One-off city gig for rock icon Plant
After 40 years on the road, rocker Robert Plant says he is still loving it
He'll turn 65 on August 20, but Black Country rock icon Robert Plant is working harder than ever.
The star will headline Wolverhampton's Civic Hall on September 2 with his new band: Robert Plant Presents Sensational Space Shifters.
He has been on the road in recent times, telling audiences: "This is one of the most stimulating times in my life."
His shows have featured Led Zeppelin material, which has satisfied many fans eager for the thunder of the 1970s act that sold as many as 300 million records.
His gigs have featured Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Rock and Roll, Black Dog, Whole Lotta Love and Who Do You Love? Other highlights have included Going to California and Friends.
Plant enjoys being on the road: "Every night is different. It's like being married. Welcome to another sedate middle-aged evening."
Plant is playing a small number of UK dates on his present tour. His tour starts in Bristol with a date at the Colston Hall on August 29 before moving onto the Stradbelly Estate for its Electric Picnic. He stops off in Wolverhampton for his one-off gig at the Civic before returning on October 29 for a headline at Manchester's Apollo.
Not surprisingly, Sensational Space Shifters draw inspiration from the roots music of Mississippi, Appalachia, Gambia, Bristol and the foothills of Wolverhampton.
Plant has told friends that he is looking forward to playing a home town show in his Black Country constituency.
Plant has been making music for more decades than he cares to remember – and has loved plenty of memorable times.
"Well, 40 years is a lot of days and months, a lot of shows and experiences – just the process of growing, maturing and being influenced by an ever-changing world of music.
"It's an absolute miracle at the age of 17 – when I made my first record – it was an ego moment for me, but I was still working on the blacktop out on the streets and had no real direction other than my love for black American blues music and also the beginning of the development of that West Coast American psychedelic movement which was strong and focused and I was in the heart of industrial Britain trying to develop a style.
"So my most glorious moments are the moments I learned the most and surprised the most. Thanks to my relationship with various guys and women down the line, I've travelled through Morocco a lot, picked up a lot of musical ideas from great Moroccan musicians.
"I've been in West Africa with the Sensational Space Shifters and we travelled to Timbuktu and played with fantastic musicians there. So I know very well that entertainment is entertainment — it is what it is.
"To me, selfishly and primarily, I must entertain myself so I must learn and experience other cultures and music so that I'm not just a guy at the front of the stage singing, singing, singing."
By Andy Richardson
