Peter Grant - the muscles behind the music

Led Zeppelin was the biggest act of the seventies, we all know that. Some of you may not know that they rose to stardom very fast and it had to do with one man in particular - Peter Grant. Grant was the infamous manager who was a nightmare for concert organizers and promoters, but at the same time, he was the guardian angel of the band. Being a former bouncer he had a certain authority in the process of negotiating. In the 1976 concert/documentary “The Song Remains the Same” Grant is shown dealing with the concert promoter who was selling merch without his knowledge. He was ruthless when it came to protecting his musicians. On the other hand, he was so loyal and trustworthy to his clients (especially Led Zeppelin) that their business was based on an informal gentlemen's agreement. Peter Grant is praised for setting the standard at 90% for the artist when dealing with concert promoters. He is also the man who disqualified television as unimportant to a band’s career. He thought that if anyone would want to see Zeppelin, then it would have to be at their concert and not on some TV show. He was the dream-come-through for musicians and a nightmare for organizers, promoters, TV personalities and record publishers. He knew that he had the best band in the world in his hands and he treated them like that.

Before becoming an actor, Peter Grant worked as a bouncer and doorman at London's famous The 2i's Coffee Bar, where Cliff Richard, Adam Faith, Tommy Steele and others got their start. He was noticed by the Australian-born professional wrestler Paul Lincoln, who co-owned the 2i's bar. Lincoln thought that the physically enormous Grant would make a good TV persona and gave him the opportunity to wrestle under the titles "Count Massimo" and "Count Bruno Alassio of Milan." This kindled his enthusiasm for acting, and he was hired by film studios as a bit part actor, stuntman and body double. By 1963, he appeared in a number of films, including A Night to Remember (as a crew member on the Titanic), The Guns of Navarone (as a British commando) and Cleopatra (as a palace guard). He also appeared in television shows such as The Saint, Crackerjack, Dixon of Dock Green, and The Benny Hill Show. He used the money from acting to buy a big bus that he used to transport bands, such as the Shadows, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry Gene Vincent and others while on tour. By 1964, Grant had started to manage his own acts including the Nashville Teens, an all-girl group called She Trinity, the New Vaudeville Band, The Jeff Beck Group, Terry Reid and Stone the Crows. His management was established in the same 155 Oxford Street office used by his friend, record producer Mickie Most, who had previously worked with Grant at the 2i's Coffee Bar. Most and Grant together set up the highly successful RAK Records label, which produced a string of hits throughout the 1970s.

In late 1966 Simon Napier-Bell asked Grant to take over management of the Yardbirds. It was at the time when the Yardbirds were not making hit singles, but he saw another opportunity - making money from live performances, something that didn’t go well for musicians before. What he started with the Yardbirds, he continued with Led Zeppelin; The rest is history! He is reported to have personally visited record stores in London that were selling Led Zeppelin bootlegs and demanded all copies be handed over. He also monitored the crowd at Led Zeppelin concerts in order to locate anything which resembled bootleg recording equipment. At one concert at Vancouver in 1971 he saw what he thought was such equipment on the floor of the venue and ensured that it was destroyed, only to later learn that it was a noise pollution unit being operated by city officials to test the volume of the concert. On another occasion, at the Bath Festival in 1970, he personally threw a bucket of water over unauthorised recording equipment. But, as I mentioned above, he was the guardian angel for his artists, never compromising their position in the deals he made. His figure is best explained through the words of rock journalist Steven Rosen:

“Peter Grant, former bouncer and wrestler, was, in many respects, the physical embodiment of a Led Zeppelin. Standing over six feet and weighing over 300 pounds, he used his intimidating presence to maintain order and to keep his charges safe and worry-free ... His raison d’etre was simple - protecting his band and their finances.”