The Time Led Zeppelin Manager Peter Grant Threatened Beatles Boss Allen Klein Over $12,000

Led Zeppelin had a significant impact on music, and it wasn’t only because of their tunes. Their manager, Peter Grant, changed everything about leading a group. But Led Zeppelin wasn’t his first showbiz rodeo. Before he guided that group, and before Allen Klein took over The Beatles, Grant threatened Klein and literally shook him down over $12,000 in a display of the managerial tactics he employed when Led Zeppelin formed.

Before managing Led Zeppelin, Peter Grant threatened Allen Klein over a $12,000 debt

Grant and Klein’s reigns over two of the biggest bands in the world briefly overlapped. Klein recognized Jimmy Page’s starpower while he managed the Yardbirds, and he stuck with the guitarist when he formed Led Zeppelin in 1968. Klein took over The Beatles just before the band completely disintegrated.

As it turned out, their paths crossed in 1966.

Grant, looking for his big break in talent management, hoped to snag Donovan. He approached Klein about working together on the singer’s next project, and Klein promised a cut of the profits if Grant made it happen, writes Bring it on Home author Mark Blake.

Despite Donovan hiring a new manager, the future Led Zeppelin impresario took care of his end. Grant helped the singer make “Sunshine Superman,” Donovan’s highest-charting single in England (it reached No. 2) and his lone No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts. (Incidentally, Page and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones played on the song).

Then Grant’s plan hit a snag — Klein refused to pay up. The person who helped negotiate two separate six-figure recording contracts for The Rolling Stones couldn’t come up with the $12,000 he owed. That’s when Grant threatened Klein if he didn’t come up with the cash.

“I helped Allen out of his chair by his lapels.”

Peter Grant

Brown writes that Grant was rumored to have smashed Klein’s hand in a desk drawer. (An armed guard reportedly chose not to intervene in that version of the story). The future Led Zeppelin boss said he lifted the American out of his chair. Either way, Klein promptly sent a minder to withdraw Grant’s $12,000 from the bank.

That wasn’t the last time Grant threatened to use force (or actually did so) to get his way.

Grant had an early run-in with Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham during one of the band’s first rehearsals. An eager Bonzo got a little too fancy with his stick work, which irritated Page. Grant promised to hurt Bonham if he didn’t play the way the guitarist wanted him to play. Bonham complied. Problem solved.

Zep’s manager, who was once a wrestler, put his imposing physical stature to good use at least once. He, Bonham, and tour manager Richard Cole were part of a group that participated in a bloody backstage brawl at a 1977 concert in Oakland. 

Grant’s loyalty made him the perfect manager for Led Zeppelin

Grant’s gruff appearance, large stature, and threats of violence to get his way made him an imposing figure. Yet at the end of the day, he did it all out of loyalty to the artists he represented, and none were bigger than Led Zeppelin.

Grant helped Zep secure the biggest advance for a rock band in 1968. It didn’t hurt that the band’s debut album was an excellent record and that Page owned the rights since he paid to record it. Still, Led Zeppelin’s manager didn’t accept anything less than what Page wanted.

Before singer Robert Plant became comfortable in the spotlight, he was a self-conscious frontman. Grant hid early negative Led Zeppelin reviews so Plant’s stage fright wouldn’t grow worse. The band’s rigorous touring schedule helped the singer quickly acclimate to performing, but Grant’s plan to hide reviews ensured his wavering confidence never completely broke.

Before he managed Led Zeppelin, Peter Grant threatened Allen Klein over a $12,000 debt. Violence (or the threat of it) and Grant’s larger-than-life stature made him an imposing figure, but everything he did was in service to the artists he managed. With him at the helm, Led Zeppelin became of the most popular and well-paid groups on earth.

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