “Led Zep Zaps Kidz.”
“I was never very good”: JPJ, quoted in Alan de Perna, “Steady Rollin’ Man,” Guitar World, January 1991.
“I asked her to personalize”: JP, quoted in Tolinski, Light & Shade, p. 175.
“a pretty dapper guy”: John Spicer, interview with the author, May 10, 2019.
“The Confederate hat”: Chris Dreja, quoted in Power, No Quarter, p. 264.
“After Coco made the dragon”: JP, quoted in Tolinski, Light & Shade, p. 175.
Jimmy could tell: “I can tell it’s not as good as it usually is.” JP, quoted in Charlesworth, “Whole Lotta Zeppelin.”
“This is so damn futile”: JP, quoted in Cameron Crowe, “Led Zep Conquers the States,” Rolling Stone, May 22, 1975.
“There was a minute there”: RP, quoted in Danny Goldberg, “Led Zeppelin—Under the Hood: A Chronicle of the Historic 1975 Tour,” Circus, May 1975.
“still reach heaven”: Don Heyland, “Limp Zep Still Reach Heaven,” Sounds, February 1, 1975.
“The second night”: Danny Goldberg, quoted in Heyland, “Limp Zep Still Reach Heaven.”
“soggy and spiritless”: Bob Von Sternberg, “Zeppelin: Slow to Start, but Hot,” Akron Beacon Journal, January 25, 1975.
“Peter pulled out a mirror”: Joe Wright, interview with the author, November 28, 2018.
He’d downed an entire: “I shared a limo with him and watched him down the entire bottle.” Chris Charlesworth, interview with the author, May 13, 2019.
“Bonzo drank for reasons”: JPJ, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 284.
“Taking cocaine just enabled”: Nick Kent, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 283.
“The chance for violence”: Danny Goldberg, interview with the author, August 23, 2018.
“he grabbed one”: Chris Charlesworth interview.
“I chat with them”: Charlesworth, “Night Flight,” p. 92.
Even G’s “concubine”: “Raven he referred to as his ‘personal concubine.’ ” Joe Wright interview.
“You can’t fucking play guitar!”: Quoted in Davis, Hammer of the Gods, p. 235.
“Some of the guys”: Abe Hoch, interview with the author, April 3, 2019.
“It was a rotten show”: Chris Charlesworth interview.
“Their 17,500 fans”: Jerry Kenion, “Led Zeppelin Performs Its Magic to Full House,” Greensboro Daily News, January 30, 1975.
“throwing broken bottles”: Charlesworth, “Night Flight,” p. 93.
“You can’t take”: Peter Grant, quoted in Chris Charlesworth interview.
“Don’t be fucking stupid”: Peter Grant, quoted in Charlesworth, “Night Flight,” p. 93.
“I’d never seen driving”: Neal Preston, quoted in Blake, Bring It On Home, p. 49.
“They were placing bets”: Chris Charlesworth interview.
“The landing of the Led Zeppelin”: Christine Brown, “Crowd, Zeppelin Do a Show Together,” Detroit Free Press, February 2, 1975.
“fairly credible performance”: Lewis and Tremaglio, Evenings with Led Zeppelin, p. 433.
“made nearly $50,000”: “The boys in the band were tired and bored and apparently couldn’t give a fuck about either their fans or their music.” Chris McCabe, “Led Zeppelin at Olympia,” Ann Arbor Sun, February 14, 1975.
“Let me loan you a blackjack”: Quoted in Cole, Stairway to Heaven, p. 293.
“I saw this incident”: JP, quoted in William S. Burroughs, “Rock Magic: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, and a Search for the Elusive Stairway to Heaven,” Crawdaddy, June 1975.
“You have to be careful”: William S. Burroughs, quoted in Burroughs, “Rock Magic.”
“dozens of fans began”: Cole, Stairway to Heaven, p. 293.
“The undercurrent of unpleasantness”: Chris Charlesworth, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, pp. 282–83.
“There’s no violent energy”: RP, quoted in Robins, “Led Zep Zaps Kidz.”
“sloppy, careless, and unimaginative”: Steven Rosen, “Led Zeppelin” (review), Sounds, April 19, 1975.
“Page’s solos seemed to sound alike”: Larry Rohter, “Heavy Zeppelin,” Washington Post, February 11, 1975.
“In the end there is”: John Rockwell, “Led Zeppelin Excites Crowd at Garden but Somehow Delirium Wasn’t There,” New York Times, February 4, 1975.
“stock riffs”: Dave Marsh, “Led Zep Shows Why They Are One of the Great Ones,” Newsday, February 4, 1975.
“seemed disgruntled”: Dave Marsh, “Whatever the Reason, Led Zeppelin Is Well-Liked,” Newsday, February 5, 1975.
“Despite our depleted”: RP, quoted in Davis, LZ-’75, p. 75.
“not hitting on all cylinders”: Bill Mann, “Concert by Zeppelin Has Ups and Downs,” Montreal Gazette, February 7, 1975.
“lifeless . . . lackluster . . . unimpressive”: John Fisher, “Led Zeppelin Doesn’t Get Off,” Bucks County Courier Times, February 10, 1975.
“half a voice”: “Will someone please tell me why Robert Plant is touring with only half a voice?” Mann, “Concert by Zeppelin Has Ups and Downs.”
“For the St. Louis show”: Phil Carson, interview with the author, July 2, 2019.
“They had no connection”: Abe Hoch interview. “They had nothing to do with each other. They weren’t friends.” Janine Safer Whitney, interview with the author, April 2, 2019.
“He dominated Robert”: Danny Goldberg, interview with the author, August 28, 2018. “Earlier, Jimmy really dominated the relationship completely.” Danny Goldberg, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 288.
“Led Zeppelin was Jimmy’s band”: Janine Safer Whitney interview.
“A loner”: JP, quoted in Crowe, “Durable Led Zeppelin.”
Heroin had reared its head: “The 1975 trip through America was the first Zeppelin tour in which heroin circulated freely among our entourage.” Cole, Stairway to Heaven, p. 297.
“Robert and I stood”: Phil Carson interview.
“Robert was the Leo extrovert”: Benji Le Fevre, interview with the author, May 19, 2019.
“hallucinatory boiled jellyfruit”: Davis, Hammer of the Gods, p. 240.
“quite a lot in common”: Burroughs, “Rock Magic.”
“He then encouraged me”: JP, quoted in Tolinski, Light & Shade, p. 205.
“I think it’s time”: JP, quoted in Crowe, “Durable Led Zeppelin.”
“I never saw an album”: Danny Marcus, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 252.
“absolutely the toughest”: Nick Kent, “Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti” (review), NME, December 7, 1974.
“better than the other five”: Jaan Uhelszki, “Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti” (review), Creem, May 1975.
“Taken as a whole”: Jim Miller, “Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti” (review), Rolling Stone, March 27, 1975.
“he really smoothed out”: Tony Mandich, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 292.
headline in the Houston Chronicle: Dale Adamson, “Who Would Have Thought? Zeppelin Show Was Boring,” Houston Chronicle, February 28, 1975.
“uninspiring”: “The group displayed an uninspiring range of diversity—everything from A to B.” Phil LaRose, “Zeppelin Decibel Rate Deafening,” Sunday Advocate (Baton Rouge), March 2, 1975. “The music was for the most part uninspiring.” Jere Longman II, “Led Zeppelin Leads in Volume, Not Quality,” Daily Reveille (Louisiana State University), March 4, 1975.
“reaching in and rubbing handfuls”: Wall, When Giants Walked the Earth, p. 334; Benji Le Fevre interview.
“How he played”: Danny Marcus, interview with the author, January 16, 2019.
By Richard Cole’s count: Cole, Stairway to Heaven, p. 310.
“spied on radicals”: Davis, Hammer of the Gods, p. 240.
Often, ex-cops who worked: “These ex-cops would take dope off the kids, give them a warning, then hand the stuff over to us.” Phil Carlo, interview with the author, May 12, 2019.
“girls we had rounded up”: Cole, Stairway to Heaven, p. 300.
“I had once been”: Dave Northover, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 274.
“The amount of drugs”: Benji Le Fevre interview.
“It’s like a trance state”: JP, quoted from Capitol Radio interview with Alan Freeman in Hank Bordowitz, Led Zeppelin on Led Zeppelin (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2014), p. 202.
“Nothing was preplanned”: JPJ, quoted in Dave Lewis, “Anchor Man: The Ultimate John Paul Jones Interview,” Tight but Loose, no. 13, December 2003.
“What those eager fans got”: Robert P. Laurence, “Led Zeppelin Is Really a Blast,” San Diego Union, March 11, 1975.
“The group ran through”: “The total effect of the band’s performance had about as much punch as a soggy noodle.” Rosen, “Led Zeppelin” (review).
“cause to question”: Tim Devine, “Led Zeppelin’s Future Uncertain After Long Beach Concert, New LP,” Daily Sundial (California State University, Northridge), March 21, 1975.
“a numbing combination”: “The lyrics are often woeful, the themes unaffecting.” Robert Hilburn, “Led Zeppelin, Clichés and All,” Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1975.
“almost unrecognizable”: Daniel Lower, “Led Zeppelin Losing Magic of Old,” Daily Aztec (San Diego State University), March 18, 1975.
“It was always a toss-up”: Benji Le Fevre interview.
During one interlude: Confidential source, interview with the author.
“Jimmy was in the weeds”: “He realized Jimmy no longer knew where he was.” RP, quoted in Bill Curbishley, interview with the author, May 16, 2018.
“spectacular”: “For three solid hours the band churned out their heavy metal rock ’n roll . . . and also provided the most spectacular show any rock group has ever done.” Patrick MacDonald, “Led Zeppelin Worth the Wait,” Seattle Times, March 18, 1975.
“stunning”: Jeani Read, “Zeppelin Gives 3 Stunning Hours,” Globe and Mail (Vancouver), March 21, 1975.
“Something strange happened”: RP, at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, March 20.
“awesome enough, in delivery”: Read, “Zeppelin Gives 3 Stunning Hours.”
“There is just no other”: John Wendeborn, “Zeppelin Spews Musical Energy,” Oregonian, March 24, 1975.
According to Richard Cole: “One night, Jimmy and I brought a couple of underage girls back to our rooms.” Cole, Stairway to Heaven, p. 300.
“Bonzo was on everything”: Danny Marcus interview.
“doing about 90mph”: JPJ, quoted in Bonham, John Bonham, p. 131.
“After a certain point, the Beast”: Quoted in Crowe, “Led Zep Conquers the States.”
“missing a limo”: “They’d tipped the piano over the edge of the balcony.” Dave Northover, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 286.
He choked Steve Marriott: Pamela Des Barres, Rock Bottom (New York: St. Martin’s, 1996), p. 70.
“take an eight ball”: Glenn Hughes, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 286.
he terrorized NME journalist: Davis, Hammer of the Gods, p. 244.
“Our accountant, Joan Hudson”: Peter Grant, quoted in Dave Lewis, “The Peter Grant Interview,” in Lewis, Celebration II, p. 96.
The Stones had taken: Ed Jones, “Bands on the Run from the Taxman,” MM, October 11, 1975.
Chapter Seventeen: The Year of Living Dangerously
“Don’t ever look”: JB, quoted in Wall, When Giants Walked the Earth, p. 349.
A few days later: Davis, LZ-’75, p. 196.
“Bonzo was a huge adult”: Danny Goldberg, quoted in Davis, Hammer of the Gods, p. 259.
In early 1975: “Led Zeppelin at that point thought they were the kings. They had guns with them and everything else.” Aynsley Dunbar, quoted in Wall, When Giants Walked the Earth, pp. 335–36.
“I’ve never seen anyone”: Nick Kent, quoted in Hoskyns, Trampled, p. 285.
During cocktails, Bonzo asked: “I got him the coffee and he emptied the whole thing on my new suit.” Bob Emmer, interview with the author, January 24, 2019.
