Lori Mattix

Last updated

Lori Mattix, sometimes known as Lori Maddox or Lori Lightning, is an American former child model and "baby" groupie of the 1970s. As of November 2015, she is a partner and buyer for the Glam Boutique in West Hollywood. [1] She is perhaps best known for an interview with Thrillist in 2015 in which she made allegations of being involved in sexual relationships with David Bowie, Jimmy Page, and Mick Jagger; these are relationships which would have occurred while she was underage and while the musicians were in their twenties, although her connections to Bowie and Jagger are disputed.

Contents

Her experience has been discussed in the Me Too movement, with her story marking a shift of the movement's focus from the film industry to the music industry. [2]

Life as a groupie

At the age of 13, Mattix began frequenting clubs on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood with her friend Sable Starr, [3] particularly the Rainbow Bar and Grill, the Whisky a Go Go, and Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco. [4] [5]

Jimmy Page

In June 1972, while Led Zeppelin were in Los Angeles for their 1972 North American tour, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who was 28 at the time, allegedly began molesting 13-year-old Lori Mattix. [4] [6] [7] Mattix has recounted that the assault began with her being "basically kidnapped" by Led Zeppelin's tour manager Richard Cole and brought to Page's hotel room. [8] According to Rolling Stone , Page feared charges of statutory rape and went to great lengths to hide his association with the underage Mattix. [9]

At the insistence of Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant, Mattix was kept in a locked hotel room with a security guard at the door during the band's subsequent U.S. touring. [4] Mattix did not travel with Led Zeppelin while they were on tour, but she claimed Page stationed himself in Los Angeles and would frequently fly back there to see her between concerts in the band's private jet, The Starship ; [10] [1] . Whenever Page returned to England, Mattix says he called her every day. [11]

Page’s sexual relationship with the underage Mattix lasted for more than two years, ending in 1975 when Mattix was 16. [11] Mattix claimed she ended the relationship after finding Page in bed with Bebe Buell. [1] Buell gave an alternate version of these events, claiming that despite the fact that Mattix "had given herself exclusively to Jimmy (Page) from age 14 to 16," she was barred by Page's security from seeing him once he began dating Buell. [12]

Lori Mattix is said by Led Zeppelin biographers [13] [14] [15] to have been referenced by the band in the song "Sick Again", specifically with the lyrics:

One day soon you're gonna reach sixteen
Painted lady in the city of lies

However, Robert Plant has said that he wrote the song in general about the many underaged groupies with whom the band were acquainted on their 1973 US Tour. [16]

David Bowie

Mattix says that when she was 14 years old, she was introduced to David Bowie while he was in Los Angeles on his Ziggy Stardust Tour in October 1972. When Bowie's tour returned to Los Angeles five months later, on the night before Bowie performed at the Long Beach Arena in March 1973, Mattix claimed, Bowie's bodyguard was sent to pick up her and Starr for a sexual encounter. According to Mattix, as she told to Thrillist in 2015, she and Starr met Bowie at the Rainbow Bar before the three went to Bowie's hotel suite and had sex: "...[Bowie] de-virginized me...That night I lost my virginity and had my first threesome." [1]

However, Starr gave a conflicting account of the same night's events, claiming that she alone had sex with Bowie and that Mattix was no longer with them by the time they were at the hotel. [17] Mattix also gave a different account of her encounter with Bowie to music journalist Paul Trynka, in which she claimed that she and Starr sought out the hotel room Bowie was staying in and snuck inside, uninvited. In this account, Mattix claimed that when they found Bowie he was "tired" but they initiated a sexual encounter with him. [18] Mattix claims she continued to see Bowie "many times" in the ten years afterwards. [1]

According to Dylan Jones Mattix's account is contradicted by fellow groupie Pamela Des Barres' 1987 memoir I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie. [19]

Mick Jagger

Mattix alleges to have engaged in a physically intimate relationship with Mick Jagger when she was 17. [1]

Other celebrities

She has also claimed to have had affairs with Jeff Beck, Ronnie Wood, T. Rex's Mickey Finn, Angela Bowie, Keith Emerson, Carl Palmer and Jimmy Bain. [11]

Cultural impact

In 2015, an interview with Mattix was published in which she detailed the alleged relationships between her and Bowie, and later Page. The issue later became a central debate topic across social media, prompting a widespread review of how such stories should be understood in the #MeToo era. [20] The allegations and the larger context of the MeToo movement had a major impact on the legacy of Bowie, who died the next year. [21]

When asked whether the Me Too movement had changed her opinion on her groupie years, Mattix admitted that she had not seen her relationships as exploitative at the time, but that the movement had forced her to view these years in a different light, and that now: [22]

I don’t think underage girls should sleep with guys... I wouldn’t want this for anybody’s daughter. My perspective is changing as I get older and more cynical.

Rebecca Hains, a children's media culture expert, viewed the problem as a symptom of sexism in the music industry, arguing that it is a "sad commentary on our culture that modern masculinity can be so entitled, so toxic, that we are repeatedly put in the position of both loving the art and hating the man behind said art for what he did to women and/or children." [23] Journalist Stereo Williams framed the problem of lax social attention to such crimes as one endemic to the time period – considered unworthy of concern in the 1970s and earlier – but incompatible in a modern era where society has a greater focus on "protecting victims and holding celebrities accountable." [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Led Zeppelin</span> English rock band (1968–1980)

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitar), John Paul Jones and John Bonham (drums). With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin drew from influences including blues and folk music, and are cited as a progenitor of hard rock and heavy metal. They significantly influenced the music industry, particularly the development of album-oriented rock (AOR) and stadium rock.

<i>Led Zeppelin II</i> 1969 studio album by Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin II is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 22 October 1969 in the United States and on 31 October 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at several locations in both the United Kingdom and North America from January to August 1969. The album's production was credited to the band's lead guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page, and it was also Led Zeppelin's first album on which Eddie Kramer served as engineer.

<i>Presence</i> (album) 1976 studio album by Led Zeppelin

Presence is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by the band's own label Swan Song Records on 31 March 1976 in the United States and on 2 April 1976 in the United Kingdom. While the record was commercially successful, reaching the top of both the British and American album charts, and achieving a triple-platinum certification in the United States by the RIAA, it received mixed reviews from critics and is the lowest-selling album by the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Paul Jones (musician)</span> English musician (born 1946)

John Paul Jones, is an English musician, songwriter, and record producer who was the bassist and keyboardist for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Prior to forming the band with Jimmy Page in 1968, he was a session musician and arranger. After the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, Led Zeppelin disbanded, and Jones developed a solo career. He has collaborated with musicians across a variety of genres, including the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and Alain Johannes. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 as a member of Led Zeppelin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Page</span> English guitarist (born 1944)

James Patrick Page is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Prolific in creating guitar riffs, Page’s style involves various alternative guitar tunings and melodic solos, coupled with aggressive, distorted guitar tones. It is also characterized by his folk and eastern-influenced acoustic work. He is notable for occasionally playing his guitar with a cello bow to create a droning sound texture to the music.

<i>Coverdale–Page</i> 1993 studio album by David Coverdale and Jimmy Page

Coverdale–Page is a collaborative studio album by English singer David Coverdale and guitarist Jimmy Page. It was released on 15 March 1993 by EMI in Europe, 16 March by Geffen Records in North America and 18 March by Sony Music Entertainment in Japan. The album's production was handled by Coverdale, Page and Mike Fraser. Following the disbandment of Coverdale's band Whitesnake and a failed reunion attempt by Page's band Led Zeppelin, John Kalodner proposed the idea to Page of the musicians working together. After meeting each other, they began writing songs, which were then recorded over the course of 1991 and 1992.

A groupie is a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is used mostly describing young women, and sometimes men, who follow these individuals aiming to gain fame of their own, or help with behind-the-scenes work, or to initiate a relationship of some kind, intimate or otherwise. The term is also used to describe similarly enthusiastic fans of athletes, writers, and other public figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bebe Buell</span> American model and singer

Beverle Lorence "Bebe" Buell is an American singer and former model. She was Playboy magazine's November 1974 Playmate of the Month. Buell moved to New York in 1972 after signing a modeling contract with Eileen Ford, and garnered notoriety after her publicized relationship with musician Todd Rundgren from 1972 until 1978, as well as her liaisons with several rock musicians during that time and over the following four decades. She is the mother of actress Liv Tyler, whose biological father is Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler. Todd Rundgren is Liv's legally adoptive father.

Richard Cole was an English music manager, who was involved in the rock music business from the mid-1960s to 2003. He is most known for having been the tour manager of English rock band Led Zeppelin from 1968 to 1980.

"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is a folk song written by Anne Bredon in the late 1950s. Joan Baez, who learned the song from a student at Oberlin College, recorded the first published version for her 1962 album Joan Baez in Concert and a variety of musicians subsequently adapted it to a variety of styles, including the Association (1965), Quicksilver Messenger Service (1968), and Led Zeppelin (1969). Following the credit on Baez's 1962 release as "traditional, arranged by Baez", subsequent releases did not name Bredon until 1990 when, following Bredon's approach to Led Zeppelin, she received credit and royalties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)</span> 1969 single by Led Zeppelin

"Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their album Led Zeppelin II, released in 1969. It was also released as a single in Japan and as the B-side of the single "Whole Lotta Love" in the United States.

<i>Cracked Actor</i> 1975 British film

Cracked Actor is a 1975 television documentary film about the musician David Bowie, made by Alan Yentob for the BBC's Omnibus strand. It was first shown on BBC1 on 26 January 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connie Hamzy</span> American groupie (1955–2021)

"Sweet" Connie Hamzy Parente, also called "Sweet Sweet" Connie or Connie Flowers, was an American woman who was known as a groupie who claimed to have had sex with numerous rock musicians. Hamzy also received attention for her claim that she was propositioned by Bill Clinton, then governor of Arkansas.

"Sick Again" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album Physical Graffiti. It was written by singer Robert Plant. The song is about a group of teen groupies, which Plant referred to as "L.A. Queens", with whom the band were acquainted on their 1973 US Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Can't Help Thinking About Me</span> 1966 song by David Bowie

"Can't Help Thinking About Me" is a song written by the English musician David Bowie and recorded with his band the Lower Third. Released as a single by Pye Records on 14 January 1966, it was the first one issued under the "David Bowie" name after previously performing as Davy Jones or Davie Jones. The recording was produced by Tony Hatch, who also contributed piano. The session took place on 10 December 1965 at Marble Arch Studios in London. A rewrite of Bowie's "The London Boys", the song concerns a boy found guilty of an act that decides to leave town to start anew. It is noted by biographers as showcasing Bowie's growth as a songwriter, displaying themes he would utilise in his later work. Musically, the song explores the contemporary mod sound of the Who and the Kinks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Hunter (singer)</span> British musician (born 1939)

Ian Hunter Patterson is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Mott the Hoople, from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and at the time of its 2009, 2013, and 2019 reunions. Hunter was a musician and songwriter before joining Mott the Hoople, and continued in this vein after he left the band. He embarked on a solo career despite ill health and disillusionment with commercial success, and often worked in collaboration with Mick Ronson, David Bowie's sideman and arranger from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars period.

<i>Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored</i>

Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored is a book written by Richard Cole who was the tour manager for English rock band Led Zeppelin, from their first US tour in 1968 to 1979, when he was replaced by Phil Carlo. The book was co-written with Richard Trubo, a syndicated journalist, and was first published in August 1992.

Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco was a Los Angeles nightclub located at 7561 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip from late 1972 until early 1975. It catered to the glam rock movement. The club was infamous for widespread drug use and hosting underage girls at parties, but it was also a popular spot among rockstars, including Cherie Currie, Joan Jett, and Iggy Pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sable Starr</span> American groupie of the 1970s

Sabel Hay Shields, better known as Sable Starr, was an American groupie, often described as the "queen of the groupie scene" in Los Angeles during the early 1970s. She stated during an interview published in the June 1973 edition of Star magazine that she had met Rod Stewart, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Elton John, and Marc Bolan.

Barbara Cope was an American rock and roll groupie, known in the late 1960s and early 1970s as "The Butter Queen".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mattix, Lori (November 3, 2015). "I Lost My Virginity to David Bowie". Thrillist . New York City: Group Nine Media . Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  2. Cross, Alan (February 11, 2018). "The music industry is hurtling towards its own #MeToo and #TimesUp reckonings: Alan Cross". Global News . Vancouver, Canada: Corus Entertainment . Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  3. Healy, Claire Marie (August 10, 2015). "The 70s groupies who broke the rules of style and sexuality". Dazed . Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Williamson, Nigel (August 2, 2007). The Rough Guide to Led Zeppelin . Rough Guides UK. pp.  94, 253–254. ISBN   978-1-84836-226-0.
  5. Blake, Mark (October 25, 2018). Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin and Beyond: The Story of Rock's Greatest Manager. Hachette UK. p. 182. ISBN   978-1-4721-2687-0.
  6. "Jimmy Page: "Forget the myths about Led Zeppelin"". Uncut . February 27, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  7. Case, George (October 1, 2011). Led Zeppelin FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Greatest Hard Rock Band of All Time. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 216–217. ISBN   978-1-61713-074-8.
  8. Petal Productions (2007). Led Zeppelin: Way Down Inside (Documentary). United States.
  9. Greene, Andy (November 21, 2012). "Jimmy Page Dated a 14-year-old Girl While He Was in Led Zeppelin". Rolling Stone . New York City: Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  10. Hoskyns, Barney (September 4, 2012). Trampled Under Foot: The Power and Excess of Led Zeppelin. Faber & Faber. p.  250. ISBN   978-0-571-25936-6.
  11. 1 2 3 Des Barres, Pamela (2007). "Lori Lightning". Let's Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies . Chicago Review Press. pp.  181-182, 183-185. ISBN   978-1-55652-668-8.
  12. Buell, Bebe; Bockris, Victor (July 19, 2002). Rebel Heart: An American Rock 'n' Roll Journey . St. Martin's Press. p.  82. ISBN   0312266944.
  13. Mick, Wall (November 9, 2010). When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin. Macmillan Publishers. p. 324. ISBN   978-1429985611.
  14. Kellett, Andrew (September 9, 2017). The British Blues Network: Adoption, Emulation, and Creativity. University of Michigan Press. p. 99. ISBN   978-0472036998.
  15. Calef, Scott (2009). Led Zeppelin and Philosophy : All Will Be Revealed. Open Court Publishing Company. p. 282. ISBN   978-0812696721.
  16. Lewis, Dave (1994). The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin. Omnibus Press. ISBN   0-7119-3528-9.
  17. McNeil, Legs; McCain, Gillian (1996). Please Kill Me: the Uncensored Oral History of Punk (1st ed.). New York City: Grove Press. pp.  137–138. ISBN   978-0-8021-1588-1.
  18. Trynka, Paul (March 1, 2011). Starman: David Bowie - The Definitive Biography. London: Little, Brown Book Group. p. 173. ISBN   978-1-84744-238-3.
  19. Jones, Dylan (September 7, 2017). David Bowie: A Life. Random House. p.  749. ISBN   978-1-4090-5263-0.
  20. McLean, Craig (May 6, 2018). "Good time girl: memories of super groupie Pamela Des Barres". The Guardian . London, England. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  21. Keane, Erin (January 13, 2016). "The dark side of David Bowie: As the mourning goes on, we can't ignore his history with underaged groupies in '70s". salon.com. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  22. De Gallier, Thea (March 15, 2018). "'I wouldn't want this for anybody's daughter': will #MeToo kill off the rock'n'roll groupie?". The Guardian . London, England. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  23. Hains, Rebecca (January 11, 2016). "Reconciling David Bowie's genius with rape". rebeccahains.com. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  24. Williams, Stereo (January 17, 2016). "Not Above the Law: David Bowie and Rock 'n' Roll's Statutory Rape Problem". The Daily Beast . New York City: IAC . Retrieved August 13, 2018.