Birthday: 20 August 1948, West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, UK
Birth Name: Robert Anthony Plant
Height: 186 cm
Prior to Hobbstweedle (a pickup blues band formed to honour a gig at West Midlands College Of Education) Robert was the frontman for The Band of Joy - featuring Percy, John Bonham, Paul Lockey (bass), Chris Brown (keyboards) and Kevyn Gammond (guitar). The BOJ were on verge of making a record deal when they split a little acrinmoniously. This led t...
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Prior to Hobbstweedle (a pickup blues band formed to honour a gig at West Midlands College Of Education) Robert was the frontman for The Band of Joy - featuring Percy, John Bonham, Paul Lockey (bass), Chris Brown (keyboards) and Kevyn Gammond (guitar). The BOJ were on verge of making a record deal when they split a little acrinmoniously. This led to Rob eventually joining Led Zeppelin after a few blind alleys. The rest is history. Show less «
[on his singing] [My style has] subliminal flutters passing Don Van Vliet, Son House, Terry Reid and...Show more »
[on his singing] [My style has] subliminal flutters passing Don Van Vliet, Son House, Terry Reid and the call to prayer from the minaret of the Koutoubia in Marrakech, all waiting to contribute to the next sound. Every 16 bars, we visit another country. Show less «
When I was a kid, I'd be there in the stands thinking, "Come on Wolves [Wolverhampton Wanderers, his...Show more »
When I was a kid, I'd be there in the stands thinking, "Come on Wolves [Wolverhampton Wanderers, his favorite soccer team], do it for me!" And here I am again: "Come on Wolves", pleading with a borrowed laptop! Show less «
[on Led Zeppelin's infamous performance at Live Aid (1985)] Live Aid was a fucking atrocity. It made...Show more »
[on Led Zeppelin's infamous performance at Live Aid (1985)] Live Aid was a fucking atrocity. It made us look like loonies. Show less «
I find ironing helps get me in the mood before I perform. I always have an ironing board in my room ...Show more »
I find ironing helps get me in the mood before I perform. I always have an ironing board in my room before going on. Show less «
It's a two-dimensional gig being a singer, and you can get lost in your own tedium and repetition.
It's a two-dimensional gig being a singer, and you can get lost in your own tedium and repetition.
A drummer contacted me and said, "I love [John Bonham] so much I wanna sit behind you when you sing"...Show more »
A drummer contacted me and said, "I love [John Bonham] so much I wanna sit behind you when you sing". It was Phil Collins. His career was just kicking in and he was the most spirited and positive and really encouraging force. Show less «
There are far more important things than this [Band of Joy]. This is just a little bit of ear candy,...Show more »
There are far more important things than this [Band of Joy]. This is just a little bit of ear candy, really, in the great cut and thrust of things. For some people, it's just a night at the theatre. Never mind politics--it's true of everybody, just getting on with their lives. For me, it is something to do which gives me very great pleasure. Which is why I'll keep on making music, so long as it meets the standard. Show less «
I'm just incredibly fortunate that my eyes and ears have been opened. I have to be honest with mysel...Show more »
I'm just incredibly fortunate that my eyes and ears have been opened. I have to be honest with myself and remove as much of the repetition and fakery as is humanly possible. To soothe the savage heart, we have to repeat ourselves sometimes--that's entertainment. Show less «
[on Bo Diddley] His voice and relentless, glorious anthems echo down through my years. This royal sh...Show more »
[on Bo Diddley] His voice and relentless, glorious anthems echo down through my years. This royal shapeshifter continues to influence four generations of musicians on a daily basis. Show less «
Every band should end their show with "Stairway To Heaven". In fact, The Who do a very nice version ...Show more »
Every band should end their show with "Stairway To Heaven". In fact, The Who do a very nice version of it. Show less «
The physical topography, and the regional peculiarities of the place I come from [Kidderminster, Wor...Show more »
The physical topography, and the regional peculiarities of the place I come from [Kidderminster, Worcestershire, UK] is so much part of me. But I plough a lone furrow, and I do feel more and more this telepathy with south Nashville. That is where this music is, that is where the mind is. I need to be with these people. Show less «
The further I get into it, the harder it will be to get a gig in the Top Rank. I won't fit. If I con...Show more »
The further I get into it, the harder it will be to get a gig in the Top Rank. I won't fit. If I continue doing this, it will mean obsolescence for me. Show less «
When you hear Morth African or Indo-jazz fusion in the Band of Joy mix, that is mine. If I take cred...Show more »
When you hear Morth African or Indo-jazz fusion in the Band of Joy mix, that is mine. If I take credit for anything in this band, that's it, that's something I've brought to Nashville, and I'm proud of that. Show less «
[on Led Zeppelin] That tumultuous, amazing combination of friends. We were great when we were great....Show more »
[on Led Zeppelin] That tumultuous, amazing combination of friends. We were great when we were great. I was part of something magnificent which broke the Guinness Book of Records, but in the end, what are you going to get out of it? Who are you doing it for? You have to ask these questions: who pays the piper, and what is valuable in this life? I don't want to scream "Immigrant Song" every night for the rest of my life, and I'm not sure I could. Show less «
I'm a singer, and there's a lot of singing in this band [Band of Joy]. When one sings like this, wit...Show more »
I'm a singer, and there's a lot of singing in this band [Band of Joy]. When one sings like this, with others, the voice is good. I'm really pleased with how I sing with this band. Hell, never mind my raison d'être, what about my singing? How else am I going to feel accomplished? Show less «
[on John Bonham] Bonzo was totally and absolutely devoted to getting it right. Everything that he li...Show more »
[on John Bonham] Bonzo was totally and absolutely devoted to getting it right. Everything that he listened to he could go beyond, not only could he recreate it but he could take it somewhere new. He knew that he was a powerhouse among drummers . . . we seemed to have a great affinity for each other. Show less «
Whenever I have bid a hasty goodbye to a loved one, I've always made sure that my record collection ...Show more »
Whenever I have bid a hasty goodbye to a loved one, I've always made sure that my record collection was safely stored away in the boot of the car. Sometimes the parting was so fast, I was not able to get them into alphabetical order, but I still got away with my records, that was essential. Show less «
When you see what we did last night [in Toronto], that is why we do it. Yes, there's a lot of smilin...Show more »
When you see what we did last night [in Toronto], that is why we do it. Yes, there's a lot of smiling on stage, but there's a lot of hard work and there are a lot of fuck-ups too. We've worked together a lot now, we know each other; there are no secret corners. I'm as absurd as ever and they are gratefully patient. Every male-driven innuendo I come up with, Patti [Patty Griffin, touring with band of Joy in 2010] just rolls her eyes and chuckles."We are good at everything you would expect to be good because you could never find more talented musicians than these; playing together or in those passages sometimes when people are dropping in and out, when sometimes one of us will just opt out for a minute and a half. Show less «
[on Roy Harper] The dynamics and drama in Roy's music are phenomenal.
[on Roy Harper] The dynamics and drama in Roy's music are phenomenal.
I asked Nic [Band of Joy road manager Nicola Powell] if my rambling between songs on stage is gettin...Show more »
I asked Nic [Band of Joy road manager Nicola Powell] if my rambling between songs on stage is getting too obscure. She says no, it's just about mad enough to capture the spirit of the thing. Show less «
Sad old hippies still keep their hair long because we were part of something that meant something mo...Show more »
Sad old hippies still keep their hair long because we were part of something that meant something more than just ego and income. Show less «