GOOD TIMES FOR PAGE, BAD TIMES FOR MINISTRY

Former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page won a libel case against a U.K. magazine that alleged that he stood by while drummer John Bonham choked to death on his own vomit.

Bonham died Sept. 25, 1980, at Page’s Windsor, England, mansion.

Ministry Magazine (published by London superclub Ministry of Sound) was ordered to pay a substantial settlement in the case, the precise amount of which remains confidential. Representatives of the magazine, which also paid Page's legal expenses, apologized to the guitarist. Page has announced that he will donate the funds to his favorite charity—the Action for Brazil's Children Trust.

During the trial, Page’s lawyer said that the story claimed that the guitarist was more concerned with keeping vomit off his bed than with saving the notoriously hard-drinking drummer. The article, which appeared in the August/September 1999 issue, claimed that Page wore Satanist robes and stood over Bonham casting a spell, and thereby "selfishly and stupidly caused or contributed" to his death.

"It’s utterly ridiculous," said Page’s lawyer. "The spell Jimmy was casting had nothing to do with John."