Led Zeppelin: The Time Jimmy Page Narrowly Survived Attempted Murder
Jimmy Page founded Led Zeppelin in 1968 and had the band play concerts before their first record hit stores. Bringing music to the fans was always a top concern for the band; Zep almost never performed on TV. Yet playing live came with risks, such as when Page survived an attempted murder while playing live in 1995. That wasn’t the first time the guitarist had a close call in front of his fans.
Jimmy Page survived a botched attempted murder while touring with Led Zeppelin bandmate Robert Plant
Led Zeppelin had its share of dangerous concerts, which we’ll discuss in a minute. Nearly two decades after the band’s 1980 split, an oblivious Page survived an assassination attempt while he and Robert Plant toured behind their No Quarter project.
During a March 1995 concert in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a former Led Zeppelin fan who called the band’s music satanic attempted to murder Page. They gained access to a backstage area and tried to rush at the guitarist and kill him. Security, tour crew members, and fans subdued them before they could reach Page, and the oblivious guitarist continued playing.
A few people suffered minor cuts while stopping the would-be assassin, who dropped the pocketknife to the floor after the altercation. Authorities later revealed the attacker wanted to “off Jimmy Page,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Distance and time reveal that the murder attempt against Page was unlikely to succeed.
Had the attacker made it onto the stage, security almost surely would have stopped them before they did anything to Page. If the would-be killer did get to the guitarist, the pocket knife they carried probably wouldn’t have fatally wounded him unless the strike was precisely aimed.
The assassination attempt against Page didn’t seem to put him in any mortal danger. That stood in contrast to several Led Zeppelin concerts in the 1970s.
Page and Led Zeppelin played several dangerous concerts in the 1970s
Page didn’t know someone tried to kill him during the 1995 concert with Plant. He was also blissfully unaware of Led Zeppelin’s Boston ban.
Fans lined up to buy tickets for a 1975 concert at Boston Garden. When the booze and drugs started flowing, wild behavior followed. They rioted, caused thousands of dollars in damage, and Boston’s mayor banned the band from playing in the city for five years. It turned out to be permanent since Led Zeppelin broke up before the ban ended.
The riot in Boston happened before Led Zeppelin ever took the stage. What might be Zep’s worst concert ever included another fan riot. The difference was the 1971 melee in Italy happened during the band’s set and saw riot police storm the crowd and fire tear gas. The riot chased Led Zeppelin from the stage. Their performance lasted less than an hour.
Fans rioted in Pittsburgh in 1973. Some of them broke through a fence to get into the show while police turned fire hoses on others, Trib Live reported.
And guess what happened when bad weather forced Led Zeppelin to cut a concert in Tampa short in 1977. If you guessed “fans rioted,” then give yourself a pat on the back for getting it right.
The poor attempt to murder Page went nowhere. The would-be knife-wielding assassin never got close to him. Page was oblivious to the threat, but it wasn’t the first time the Led Zeppelin guitarist faced danger at a concert during his career.
For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.
