Many incredible bands like The Who emerged in the early 60s in England and really changed the course of music completely, being part of the “British Invasion”. The incredible Rock and Roll scene in the United Kingdom continued to be strong in the following years and many incredible bands appeared, including Led Zeppelin. The Who’s main songwriter, guitarist and sometimes singer Pete Townshend did not always have good things to say about Zeppelin. But what is his opinion on Zeppelin’s vocalist Robert Plant?
What is Pete Townshend’s opinion on Robert Plant
Pete Townshend was never a big fan of Led Zeppelin’s music but always praised Jimmy Page as a guitarist. But when it comes to Robert Plant, although he didn’t criticize the musician, he said that Plant was inspired by The Who’s vocalist Roger Daltrey. He said that in an radio interview with Jackie Brambles in 2023 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
“I think by that time (the early 70s), we became aware that Led Zeppelin was snapping at our heels. Eventually of course in heavy Rock terms overtook The Who. But I think Robert Plant was a shrieker. He copied the way that Roger (Daltrey) looked on stage, you know. (Plant) had his own thing but you know, Robert Plant was somewhere between Roger Daltrey and Steve Marriott from the (Small) Faces. He found his own feet in the end but I think Roger was aware that he had to really sharpen up and he did.”
Pete Townshend continued:
“(Plant) started to really regard his voice as an instrument and to really take care of himself. He didn’t use drugs, he didn’t drink a lot. He had his issues, his eccentricities but he really looked after himself. The rest of the band would be living hard without question but as I said
Curiously, according to Townshend in an interview in the 90s, in the early days of the band when Daltrey decided to leave the group for a brief time, Plant went to see them perform three nights in a row. Townshend and Entwistle were dividing the vocals during those shows without Daltrey and Plant offered himself to become their vocalist. However, not much after that Roger decided to return to the band.
Pete Townshend would like to form a supergroup with the members of Led Zeppelin
“I’ve always felt there was a real potential for something explosive and nuts with the Who and Led Zeppelin. The principals in Led Zeppelin are much more musicians than they’re perceived to be by the heavy-metal fans who just think it’s about heavy (things),” Pete Townshend said.
Talking with Rolling Stone in 2015, Pete also praised an often overshadowed member of Zeppelin, who is John Paul Jones. He said that he is a fantastic musician who always liked to experiment. So he could bring many interesting things to the table if Zeppelin someday reunited and recorded something new.
“The person that I’ve thought a lot about since John Bonham’s death is John Paul Jones. He’s a beautiful looking man and a beautiful musician. He’s a fantastic experimenter in modern electronic music and other things, and he’s sort of been sitting there. It would be interesting to see what he could bring to a new Led Zeppelin project. I think he was much more in the front line of Led Zeppelin music on keyboard work because nobody else in the band played it. It was a prog rock era in respect to him,” Pete Townshend said.