When Bebe opened the door with the chain on it, Lori reached through, grabbing Bebe’s hair and trying to drag her out. She fled but came back later and knocked on the door. The next day Lori went to the Hyatt where she found Jimmy and Bebe in bed together. Lori with Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Rodney Bingenheimer, Sable Starr, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, Pamela des Barres, Morgana Welch, Peter Grant and other friends at John Bonham's birthday. Lori and Jimmy arriving at John Bonham's 24th birthday at The Rainbow Bar & Grill. When Bebe and Jimmy were leaving the party, she cornered them, screaming at Jimmy, “Why are you doing this to me?” but he ignored her and went to the Rainbow Room where he had a huge fight with Bebe over his cruelty to Lori. Out of her mind on Quaaludes, she stumbled around the party, bloodying her nose and soaking her white gown in blood.
Bebe was Jimmy’s date for the Swan Song soiree, which Lori found incredibly upsetting since she was still in love with him. When she was 16 he left her for Bebe Buell, the Playmate who had recently been living with Todd Rundgren. His relationship with Pamela ended dramatically when he took her to a party for the band but left with Lori.īy all accounts, Jimmy and Lori were very in love and for the next year and a half she traveled often with the band. It was magnificent." They started an affair that night, which was kept secret since she was only 14 and he was still dating Pamela. and Jimmy was just sitting there in a corner, wearing this hat slouched over his eyes and holding a cane. Interviewed in Hammer of the Gods, a biography of Led Zeppelin, Lori said that the room “was dimly lit by candles. Lori avoided his advances several times, later stating that she was frightened of him finally Led Zeppelin’s tour manager “kidnapped” her and brought her to the Hyatt and to Jimmy’s room. Lori and Queenie Glam at Rodney's English Disco, 1973. He was still dating Miss Pamela of the GTO’s (later Pamela Des Barres) but when he was in LA in 1972 on the Zeppelin tour he went after Lori. Around the same time a photo of her was shown to Jimmy Page, who quickly became infatuated with her. Her petite frame, large brown eyes and masses of chestnut curls drew her many admirers, and it has been reported that she lost her virginity to David and Angie Bowie at thirteen. She became a teen model and was included in several editorials in Creem and in Star magazine, the local bible of the scene.
They were regulars at the Rainbow Bar & Grill, Rodney's English Disco, the Continental Hyatt House (the notorious “Riot House"), and the Whisky A Go Go. Lori was born in Los Angeles in 1958, and when she was around 13 made her entry into the rock n roll scene with Sable. Lori’s story will be well known to any Zeppelin aficionado, but it bears repeating here as a powerful example of the drawbacks of dating a rock god. Her style and story were both so intriguing to me, and I have long meant to write a similar post on her best friend, Lori Maddox. Several months ago I wrote a long post about Sable Starr, the unofficial queen of the LA scene in the early 70s. Lori, on the left, modeling for Creem magazine, August 1974.