Led Zeppelin Singer Robert Plant Once Lied About His Identity When He Had no Reason To
It didn’t take Led Zeppelin long to stake their claim as giants of rock music. Their first two albums hit shelves roughly a year after they formed in 1968 and launched a career that saw them dominate the 1970s. Their hits and underrated songs made them international stars. Stille, singer Robert Plant once lied about his identity to get into a music festival when he probably had no reason to lie.
Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin were influenced by more than blues music
Led Zeppelin proved they were exceptional blues disciples. They covered two Willie Dixon songs on Led Zeppelin I, and Plant once admitted he wished he’d written the Robert Johnson lyrics that informed “The Lemon Song” from Led Zeppelin II.
Jimmy Page displayed his interest in Indian music years before Zep recorded “Kashmir.” (Listen for the tablas on “Black Mountain Side” from I). Bassist and arranger John Paul Jones explained Zeppelin worked so well together because the members didn’t like the same music but were willing to learn new styles.
That willingness to dabble in different styles became more pronounced as the band progressed. Plant discovered a passion for sounds from north Africa, which led to him lying about his identity when he probably didn’t have to.
Plant lied to get into a music festival, but he didn’t have to
Plant has always been drawn to Morocco. The north African country left its mark on him, and the singer travels and tours there frequently. But on one of his early trips there, Plant lied about his identity so he could have front-row access at a music festival, as The Guardian reports:
“In Morocco, we had some Nakamichi recording gear, which was quite the thing in those days, that Jimmy had got hold of. Every year there was a folklore festival in Marrakech, and I got a press pass. I said I was working for the NME. And I could get right to the front with my recorder, and there were a lot of Berber rhythms that were spectacular.”
Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant on why he lied about his identity
Plant didn’t specify when he lied about his identity and posed as a journalist to get front-row access, but he probably didn’t need to hide who he was. Led Zeppelin toured and recorded almost constantly for more than two years after they formed. Plant and Page vacationed together in Morocco in 1975 (before Plant injured his leg in a car accident in Greece that led to him writing a Zeppelin masterpiece from a wheelchair).
By the mid-1970s, Led Zeppelin were the biggest band on the planet. Plant didn’t have to lie about his identity to get front-row access at the festival. If he or Zep manager Peter Grant couldn’t arrange VIP access, he likely could have asked the British consulate in Marrakech to pull some strings. His popularity in Morocco might not have been on the same level as in Manchester, England, but Plant lied about who he was when he didn’t have to.
The singer fell in love with Morocco upon his first visit
Plant lied about his identity even though he didn’t have to when he attended a festival in Morocco. On the other side of the coin, Plant might have enjoyed the anonymity of going in disguise. Mixing with the locals probably seemed natural after he fell in love with the country on his first visit.
During an interview with the CBC, host Tom Power asks Plant how old he was the first time he went to Morocco. The singer then waxes poetic about his experience.
“[I was] young enough to be changed overnight for life. By the time I was 22, I’d played in France a lot, Holland, Belgium — I’d seen north African culture in another place, but I’d never seen it in its own place,” Plant said (via YouTube). “I just melted into the streets. I melted into every doorway that was playing yet another piece of dramatic music. From Al Khatam or the music from Cairo or from some — it sounded like a bunch of Taureg building a shed in the back of somewhere, and that was stuff from the high Atlas (mountains).
“So by the time we got to Presence in Led Zep, I was writing lyrics to things like ‘Achilles Last Stand’ praying to get back to that [sound].”
We may never know why Robert Plant lied about his identity in Morocco, but his love affair with the country and its culture is clear.
For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.
