It all started in 2010; and by 'it' I mean this blog
Friday, 24 August 2018
What Happens on Tour...
Essential holiday reading*
Maybe Jimmy Page has already been questioned by the authorities about having sex with underage girls in the 1970s; maybe he hasn't. One thing is certain though - Led Zeppelin weren't big on asking to see picture ID when young girls queued up to get back stage after gigs. Or when they made their way past hotel security and found which rooms the band were occupying. On the contrary, their manager, the notorious Peter Grant, actively encouraged the practice. Different times? Maybe. Different crimes? Well, no, actually.
Oh Lori
The notoriety surrounding similar events today are played out in the press as vile acts carried out by vile people. But in1972 Lori Maddox was a 13 year old virgin when David Bowie publicly bedded her on his Spiders from Mars tour. I say publicly: Bowie knew she was jail bait. His entourage knew she was jail bait, and so did every band, bartender & bellboy in Los Angeles where Maddox was part of a groupie inner circle that hung with any bunch of musicians knocking around Sunset Strip.
Led Zeppelin was one such bunch and, not long after Bowie's exploits with Maddox, Jimmy Page called her and had her chauffeured to his hotel suite. Lori was all of 14 at this point. Page knew this but wasn't remotely bothered. There's nothing more to add really; it's a salacious story that needs no further embellishing. It was Led Zeppelin and it was the 1970s. That seems to be the general consensus of opinion. Just read Hammer of the Gods, or indeed the new Page biography [*pictured poolside- above - by Danny Baker], where you're never more than ten pages from a juicy 'What happens on tour...' story. Only, these stories never stayed on tour.
I discovered this tune only recently on a Classic Rock station coming out of New York that doesn't play Rocky Mountain Way on the hour, every hour. Jimmy Page lends his guitar skills to this 1968 diamond in the rough from Donovan.
It's such a massive minefield, isn't it? So many complications and contradictions. A friend in my class at school became a kind of self-appointed groupie to some DJs from a well-known radio station roadshow. She went out of her way to have sex with them and initiated it all.... she was also only 15. But because it's never completely equal in these things, those guys definitely didn't have any respect for her and probably didn't give a shit about her well-being, so in spite of her active pursuit of them it still makes you wonder who was really using who.
I've thought long and hard as to how to answer the question you pose at the end of your reply. Truth is, I can't. Take away the legality and the morality of the situation and, you're right, it is a fucking minefield - quite literally.
In other news - how good is that Donovan track btw?
It's the Julie Driscoll version for me (also big fan of Joolz' '60s look) especially in this very groovy video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGp4rTEw7z4
There seriously aren't enough police manhours on the planet to start delving into all of this but like C, I too know of girls who actively pursued band members/DJs who certainly didn't ask for any ID. Back then girls left school/started work/left home at a much younger age so it felt as if some of them were somehow more mature. Problem is amongst some of the more mature ones, there were an awful lot of innocents who didn't know what they were probably letting themselves in for, so to speak. A minefield as everyone says.
I still cringe however if they ever show that Wogan interview of Bill Wyman and his very young bride.
Bill Wyman too
ReplyDeleteBill Wyman indeed. A founder member of the Dirty Mac Brigade.
DeleteHere's what The Guardian had to say recently about musicians with an unhealthy interest in (very) young girls.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a massive minefield, isn't it? So many complications and contradictions. A friend in my class at school became a kind of self-appointed groupie to some DJs from a well-known radio station roadshow. She went out of her way to have sex with them and initiated it all.... she was also only 15. But because it's never completely equal in these things, those guys definitely didn't have any respect for her and probably didn't give a shit about her well-being, so in spite of her active pursuit of them it still makes you wonder who was really using who.
DeleteI've thought long and hard as to how to answer the question you pose at the end of your reply. Truth is, I can't. Take away the legality and the morality of the situation and, you're right, it is a fucking minefield - quite literally.
DeleteIn other news - how good is that Donovan track btw?
It's the Julie Driscoll version for me (also big fan of Joolz' '60s look) especially in this very groovy video:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGp4rTEw7z4
I see what you mean!
DeleteCheck out Richard Thompson's cover of "Season Of The Witch" - mindblowing guitar...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQwUnJ_B9fc
I suppose it was inevitable that Thompson took a run up at it. Not bad, though.
DeleteThere seriously aren't enough police manhours on the planet to start delving into all of this but like C, I too know of girls who actively pursued band members/DJs who certainly didn't ask for any ID. Back then girls left school/started work/left home at a much younger age so it felt as if some of them were somehow more mature. Problem is amongst some of the more mature ones, there were an awful lot of innocents who didn't know what they were probably letting themselves in for, so to speak. A minefield as everyone says.
ReplyDeleteI still cringe however if they ever show that Wogan interview of Bill Wyman and his very young bride.
Yep, you wonder why he's not chained to the same radiator as Gl*tter.
DeleteThanks, John. Another book to add to my pile! Love the Donovan version of Season of the Witch. A long time favourite.
ReplyDeleteThanks Martin. I can’t see Radio 4 making it their Book at Bedtime, somehow.
ReplyDelete