The incident occurred in Seattle at the end of a tour with Vanilla Fudge in 1969, and is documented in Bob Spitz’s new book “Led Zeppelin: The Biography.”

While fishing from a waterfront room at the Edgewater Inn, both bands’ road managers — Richard Cole for Zeppelin and Bruce Wayne for Vanilla Fudge — caught a bunch of mud sharks and red snappers. They delivered their haul to Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones’ room, where he was smoking pot with Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice and a 17-year-old groupie named Jackie.

Appice remembers being with his bandmates and Led Zeppelin members when a young woman he had been ‘romancing’ came to visit.

After Appice told her about a film camera one of his friends had, the woman kept asking if she could shoot a movie with him while high on cannabis.

While Appice waved her attentions off, Bonham, his tour manager Richard Cole, and two of their crew members liked the idea.

However, before filming began, they walked into a nearby room and returned with a ‘2-foot-long, dead-eyed, ferocious-looking mud shark’ that had been caught and placed in a bathtub by someone.

Cole and Wayne told Jackie to take off her clothing after she had become very intoxicated. “Once she was naked, they started hitting her with the fish, and it left little teeth marks on her back,” Appice writes in the book. “Things got pretty ugly, pretty intense, so we went out into the hall, where Bonzo [Led Zep drummer John Bonham] and his wife, Pat, joined us, and we watched the action through the door.”

In the hall, other voyeurs would join them. “In fact, we were invited to bring our wives to take a look,” Zeppelin leader Robert Plant recalls, “but after a while we left because it was all a bit unsavory.”

In Hammer of the Gods, Stephen Davis wrote, “A pretty young groupie with red hair was disrobed and tied to the bed. Led Zeppelin then proceeded to stuff pieces of shark into her vagina and rectum.”

However, Zeppelin lovers will be relieved to learn that the incident is a little less heinous than it appears at first.

While some have questioned that account of the incident, Mark Blake, author of Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin, and Beyond–The Story of Rock’s Greatest Manager, tells RealClearLife that it is mostly accurate.

Blake told RCL, “It did happen. Richard Cole told me it happened and he was the guy that held the shark. He was there along with a couple of members of Vanilla Fudge. The groupie’s name was Jackie. I think they were just fooling around … the fish wasn’t inside her for that long. It was dead. Robert Plant also told me saw it. I don’t think Peter Grant did but obviously, everyone heard about it.”

As stunning as the story may be, it’s exactly the kind of thing Blake had to check into and interview about while studying Grant, who is sometimes referred to as Led Zeppelin’s “fifth member.”

Getty Images

Blake needed to “cut through all the mythology” to see if the rumours floating about the industry were accurate or fraudulent in order to construct a picture of Grant. “Some of those stories just aren’t true or are partially true,” Blake explained. “The reality was usually far worse though. The truth is as bad as the fiction – or worse.”

Consider the following uncensored story.

“One of the things I got hold of was Peter in a hotel room talking about his life for a proposed film,” Blake said. “It never got made but it was ongoing for years. He was talking about the groupies and he said that when the band booked hotel suites, they would book more than they needed as a way of avoiding people who were looking for them. They had dummy rooms. They weren’t all in the same suites or on the same floor. Peter said he was checking out one of the rooms once and he walked in and could hear a noise coming from the bedroom.”

When Grant opened the door to investigate, he discovered a naked woman bound to the bed by her ankles and wrists.

Blake continued: “He said, ‘What are you doing here?” She said, ‘I don’t know, but guys keep coming in and f–king me.’ He said, ‘Ok, are you alright and she said ‘Oh yeah, I’m fine.’ He told her to have a nice day and walked out. That kind of sums up the attitude at that time and some of what was taking place on the road. Clearly, she was having sex with members of the band or the crew or whomever while chained up. And that was considered normal at that time in that world. It wouldn’t be now for all sorts of reasons.”

They then urinated and defecated on Jackie after they were through.

In the 1970s, Led Zeppelin continued their troubling sexual conduct at the Continental Hyatt House on LA’s Sunset Strip. In 1973, a 29-year-old Jimmy Page seduced a young groupie named Lori Mattix, who was only 14 at the time.

“He just swept me off my feet and made me fall madly in love with him,” Mattix says in the book, which also chronicles the band’s loss of $200,000 from a hotel safe in 1973.

“He was the rock-god prince to me, a magical, mystical person who was really convincing. I know he fell in love with me because of my innocence … It was no secret he liked young girls.”

Led Zeppelin was a British rock band that formed in 1968 and quickly rose to fame, becoming one of the most successful and influential bands in the history of rock music.

Despite their incredible musical talent and their many hit songs, the band was also known for their controversial acts, which often involved allegations of theft and plagiarism, as well as incidents of drug use and sexual misconduct.

One of the most well-known controversies surrounding Led Zeppelin was their alleged theft of musical ideas from other artists. Many of the band’s songs have been accused of being rip-offs of other songs, and in some cases, the band was even sued for copyright infringement.

For example, their iconic song “Stairway to Heaven” was the subject of a long-running legal battle, with the band eventually being found guilty of plagiarism in 2016.

In addition, the band’s song “Dazed and Confused” was accused of being copied from a song of the same name by Jake Holmes, and the band was forced to credit Holmes as a co-writer on future recordings of the song. Furthermore, the band’s song “Whole Lotta Love” was accused of being copied from a song by blues musician Willie Dixon, and the band settled out of court with Dixon for an undisclosed sum.

In addition to their issues with theft and plagiarism, Led Zeppelin also faced criticism for their use of drugs. The band was well-known for their fondness for marijuana, and members of the band were often arrested for drug possession.

In one particularly high-profile incident, drummer John Bonham was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, and the band was forced to temporarily disband as a result.

In addition, singer Robert Plant struggled with addiction to prescription painkillers for much of his career, and was often seen on stage in a drug-induced haze. Furthermore, guitarist Jimmy Page was rumored to be a heavy user of LSD, and even claimed to have had a “magickal” relationship with occultist Aleister Crowley.

Finally, Led Zeppelin was also criticized for their treatment of women. The band was known for their debaucherous lifestyle, which often involved the use of drugs and alcohol, as well as sexual encounters with multiple partners.

In one particularly infamous incident, Jimmy Page was accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl, Lori Maddox, who later wrote about her experiences in a book titled “Scandalous.”

Page and Maddox continued their relationship for several years, despite the significant age difference. In addition, the band was known for hiring groupies as their roadies and mistreating them, with some even claiming to have been physically abused by the band members.

Despite the many controversies surrounding Led Zeppelin, the band was also known for their incredible musical talent and their influential role in the history of rock music.

They are considered one of the greatest bands of all time, and their music has been covered and imitated by countless other artists.

Led Zeppelin was known for their unique blend of blues and rock, and their epic, guitar-driven sound became the blueprint for countless other bands in the hard rock and heavy metal genres.

In addition to their musical talents, Led Zeppelin was also known for their legendary live performances, which often featured extended jams and improvisational sections.

The band’s live shows were known for their energy and intensity, and they were known for their ability to connect with their audience and create an unforgettable live experience.

Despite the many controversies surrounding the band, Led Zeppelin’s music continues to be celebrated and revered by fans around the world.

Their iconic songs, such as “Stairway to Heaven,” “Kashmir,” and “Whole Lotta Love,” have become staples of rock radio, and their influence can still be heard in the music of today’s bands.