Led Zeppelin legend’s Whole Lotta Love for Scots festival
The rock giant’s frontman loves the Hebrides. So when he got the call to headline a music event there, he signed on the dotted line. Martin Williams reports
THEY are the “faraway” Scottish islands he once visited on holiday, leading to speculation he was looking to buy a home.
Now legendary Led Zeppelin lead singer and lyricist Robert Plant is to be one of the headliners for the 25th anniversary of a major Outer Hebrides music event.
Saving Grace, featuring Plant and fellow vocalist Suzi Dian, will take to the stage on July 16 during the Hebridean Celtic Festival on Lewis and Harris.
The acoustic collaboration – which includes Oli Jefferson (percussion), Tony Kelsey (mandolin, baritone and acoustic guitars) and Matt Worley (banjo, acoustic and baritone guitars, and cuatro) – first played a gig just over a year ago.
Their sound has been described as bluesy and folk-inspired, packing a punch which ranges from “a whisper to a scream”.
Plant said of performing at Hebcelt: “I have a deep and charged connection with those faraway islands and look forward to returning to the beautiful machair and to bring a different slant to my longstanding game.”
In 2015 Plant was spotted on Harris with property brochures, leading to speculation amongst locals that he was on the lookout for a house.
The rocker also chatted in an island cafe with punk icon and Buzzcocks drummer John Maher, who at the time had lived there for 13 years.
Plant, 71, is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock and roll, and has influenced musicians such as Freddie Mercury, Axl Rose and Chris Cornell.
Led Zeppelin have also been hailed by fans as the greatest rock band in the world, producing eight studio albums which include their self-titled debut in 1969, Physical Graffiti in 1975 and In Through The Out Door in 1979.
Only their first album failed to top the albums charts.
They disbanded in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham at the age of 32.
In 2006, Heavy Metal magazine Hit Parader named Plant as the Greatest Metal Vocalist of All Time and, in 2009, he was voted “the greatest voice in rock” in a poll conducted by Planet Rock.
Rolling Stone readers also ranked Plant as the greatest of all lead singers.
When Led Zeppelin were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, it was said that they were as influential during the 1970s as The Beatles had been during the 1960s.
Plant’s Scottish links go back many years. Before Led Zeppelin hit the public consciousness, his Band of Joy played the Top Storey Club in Edinburgh, on the site of what became the St James Centre. The show marked the closure of Radio Scotland pirate station.
Led Zeppelin’s first gig north of the Border was due to have been held at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on February 7, 1970, but was cancelled after Plant suffered facial injuries when his Jaguar car spun off the road following a concert in Birmingham which featured the American band Spirit. It was rescheduled 10 days later with English prog-rockers Barclay James Harvest supporting.
Among the influences cited by Plant were Scots folk psychedelics The Incredible String Band.
“Some of the best times I’ve ever had was at a String Band show just being carried away by the whole experience,” Plant said.
The rocker has always held Scots guitarist Bert Jansch in high regard.
He said: “Probably my greatest influence on acoustic guitar is Bert Jansch, who was a real dream-weaver. He was incredibly original… his first album had a great effect on me.”
According to one rich list, Plant was worth £105 million in 2018.
Saving Grace will join Texas, Seasick
I have a deep and charged connection with those faraway islands
Steve, Tide Lines and Julie Fowlis as some of the star names on the Hebcelt bill. Director Caroline Maclennan said: “Robert Plant is a legendary name in the music scene and it is so exciting that he and the other highly accomplished musicians in Saving Grace will be joining us for such a significant event.
“Our 25th anniversary festival is a very special occasion and the programme reflects that.”
The festival will be held from July 15-18.
Previous headliners include stars such as Runrig, Van Morrison, Deacon Blue, The Fratellis, The Levellers and KT Tunstall.
It has grown from a small event drawing fewer than 1,000 into a festival which regularly attracts 16,000 revellers, while providing significant economic and cultural benefits for its host area. Hebcelt is thought to have generated more than £30m for the local economy.