Robert Plant became one of the most influential and acclaimed vocalists in the world through his work with Led Zeppelin, whose music was influenced by many different genres, although far less than the wide range of inspirations he embraced during his solo career. Unlike many artists from his generation, he remains interested in, supportive of and attentive to new bands to this day.
Over the decades, he spoke about many bands he loved and two of them were Faith No More and The Cure. He also mentioned that two of their albums were among his favorites.
The Cure and Faith No More albums Robert Plant said he likes
Faith No More “Introduce Yourself” (1987)
Faith No More’s album praised by Robert Plant was “Introduce Yourself,” their second release, from 1987, and the final one featuring vocalist Chuck Mosley. “Their first album (actually the second). It’s like, I, ME, listen to this! And if you don’t like it, fuck off!!! You can’t spend all your life whimpering away about the ex-wife. The vocal attitude, the hard, heavy garage rap. I like it very much,” Robert Plant told with Q in 1990.
He had been a big fan of the band since their early days and even helped them by taking them on the road as his opening act in 1990. By that time, they already had their new singer Mike Patton and had released another album, “The Real Thing,” in 1989.
At the time Faith No More was formed by Mike Patton (Vocals), Billy Gould (Bass), Jim Martin (Guitar), Roddy Bottum (Keyboards) and Mike Bordin (Drums). Their latest release already had some of their biggest hits: “From Out of Nowhere”, “Epic” and “Falling To Pieces”. Plant was promoting his solo album “Manic Nirvana” and had a lot of fun with them on the road. Roddy Bottom recalled some funny moments of that tour in an interview with Butt Magazine in 2015.
He said:
“We used to go to the thrift shops and pawn shops in every city. One time we were thrift shopping, and he was out on the street and we were like, ‘Oh, hey. Come with us.’ And he kinda hung out with us. He’s such an amazing guy, really sweet. He’s like, ‘You guys care to go for a drink?’ And we’re like, ‘Yeah sure,’ and kinda looked at this bar. There might even have been a rainbow flag — and it was like, ‘Oh wow, this could be awkward.’ So we walked in and it dawned on everybody, ‘Oh, this is a gay bar.’”
“There we are with Robert Plant in a gay bar! He was like, ‘Oh, this is great. Great. Let’s have a seat. Let’s have a drink.’ Then we left the gay bar, and some kid pulled up in a pickup truck. He’s like, ‘Hey, you’re Robert Plant.’ And Robert Plant’s like, ‘Yes, I am.’ He said, ‘Where you guys going? You guys want a ride?’ And we all got into the back of the pickup truck,” Roddy Bottum said.
The Cure “Disintegration” (1989)
The Cure album that Robert Plant is a big fan of is “Disintegration” (1989), especially because of the song “Lullaby”, which is one of his favorite ones and he even covered in the 90s. “I love Robert Smith’s beckoning you into his vulnerability. It’s an interesting little world, like H.G. Wells’s History Of Mr Polly,” he told Q magazine at the time. The classic The Cure guitarist Porl Thompson, who was a member of the band from 1983 to 1993 and from 2005 to 2011, had the chance to work with Page & Plant in the 1990s. In an interview with Contact Music he confirmed the singer was a big fan of the band and that’s why they included a cover of “Lullaby” on many shows.
He said:
“I’d left The Cure to pursue my painting and then suddenly, out of the blue, I got a call from Robert Plant, which I thought was a hoax. He was really into The Cure, which I thought was interesting. They invited me up to see if we all got along. It was an opportunity I couldn’t really turn down,” he said in an interview with Contact Music. According to Setlist.fm, they played their own version of the track 50 times in 1995.
“Lullaby” was among the only “new” songs played during those shows, since besides Led Zeppelin tracks they only played old Blues covers and The Doors “Break On Through (To The Other Side). Porl continued to be part of Plant’s solo band after the end of the duo with Page. He was part of Robert’s solo album “Dreamland” (2002). “Disintegration” was The Cure’s eight album and also had other famous tracks like “Lovesong” and “Pictures of You”. Besides Porl and Smith, were also part of that album Simon Gallup (Bass), Boris Willimas (Percussion) and keyboardist Roger O’Donnell.
Robert Plant also liked Sisters of Mercy
Alongside The Cure, another Goth Rock band that Robert Plant liked in the late 80s and early 90s was Sisters of Mercy. “Ah, that’s a pretty deep and meaningful question (What is his opinion on music these days). Well, I’m stuck firmly in the middle of it all, in a coracle with a single paddle. I mean, music today is anything you want. It’s just a matter of taste.”
“I like lots and lots of different kinds of music, contemporary and 30 or 40 years old. I think in some areas, music has lost its way a little bit. (Especially) in the production and the actual sonic quality. But in other areas, it’s doing real fine and it’s alive and well in The Cure and Sisters of Mercy occasionally. Yeah, and there’s even a sense of humor here and there,” Robert Plant said in an interview with Rocksat in 1990.
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