ROBERT PLANT
“I remember that great morning when the term ‘classic rock’ was invented,” Robert Plant says, by way of introduction, at his base in the Severn Valley. “It became a radio network in America long before your magazine. What had happened was that the world of ‘raaaak’ – with several ‘a’s – had become like an oldies station. But it doesn’t relate to you guys much, because you’ve kept up with my madnesses over the years. And I appreciate that because, ironically, I don’t get played on classic raaaak these days, apart from my previous incarnation. Now I’m out there with the angels and the birdies, there’s not a chance in hell.”
Plant has indeed been out there for some time now, ever since making his solo debut in 1982, two years after the death of his great friend John Bonham signalled the end of Led Zeppelin. It’s been a fascinating and wide-roaming career, pulling in elements of folk, blues, African music, psychedelia, roots-rock and beyond. And while he acknowledges that, for some, he will forever be the golden god of Zep legend, his rich catalogue – from his first tentative steps as a solo artist to the multi-faceted brilliance of recent albums Lullaby And…The Ceaseless Roar and Carry Fire – is the work of an inveterate seeker.
A conversation with Plant is just as digressive, his mind sparking off at tangents, one recollection eliding into another. Today he talks about his early years in Birmingham; being chauffeured around town by John Bonham at the height of his fame; bad-hair days on Top Of The Pops; why he’ll never write a memoir; his recent sojourn in Texas… And of course there’s his current band of brothers, the Sensational Space Shifters.
He also talks a lot about digging deep, which brings us to his latest endeavour. Digging Deep With Robert Plant is his hugely popular podcast, in which he eloquently discusses the hows and whys of songs from his across his career. Digging Deep is also the name to a spanking new box set that gathers together singles from his solo albums up to 2005’s Mighty Rearranger.
Plant is great company. And, considering that aforementioned “previous incarnation”, about as unstarry as it’s possible to be. Modest too. He and the Shifters are just back from America, where they ended their tour with an appearance at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, an annual bash in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. “I’m still stoned from the weed in the crowd,” he laughs. “Fuckin’ hell! I was craving a snack by about song number three. What I wouldn’t have done for a tuna melt.”
It’s time to dig in…
What prompted you to do the podcast?
A lot of the endeavours that have been and gone since the passing] is about just that – . And that’s what you have to do.
