News Why Robert Plant called Led Zeppelin “an incredible one-night stand”
Few artists emerging from the classic rock era can boast a career as fruitful as Robert Plant. Committed to his art and inherently reluctant to replicate past successes, even well into his 70s, the British musician continues to create works of merit. This is a rare achievement, considering that many of his prominent contemporaries have gradually transformed into caricatures of their younger selves.
There is no stopping Plant, though. The former Led Zeppelin frontman has enjoyed an immense career because of this mindset. Whether it be critically and commercially trouncing The Beatles as the most culturally significant group in 1969 or creating rock cornerstones such as Led Zeppelin IV and Physical Graffiti, he achieved much in his 12 years alongside Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham.
Following the end of Led Zeppelin in 1980 due to the unexpected death of Plant’s best friend and drummer, John Bonham, it wouldn’t take him a long time before he embarked on a celebrated solo career. This personal and creative odyssey allowed him to fully push into the areas he had always tentatively explored in his old band and evolve significantly as an artist, unchained from Jimmy Page’s direction and personal artistic vision.
Whether it be his acclaimed 1982 debut effort Pictures at Eleven, the following year’s The Principle of Moments – which produced the timeless single ‘Big Log’ – or 2014’s Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar, Plant’s back catalogue is an eclectic collection that demonstrates the true extent of his musical accomplishment.
Despite his solo career producing a more distilled version of Robert Plant the man and artist, when speaking to Music Box in 1993, he reflected on his career with Led Zeppelin and recognised its significance. However, he also described it as “an incredible one-night stand” and outlined the band’s pitfalls that emerged long before Bonham’s death.
He said: “There was no Led Zeppelin for a long time, I think, before John died. I think that the great thing about Zep was that it was like a huge sort of, uh, incredible one-night stand. It was like everything you could wish for on the first fantastic free date. You know, everything thrown in, every sort of altercation and every lust and every swing and every bit of truth.”
Plant continued: “Then, when you start thinking about it, it loses its plot, so I think being on my own has given me something that was really important through unfortunate circumstances, however, but nevertheless, I’ve stood alone, and I’ve been proud to stand alone. I think it’s great… I mean, the legend has been dogging me all the way along the line, but that’s alright, something to talk about, who cares?”
