Led Zeppelin remain one of the best examples of musical harmony. They were all expert musicians in their own right; there is no denying that; however, as well as being good individually, they could also work together exceptionally well. Their ability to work together in a way that didn’t dumb down their individual ability but heightened the group’s sound as a whole cemented them as one of the best bands of all time.
The moment they started playing together, it was clear to everyone in the room that Led Zeppelin was on to something special. Jimmy Page brought some exciting and fresh ideas to the band as he got excited about playing hard rock and acoustic music. This could be tough for many musicians, but Led Zeppelin came together and made something magical.
“We first played together in a small room on Gerrard Street, a basement room, which is now Chinatown,” said John Paul Jones, recalling the band’s first-ever jam, “There was just wall-to-wall amplifiers, and a space for the door – and that was it. Literally, it was everyone looking at each other – ‘What shall we play?’ Me doing more sessions, didn’t know anything at all […] There was an old Yardbirds tune called ‘Train Kept a Rollin’… The whole room just exploded.”
Of course, even though they were harmonious musically, that doesn’t mean they weren’t immune to the occasional blowout. The band were incredibly close, almost family, but even families fight. Though many of their arguments could be resolved relatively quickly, one ended in bloodshed and almost spelt out a premature end for the band.
As the band took to Japan for their first tour of the country, John Bonham gave in to his wild side. You’ve heard of some musicians throwing TVs out the window, but Bonham took it one step further as he used a samurai sword to tear his hotel room into pieces.
The antics didn’t stop there, as the night before their first gig in Japan, Bonham confronted Robert Plant about £30 he owed him for petrol. Plant, noting the band was about to go on stage, said that he would settle the debt another time, but Bonham wasn’t happy being short-changed, so he punched Plant square in the face. The two had a pre-gig scuffle, and Plant had to perform with a busted lip, which thankfully didn’t damage his singing.
When asked about the altercation, John Bonham brushed it off in the same way that brothers do. “Robert and I have known each other for so long that there’s never any maliciousness in these fights,” he said. “We just lose our tempers sometimes.”
The only people keen on trying to keep the bad blood alive were the press attending the show. The story goes that Plant and Bonham were hounded by people wanting to know about the fight and if it spelt the end for Zeppelin. “It’s really none of your fucking business,” Plant had to eventually tell them, “It’s just between me and Bonzo.
