What happens when you mix Led Zeppelin with Phil Collins? “Nasty alchemy,” apparently.
What really went down between Robert Plant and Phil Collins after one disastrous show?
The self-proclaimed "Golden God," Robert Plant, has had a long and distinguished career,
crossing paths with a plethora of colorful characters along the way.
As an integral member of Led Zeppelin, this heavy metal juggernaut drove rock music to
astronomical heights of success and excess throughout the '70s,
spawning seven No. 1 albums in the United States and their native United Kingdom.
In a similar spirit, Phil Collins is as prolific a songwriter as they come. Following his triumph
as the drummer-turned-vocalist of the iconic prog-rock band Genesis, Collins, like Plant, has
had a famous and celebrated career spanning six decades. Given the traditional cliché that "birds
of a feather flock together," how familiar were Robert Plant and Phil Collins during the peaks
of their success? Moreover, how well did they get along? And what do they think of each other today?
Amateur rock historians may recall Robert Plant and Phil Collins sharing a platform
during Led Zeppelin's infamous return to the stage in July 1985 during a televised Live
Aid performance in Philadelphia's JFK Stadium. Although much has been written about Live
Aid and its effectiveness in the decades since, the return of Led Zeppelin was just as heralded
as the Second Coming. Collins, who famously performed twice that day, jetting across the
Atlantic to sit in with Led Zeppelin, would lament his decision when asked about it years later.
This wobbly performance in front of the world, labeled "disastrous" by all who played,
would lead to a tumultuous relationship and bitter feud between Collins and lead
guitarist Jimmy Page. The band stoically made it through a sloppy 20-minute show,
plagued from the start by monitor failures, out-of-tune guitars, a lack of rehearsals, and a
hoarse Robert Plant. The band was so dissatisfied with their performance that they refused to allow
it to be used on the subsequent Live Aid DVD. When asked how he thought the concert went during an
awkward backstage interview with MTV following the performance, Plant would diplomatically respond,
"The three of us know what we're doing,
and everybody who helped us did their very, very best."
Years later, Collins told The Daily Telegraph that performing with
Led Zeppelin was like "nasty alchemy," a reference to Page's characterization
of Led Zeppelin coming together as a strange alchemy. Collins went on to tell the outlet:
"Here's how it is. Robert on his own:
a lovely bloke. Robert and anything to do with Zeppelin: a strange chemistry
happens. It's like a nasty strain of alchemy. Everything becomes very dark – sulfurous even."
For the sake of transparency, it should be stated that there was no friction between Plant and
Collins in the years following the occurrence. In the same interview, Collins maintained that
the two were "still friends." Regardless of this minor blip in both musicians' tremendous careers,
Plant and Collins' bond dates back longer than the Live Aid debacle and their true relationship
is remarkably sweet. What many rock fans may not realize is that Collins
was instrumental in getting Plant on the right path after the split of Led Zeppelin in 1980.
Plant was completely adrift musically and emotionally after the death of his son,
Karac, in 1977, as well as the death of his best friend,
drummer John Bonham in 1980. Plant would eventually have a change of heart and yearn
to rise from the ashes of Led Zeppelin. The question was: how? He was on his own without
the studio brilliance of Jimmy Page or the virtuoso versatility of John Paul Jones.
Phil Collins appeared to be the answer to this moral and musical quandary.
Collins, a Bonham admirer, urged Plant to make his solo album
and even offered to participate on the drum sessions for his first solo album,
Pictures at Eleven, released in 1982. All of this was happening while ”In the Air Tonight" was
making major waves on radio stations all around the world. Plant revealed in his own podcast,
"Digging Deep: The Robert Plant Podcast" how much of an enthusiastic powerhouse
Collins was throughout these sessions, which inspired the newly solo singer to keep going.
Plant and Collins' collaboration was so successful that Collins played on Plant's second album,
Principle of Moments, which was released a year later in 1983. To promote the album,
Collins even embarked on a leg of the North American tour with Plant.
Plant would go on to remark in this 2019 podcast,
"I was certainly and admirably aided by Phil Collins."
As you can see, the relationship between these two titans is one of mutual appreciation,
respect, and, at its best, solidarity, which persists today.