Led Zeppelin Singer in the News for Turning Down Big Gig
Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin recently turned down a huge gig, which marked one of the biggest in the world. But, he had a good reason. – Author: Scarlett Hunter, Photo from Ken Settle
Most bands and musicians would love the chance to be on the bill of one of the biggest concerts in the world. But, Led Zeppelin isn’t just any band, and Robert Plant certainly isn’t just any musicians.
Plant has said no to Led Zeppelin reunions for years, so it should really come as no surprise that he would say no to other career opportunities. This isn’t a guy who needs any more exposure than he already has, so he’s not clamoring for a high-profile gig to get known.
As it turns out, Plant recently turned down a huge gig, which marked one of the biggest in the world. But, he had a good reason, so one has to respect Plant’s reasoning and his dedication to his music.
Robert Plant Turns Down Big Gig
The biggest names in rock and metal music showed up for Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell “Back to the Beginning” concert. But, one musician who wasn’t there and didn’t perform was Plant. What’s wild is that Plant has revealed that he got a personal invitation to attend and perform at the show from Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, but he politely said no.
Speaking with MOJO magazine, Plant said that said no to the opportunity because he has been out of the heavy metal music scene for so long.
“I said, Tony, I’d love to come, but I can’t come,” he said in the interview. “I just can’t. I’m not saying that I’d rather hang out with Peter Gabriel or Youssou N’Dour, but I don’t know anything about what’s going on in that world now, at all. I don’t decry it, I’ve got nothing against it. It’s just I found these other places that are so rich.”
A New Musical Direction for Robert Plant
Plant is a true artist, so his art is evolving as he changes as a person, too. Speaking with MOJO, he talked about his current work in the musical project Saving Grace, which mainly does reinterpretations of century-old music, and said that he would basically like to stay in that lane for now.
“We’ve got to be very careful now that we make sure it stays closer to Bert Jansch than Axl Rose,” he said in the chat. “The gigs are small enough so that if nobody wants to go, it’s not the end of the world. And so, by having that laissez-faire, easy-going, whatever it’s called – suicidal! – attitude, instead of doing the football stadium with some old mates, there it was: we were free. We could mess about.”
Those who go to a Saving Grace concert won’t get treated to Led Zeppelin’s most popular music, and Plant would like to keep it that way. It’s a conscious choice. Speaking with MOJO, he said, “How can they be related to now, where do they fit? They fit as a sort of memoir.”
He also said that he doesn’t really dislike the Led Zeppelin hit “Stairway to Heaven,” as some had thought. “I just don’t like the idea of it,” he said. “These iconic things — they’re just what they are… to do it for the sake of it was never what Zeppelin was about.”
On the subject of Led Zeppelin, check out Audio Ink Radio’s tally of the most underrated Led Zeppelin album of all time.
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