Problem leaving animated "busy" image running when switching pages

Problem leaving animated "busy" image running when switching pages

I'm not sure whether this is a browser, javascript or jQuery issue, but:

I want to display an animated "busy" image while switching to a new page, however:
  1. ShowBusy() ;      // Show animated "busy" image
  2. location.href = "/newpage.php" ;
freezes the animation.  Using a normal link, coupled with a click event to display the busy image works fine, as in:
  1. $('.busy').click( function() { ShowBusy(); return true ; }
and
  1. <a href="/newpage.php" class="busy">Click Me</a>
but for various resons isn't always suitable.  Using:
  1. ShowBusy() ;
  2. $('body').load( "/newpage.php" ) ;
leaves the animation running but isn't suitable because it loads the content but doesn't change the URL.

Any advice on keeping the image animated while loading the new page?
TIA