31 Years Ago Today, a Crazed Fan Attempted To Take the Life of a Rock Icon on Stage for Making “Satanic” Music

On March 31, 1995, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant’s duo Page and Plant took their No Quarter tour to the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. That evening, fans packed the venue to see the former Led Zeppelin members and all-around rock icons perform. One concertgoer, though, wasn’t there to see the show. Instead, he was there to, as he later told police, “off Jimmy Page,” for sins he believed the guitar god’s former band committed.

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A 23-year-old former Led Zeppelin fan named Lance Alworth Cunningham attended the Page and Plant show that night with nefarious intent. He believed that Led Zeppelin’s music was spreading Satanic messages to the masses. Cunningham entered the venue carrying a folding knife with which he hoped to silence one of the Dark Lord’s messengers in front of his adoring fans.

Before Page and Plant launched into “Kashmir,” Cunningham unveiled his avenging blade and bellowed, “Kill Page!” before rushing the stage. Fortunately, he ranks among the worst assassins in history. According to the Sun-Sentinel, a member of the Palace’s security crew, assisted by a handful of fans, subdued Cunningham, who was later arrested. He, the security guard, and two concertgoers received minor wounds.

In a statement, Police Chief John Dalton revealed what he learned after talking to the would-be slayer. “He said he was going to ‘off Jimmy Page.’”

Page was unaware of the attempt on his life.

What Caused the Assassination Attempt on Jimmy Page?

Lance Alworth Cunningham called Led Zeppelin’s music “Satanic.” That was enough for him to want to kill Jimmy Page. However, any further information, including the result of his multiple felony charges, is unavailable.

The suicide attempt seems like an extreme reaction to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and ’90s. The moral panic that started in the United States and spread around the world started in 1980 with the publication of the book Michelle Remembers. Co-written by psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith, who he would later marry, the book laid out the Satanic ritual abuse Smith endured throughout her childhood. They used the now-discredited technique of recovered memory therapy to spawn the scenes she “remembered” for the book.

While the book’s allegations were widely debunked, the belief in secret Satanic cults kidnapping, abusing, and sacrificing children stuck. The panic spurred court cases, album and book burning parties, and protests galore.

Those who bought into the moral panic blamed things like heavy metal, horror movies, and Dungeons & Dragons for bringing the Devil into their children’s lives. Led Zeppelin was among the many bands that faced accusations of delivering Satanic subliminal messages to the youth.

Nearly 20 years after Michelle Remembers, Cunningham took the panic to an extreme and attempted to silence Jimmy Page forever. Interestingly, he didn’t plan to kill vocalist Robert Plant, who wrote the bulk of the band’s lyrics.

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