Robert Plant on Phil Collins’ help with his solo career

Robert Plant has opened up about how Phil Collins helped him launch his solo career after Led Zeppelin broke up. Opposite “Vulture” he described the Genesis singer as “a driving force”.

Perhaps to the chagrin of some Led Zeppelin fans, Plant still doesn’t seem interested in a reunion. In August he last announced that a reunion would feel like a gimmick and “not really [sein] need for stimulation satisfied”. Nevertheless, Plant covered songs from his former band with Alison Krauss on his tour last year.

The Special Friendship of Phil Collins and Robert Plant

“After John [Bonham, Led-Zeppelin-Schlagzeuger] died and there was no more Led Zeppelin, there had to be a way forward,” Plant explained. “I swayed a lot because by the time I was 32 I was on a kind of wild and absurd adventure… Phil Collins in particular was a driving force and brought positive energy to my first record, Pictures at Eleven (1982). [dort spielte er bei fünf Tracks das Schlagzeug ein]. For me it wasn’t a problem getting together with other people, it was more about whether or not we could cook the whole thing properly.” Plant continued, “With Phil it wasn’t so much advice as it was encouragement and consideration. He made no compromises. He only allowed himself a short amount of time to get to the studio in Wales and get everything up and running. Nobody could hide behind their own performance.”

Thankfully, as much as Plant admires the Genesis head, those feelings were mutual: “Then he came on tour with me and he basically said, ‘Robert, the guy who sat behind you all these years was my hero.'” , Plant recalled, referring to Bonham, who died in 1980. “That’s it. He said, ‘I’ll do anything to help you get back into fighting shape, I’ll be there…’ He has a good spirit, is a good man.”

For more information on the skill of one of history’s finest drummers, John Bonham, click here.

Listen to Plant’s debut work, Pictures at Eleven, along with the Collins collaboration, here:

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