Skip to Search Skip to Live Player Skip to Content Skip to Footer

Classic Rock News

Classic Rock News

Classic Rock News

That Time Someone Tried To Kill Jimmy Page At A Michigan Concert

Author Donielle Flynn
Jimmy Page during Page and Plant "No Quarter" Tour: Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan 1995 (photo courtesty of Ken Settle)

Right?  When did THAT happen?  There are many things that we find out when we check in with the people capturing the moments at a concert.  I reached out to Detroit photographer, Ken Settle for stories about Led Zeppelin members.  He told me someone tried to kill Jimmy Page at a Michigan concert!  It was the night of the Page-Plant show at The Palace in 1995!  Here’s Ken’s story:

The time someone tried to kill Jimmy Page at a Michigan concert –

“Here is a shot of Jimmy Page at a Page-Plant concert at The Palace of Auburn Hills on March 31, 1995. At this show, a crazed ex-fan, named Lance Alworth Cunningham, dropped down out of the seating behind the stage.  He was armed with a pocket knife and tried to make it onto the stage. The man was screaming that he was going to “Off Jimmy Page.” It seems Cunningham was convinced there were satanic elements to the music and was compelled to try to take Page’s life.
“Fortunately, a roadie and venue security took the man down before he could make it to the stage.” – Ken Settle
Jimmy Page during Page and Plant World Tour: Palace of Auburn Hills 1995

Jimmy Page during Page and Plant World Tour: Palace of Auburn Hills 1995

I looked up the story and Ken is 100% correct.  UltimateClassicRock.com reported on the story and said Cunningham was stopped 50 feet from the stage.  Jimmy Page had no idea of what had happened and played “Kashmir” without being the slightest bit phased.

The performance above is from the Page-Plant “No Quarter” DVD.  In trying to find concert footage, I checked YouTube to find “Kashmir” from the Palace show.  I can tell you, the audio and/or visual left me with no options, but to pass on Palace footage.

Led Zeppelin At The Silverdome - The 1977 Record-Breaking Show

Led Zeppelin at the Silverdome shattered records with their April 30th, 1977 performance. Massive ticket sales prompted the Silverdome to be concerned with how the concert would run.  Especially in light of events just days before in Cincinnati.  A fan of Led Zeppelin had been pushed from the third level of the Cincinnati Coliseum and died when he was hit by traffic.

With crazy high record sales, the Silverdome prepared for the show by formulating a plan. A plan which included letting the fans in early and reserving over 14,000 seats. Even with the band being late, reports say the crowd was mostly chill. When there are 70,000+ people involved though, you know there were still some moments of insanity from Led Zeppelin at the Silverdome.

Record-Breaking Stats From Led Zeppelin’s Silverdome Show

Tickets sales broke records at the time topping $847,000 (with inflation, more than 4 million dollars) for one show. Tickets sold for $10.50 before the sellout. Some fans arrived earlier on Friday afternoon. While scalpers were out selling tickets for upwards of $70. The crowd also broke the attendance record with 76,200 there to see the show.

Entire documentaries have been dedicated to delving into the show’s events for Led Zeppelin at The Silverdome. Here’s the most recent one:

Led Zeppelin played for 3 hours with no break. Jimmy Page rocked the stage with his shirt open with his bandmates, Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones. During that three hours, they played seventeen songs, starting with “The Song Remains the Same” and ending with “Stairway to Heaven” and wrapped with two encore songs:  “Rock and Roll” and “Trampled Under Foot.”

The website LedZeppelin.com has an amazing resource of old clippings, photos and articles that cover so many of the band’s journey. It’s totally worth checking out. There is something magical about seeing all of these old tickets and photos saved and uploaded by the fans over the years.   In 1977, 16-year-old Elaine Alexander of Mt Clemens said “Words can’t even explain it. It was great!”

Led Zeppelin At The Silverdome: The Set List 4/30/77

  • UPDATE: 4-15-2024 New Footage from Led Zeppelin at The Silverdome

    Footage recently surfaced from this landmark show.  It was synced with audio.  While the quality isn’t perfection, it’s still by far, the best video/audio from the show that has come to light since 1977.  Here’s the video.

    The complete setlist from the show is below along with as many audio clips as we could find on YouTube. The quality is not good, but it’s definitely from The Led Zeppelin Silverdome show.

  • 1. The Song Remains the Same

    Led Zeppelin opened their April 1977 show at Pontiac Silverdome with “The Song Remains the Same”

  • 2. Sick Again

  • 3. Nobody's Fault but Mine

  • 4. In My Time of Dying

  • 5. Since I've Been Loving You

  • 6. No Quarter

  • 7. Ten Years Gone

  • 8. The Battle of Evermore

  • 9. Going to California

  • 10. Black Country Woman

  • 11. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp

  • 12. White Summer/Black Mountain Side

  • 13. Kashmir

  • 14. Moby Dick

  • 15. Guitar Solo

  • 16. Achilles Last Stand

    While we are lucky to have any recordings of this event, YouTube can be fickle and there is no video/audio listed for this song (from the Silverdome show). Here’s an alternate performance from L.A. on the same tour:

  • 17. Stairway to Heaven

  • 18. Rock and Roll

    Again, YouTube seems to not want to work with this particular song, however you can watch/listen to it on YouTube. OR, check out this video and audio someone HOOKED up from MSG in 1973.

  • 19. Trampled Underfoot

Donielle Flynn has two kids, two cats, two dogs, and a love of all things rock. She’s been in radio decades and held down top-rated day parts at Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington DC radio stations throughout her tenure. She enjoys writing about rock news, the Detroit community, and she has a series called “The Story Behind” where she researches the history of classic rock songs.

Sign me up for the 94.7 WCSX email newsletter!

Stay connected to all things Classic Rock, join the WCSX Workforce- it’s free and you can win prizes, concert tickets and VIP experiences.

*
*
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.
Author Donielle Flynn
Category:
Tags:
,,,,

More Music

Load More