Robert Plant interview, Circus, March 1970, by Jacoba Atlas
Text
In recent weeks, Led Zeppelin's records have sold better than both the Beatles' and the Rolling Stones', according to Billboard Magazine's charts. And the reason isn't because the Beatles and Stones are putting out bad material either. It is simply because Led Zeppelin, led by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, are, both visually and soundwise, the most exciting act in the business today.
Coming into the spotlight now, is the Zeppelin's dynamic lead singer, Robert Plant, who prances about the stage shouting the blues as his wild blond curls snarl and weave their way around his pretty face. His voice has a wide range as can be heard on the group's first two albums as he goes from frenetic screaming to melodic crooning.
Speaking in Led Zeppelin's office, high up on Oxford Street amidst a steady stream of noise that disturbed neither of us, and two secretaries who answered phones and worried about their hair and nails, Plant spoke of himself, Jim Morrison, the group's records, and what's foremost on everyone's mind at this point—the upcoming summer and rock festivals.
"I don't feel any kind of pressure to do something because I don't think at this moment people are that familiar with what I do. They've seen me once or twice or something; it isn't looked upon as a show. I think people are still saying he's a good singer as opposed to what they say about Jim Morrison, that he's a sex symbol or something, although I don't know how they'd say that. I don't mean any disrespect. I suppose he's very nice, but it's strange. I don't like the way he plays on everyone's head. Like when things go right he says anything right out of his head. I think that's wrong, I think entertainment should be light. He seems to take himself too seriously. With Woodstock, and its antithesis, the Stones' free concert already history, Plant thinks American festivals are far superior to those held in England. Even though Altamont may have proved him wrong concerning the freedom and good will of American festivals, he had some unkind words for the English press.
"I think the atmosphere of the festivals in America manage to be so much different from the ones in England. They're so open and free in the States. In England even the press go with the completely wrong attitude towards the festival; the people just go with a different frame of mind. The English press are condemning the thing as if the younger generation had nothing to offer socially. We weren't at Woodstock but we heard that everything was fine and the audiences were well behaved, and the American press heralded it as being an example of what the young people could do. But in England the press did the opposite—downing it, talking about the people taking drugs and bathing and they sort of set the whole thing up as a kind of horror thing.
"The Atlanta Festival where we played was a very loose thing. You heard about the man who jumped on stage? Well, it was 100 degrees on stage, and this guy jumped on stage with nothing on and he was well … pleased with himself … he was tripping out … and instead of dancing in kind of a proper manner, he dived into the drum kit. But it was okay. You don't feel the restrictions you do at a concert. I went to see the Family last night; the whole thing had an air of the superiority of the guys with the suits and ties on. It was very evident there. You don't get that in America. But in the big auditoriums you do get the police swinging their sticks and things.
Admiring the technique and quality of American recording studios, yet preferring to live in the outskirts of London without a telephone, the Zeppelin's lead singer seems to have carved a perfect niche for himself and for his group.
"We finished the whole second album over in America. We did the first album here, and that was okay. You can get sounds a lot better in American studios. You can get an immediate bass sound in almost all the studios if you've got a good engineer, whereas over here you've got to sort of fiddle about. I prefer to record when I'm away from home anyway, because it makes the time at home longer.
"I don't want to move to London, I'm okay where I am (Birmingham, a large industrial city in the English Midlands). I don't even have a telephone. London's nice, and I suppose it would be a practical idea to come and move here, but it's just that I'm so used to the Midlands and the countryside is so nice … the cities .. the factories … it's a nice background … you can never be sure of your ideas.
"The tours are exhausting, no doubt about that, but I think it's the thing that when you step off the plane in Heathrow or wherever, all the exhaustion lifts. I suppose America isn't bad, but it just isn't home. You can be tired and overworked everyday at home, but it's okay because it is home. That's the difference."
