John Paul Jones Says He Wasn’t Friends With Led Zeppelin Bandmates

It may be a shock to fans when they find out that their favorite band is not as tight-knit as they seem. Of course, some bands have so much drama that it causes them to split while others will happily tour and make music but won’t hang out outside of work. Perhaps some bands are just like office co-workers after all and apparently, Led Zeppelin is one example. An old interview with bassist John Paul Jones has recently resurfaced and he opened up about the band and how they weren’t friends.
Jones played with the uber-popular band along with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Bonham. The band was formed in 1968 and was put together by Jimmy Page after The Yardbirds broke up and were just a collection of studio musicians. They achieved huge levels of success and is now thought of as one of the best rock groups of all time with 8 albums, six reaching Number 1 and mega hits such as “Stairway to Heaven” and “Whole Lotta Love.”

GAB Archive/Redferns/Getty Images
Jones explained, “We get along fine. The thing is, we have never socialized. As soon as we left the road, we never saw each other, which I always thought contributed to the longevity and harmony of the band. We weren’t friends.”

Danny Martindale/Getty Images
Perhaps some of it had to do with their differing personalities. Reportedly, Page and Bonham lived like true rockstars and loved the party life while Plant and Jones were more committed to making music and living a fairly normal life. He added that they were more like “workmates” than “close friends” and said, “We weren’t like a group that grew up together and made it big. Led Zeppelin wasn’t manufactured exactly, but it was put together by Jimmy.” They officially broke up in 1980 after John Bonham’s death.

Danny Martindale/Getty Images
Tell us in the comments, who is your favorite member of Led Zepplin or your favorite song?

Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
February 2024
"Long live rock," we like to say, but how did it come to life? Revisit the memorable moments, music and movies that made teens go beat crazy back in the 1950s.
Buy This Issue