Robert Plant Makes Embarrassing Led Zeppelin Breakup Remark

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Led Zeppelin icon Robert Plant discussed the idea of starting his new show and why is now the right time to look back at Plant’s career, thus far on his ‘Digging Deep’ podcast. He revealed that he recorded some music that he believed at the time was embarrassing after Led Zeppelin split up, and he discussed his mindset when the band ended in 1980. Alternative Nation transcribed Plant’s comments.

Plant: Well, I suppose really I had met a lot of people along the way, a lot, and they’d say: “why don’t you play some of those songs from what happened after the passing of Led Zeppelin”? For the next twenty years after that, there were some very interesting changes. Some swoops and sweeps. I had played with a lot of challenging musicians and we had worked very had to create a footprint in those various times. I wouldn’t say to be more mature, but rather more broad-minded. I was moving through the spheres pretty quickly, maybe 1980 onward. 

Plant continues later on in the show: 

Plant: So, these little podcast things are basically a wraparound of things that I really like that at times I thought I was embarrassed about. 

Co-Host: Really?!

Plant: Yeah, some of the sounds, some of the attitudes, some of the sort-of, kitsch. 

During the same podcast, Robert Plant discussed how he some taxi drivers look at him as just the singer of “Stairway to Heaven” on his ‘Digging Deep’ podcast, revealing how he can be confused for a common season ticket holder of a popular Premier League club. Alternative Nation transcribed his comments.

Plant: I find that even more so that if you bring in another spirit, another contribution musically to what you’re already doing then the whole thing changes, slightly changes. Now as a singer and as a writer to some degree but most of all as an entertainer, which I like to think is what I am, what I do – I really want to be stimulated. I don’t think it’s restless, I just think I’ve been really lucky to because I use music, I don’t play guitar on stage and I basically am the frontman. However, when you’re basically creating the music and you’re writing you have to be more than just hanging around and waiting for people to deliver all this stuff to you. Although, there are a lot of musicians that do that.

Plant continues:

Plant: Well, you gotta pick the lock, quite seriously. I am to many people, ask a cab driver and they think I’m a Wolverhampton Wanderers season ticket holder who sang Stairway to Heaven. It’s just, you’re there or your not there. So for me, I’m definitely here. So yeah, I like this, media being what it is, it’s quite interesting: “Restless guy from the Welsh borders looking always at the NH hill forts”, falling in love and all that shit, but basically, I want to be inventive so I do quite a few things.  

During the same podcast, Robert Plant discussed his song “Too Loud” on his debut ‘Digging Deep’ podcast, revealing how the vocal performance of the song was described as awful and messages were sent to him by his record label. 

Plant: There are some great tracks and then there were some tracks that were great attempts at being great. So, everybody who steps out into this game – some moments are great, some moments are fantastic and some moments maybe aren’t. Maybe I should do one podcast on all the ones I think incredibly embarrassing.

Co-Host: We can do just one episode of [naming off] the ones that just shouldn’t have been recorded.

Robert Plant: Well, they should have been recorded, it was just recorded by the wrong bloke.

[Plant laughs]

Plant: Yeah, I did a track on Shaken ‘n’ Stirred called Too Loud and I got some of Bette Midler’s girls to help me with some choruses and stuff. I basically was seriously affected by David Byrne.

Co-Host: Amazing artist.

Plant: Yeah, so I wrote this piece called Too Loud and it’s just about the El Topo aspects of our game, you know. It’s very funny, it’s a funny song, it’s supposed to be funny. “It’s in the elevator, you can hear it in the hall, it’s where you didn’t want it and it’s coming through the wall, because it’s too loud.”

Plant: Just very, very, very, funny. So the record label said: “What are we supposed to do with this?”. I said: “Play it and let’s get some reaction.” America, back in those days people used to phone in and said ‘hey, play [that song] again’, I like that.” Calls were very important, that’s a very important aspect of floating a new collection of songs. Sadly though, the calls that came into WXRT in Chicago were: “get that shit off the [air], who is that, what the hell is that?? Who is he trying to be?!”  That was a real great moment for me because they would send me all the responses typed out. I was very proud, I thought that was another great moment, for the man who wouldn’t be king.