Robert Plant: A Life

Robert Plant: A Life: The Biography by Paul Rees
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Robert Plant: A Life

I have been a lifelong fan of the rock band Led Zeppelin and in particular the lead singer, Robert Plant. The Viking rock god as he liked to be known and a magnet to thousands of groupies and wayward women.

The 67 year old Robert Plant is surrounded by mystique and Paul Rees attempts to find a balance between the man, the myth, the music, and the darkness in this unauthorised biography. Perhaps one day Plant will write his own definitive version, although I doubt it.

Rees is the one-time editor of Kerrang! and Q magazines and has in my opinion conducted his research in exemplary fashion from other books and articles, as well as his own previous conversations with Plant and many of Plant's former classmates, band mates, and tour mates, some of whom were not afraid to speak candidly and critically. Nonetheless, for me this is a comprehensive record of Plant’s life from his early school years, through his early bands before being recruited by Jimmy Page to form Led Zeppelin with John Bonham and John Paul Jones. The band’s meteoric rise to stardom and idolization by so many music fans resulted in studio albums that I play to this day. Their seminal studio work: Led Zeppelin IV sold 25 million copies within months of being released in 1971. It contains their finest rock aria, Stairway to Heaven.

Groupies, drugs, and tragedy followed as Zeppelin's legend grew and the band dissolved after drummer John Bonham's death in 1980, choked on his own vomit after another mammoth drinking session. Plant reemerged as an ever-evolving solo artist who kept his distance from Zeppelin, rarely reuniting with his former band mates.

I have enjoyed most of Plant’s solo efforts, in particular his album Raising Sand with Alison Krauss. As Rees reports in detail, Led Zeppelin did finally reunite for one last concert in December 2007 at the O2 Arena. 20,000 fans were overawed with the performance, Plant and Page showing none of their on/off friction. Oh to have been there (I was one of millions of fans chasing down just 20,000 tickets without success).

This book is as good if not better than anything else I have read about Robert Plant. It provides insight into Plant as a man and a musician. I recommend it to any Led Zeppelin fan.

View all my reviews

The Eastbourne Beer Festival

An enjoyable interlude today as I met up with my brother for a session at the Eastbourne Beer Festival, held at the Winter Gardens. This was my fourth consecutive year of attending and on each occasion the weather has been quite remarkable. After yesterday's torrential rain the bright spells today were most welcome.

One is totally spoilt for choice at this particular festival with a selection of more than 120 real ales on offer and a multitude of ciders and perries. We had tickets for the 11:00am to 4:00pm session and enjoyed a variety of the beers on offer and were entertained by two bands: Pocketsize, a group of three with a terrific female lead vocalist, so reminiscent of Alison Krauss, performing material in the Americana/Country genre; and Wakin' Snakes, a terrific rock/folk ensemble with great vocals and an accomplished banjo player.

For the real ale aficionados, here is a record of my selected beverages:

• Ginger Tosser 3.8% from Skinner's Brewery in Cornwall
• Betty Stogs Bitter 4.0% from Skinner's Brewery in Cornwall
• British Bulldog 4.3% from the Westerham Brewery in Kent
• Lancaster Bomber 4.4% from Thwaites Brewery
• Battleaxe 4.2% from the Rudgate Brewery
• Hobgoblin 4.5%from the Wychwood Brewery
• Landlord 4.3% from the Taylor Brewery in Yorkshire
• Fortyniner 4.9% from Ringwood's Brewery in Hampshire

I hasten to add that my consumption over 5 hours was in half pints only! A most enjoyable day and it was good to see my brother again (he lives in Kent).