Whilst touring America for the second time around in 1969, the four members of Led Zeppelin were taking residence at Seattle’s Edgewater Inn, a common favourite within the musician crowd as guests could fish from their rooms.
Richard Cole (tour manager) and Bonzo (the drummer, John Bonham) were fishing from Richard’s room and they were persistently being bothered by female groupies, but the two fishermen were too involved in their catches than the women until they were approached by a young red haired woman named Jackie.She mentioned her liking of being tied up and some thins led to others and young Jackie was tied to a bed, naked. Once incapable of moving, Jackie was “dazed and confused” to find herself in an awkward situation where she was sexually engaged with a fish. Key Events As soon as magazine writers had a hold of this scandalous story several variations of the ‘truth’ were released.
Some rumours include different versions of the fish employed in the escapade is said to be alive, dead, or stuffed and mounted.Also, the incident is said to be involving some or all of the members of Led Zeppelin and the extremes of the legend range from the band’s using an intact fish to harmlessly pleasure a groupie, to their cutting up a fish and stuffing pieces into several of her bodily orifices. While the members of Zeppelin denied any and all allegations, Richard Cole finally stood forward and confessed: “It wasn’t Bonzo, it was me. It wasn’t shark parts anyway: It was the nose that was used.We caught a lot of big sharks, at least two dozen, stuck coat hangers through the gills and left ‘em in the closet… But the true shark story was that it wasn’t even a shark. It was a red snapper and the chick happened to be a red headed broad.
That is the truth. Bonzo was in the room, but I did it. Mark Stein of Vanilla Fudge filmed the whole thing. That was it.
It was the nose of the fish and it was nothing malicious or harmful, no way! No one was ever hurt. ”This event has been labelled as infamous because of its beastiallic features involving some of the world’s greatest band members and the mystery of not really knowing what happened that one drunken night. After the acclaimed red headed groupie told the press her version of the truth, the already corrupted story was released to the world to be further debased. No one involved in this scandal was hurt (except maybe the fish) and in the end everyone was only questioned and falsely accused of doing things that did not happen.
