Robert Plant

We all have our heroes when we're growing up, and most of us must surely admit to posing with a broom handle or something , standing in front of a mirror maybe and singing along to a favourite record whilst pretending we are the singer. Of course, it's all in the scientific interests of learning how to 'lip-sync' for when we finally appear on Top of the Pops! OK, so none of us mere mortals ever actually make that infamous programme, or even get in a rock band in the first place, but kids love to dream.

My hero singer was Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. I get the impression from watching his stage act that he must have spent hours miming in front of his mirror as a kid too! His heroes were the old blues stars of the fifties, and so strange was the tonal balance of his voice that he must have wondered how he would ever get to sing in a band. But that voice was to prove a goldmine when Jimmy Page recruited the young Robert Plant along with his drummer John Bonham to join the New Yardbirds. Renamed Led Zeppelin, and steered by the ungentle hand of manager Peter Grant, Page Plant and Co. went on to become one of the top rock acts of all time. John Paul Jones recalls the day when the band realised they were something special. As they played an early gig in America they watched the fans headbanging against the stage in a frenzy. They knew then just powerful and emotive their music was.

The first Led Zeppelin album copied the pattern of Jeff Beck's 'Truth', but Plant sang his heart out, sorrow and heart-rending hurt pouring out of the speakers in pools of blue. His high-pitched wail was so suited to rendering an audible version of anguish that we youngsters could not help but be impressed. With Led Zeppelin II the band renewed the formula and reinforced the notion of Zeppelin as purveyors of the finest Heavy Metal. They always seemed to get angry about people calling them HM but I don't know how else to describe them really. All the hard rock acts of the late 70's and 80's modelled their vocals on Plant and every budding guitarist wanted that Jimmy Page sound. John Bonham's style of drumming has dominated the art for thirty years, dare I say much to the detriment of drumming in general. How often do you hear drummers using the snare drum for anything other than marking the second and third beat of the bar these days? Very seldom. Page and Plant had a kind of symbiotic relationship. Page is an odd kind of guitarist, and like many artists needs to work in a strong partnership to produce his best work. Plant was the pushy one in my opinion, the creative genius who pushed Led Zeppelin along. He could take the most unpromising of guitar riffs and produce a magical vocal line. I refrain from saying melody because he so often strayed from major and minor scales to use pentatonic scales instead. These five note scales are beloved by rock guitarists and when sung or played over a major chord give that classic blues sound. Plant is an 'ideas man' coming up with 'musical hooks' in much the same way as a guitarist might and using little vocal fills just like a lead guitar.

In many ways, the demise of Led Zeppelin, following John Bonham's death gave Plant the chance to go and explore his musical ability in a way that Zeppelin would never have allowed. Especially with Robbie Blunt on guitar in his eponymous band, Plant produced enchanting work that showed his music as something more than rock'n'roll. In many ways one might elevate this work to the status of Art! The days with Doug Boyle on guitar were less successful artistically. Boyle was not a great player but just a competent one. It is surprising that Plant should be content with such a situation and disappointing that he didn't want any real competition in the band.

The times I've heard Plant interviewed on the radio and read interviews in print I've always found myself disliking the man intensely. He comes across as not a little conceited about his achievements. He accuses others of doing to his music what he seems to have been happy to do to others in his youth with no thought at all that he may be similarly guilty for a single minute. Why no journalist ever put some searching questions to him concerning the use of other peoples' ideas is a mystery. There is surely nothing unduly wrong with learning and using a musical vocabulary learnt from older players but to turn round and slate younger players for doing the same to you in the way Plant does or did is just not on. His attitude to plagiarism is equivocal to say the least. Perhaps I misunderstand what he has been saying.

As a guitar player, I would relish the opportunity to work with Robert Plant because I have the highest regard for him as an artiste, but I am certain that we would not get on as friends. I recall a friend of mine who met Ritchie Blackmore who feels the same way about that great man - a brilliant musician but not a particularly nice person.

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