Robert Plant Loves Dread Zeppelin
Kerrang! Magazine UK - March 24, 1990 - The legendary cover that changed everything!
Strange and wondrous things happened when Dread Zeppelin played the Palomino Club in the San Fernando Valley, CA. Maybe it was the Rasta meets Honky Tonk vibes, or possibly Elvis, but there certainly was a "magical stew" being stirred in the venerable, North Hollywood cowboy bar.
We had met our friend, Screaming Jay Hawkins there, MTV News with Kurt Loder interviewed us there... but as good as those things were, the best was yet to come.
I had gotten to the club early that night and was helping set up the concession booth when an Englishman approached me and asked me about the t-shirts and the Birdcage 45 singles we were selling. He introduced himself as Ross Halfin, and said that he was a photographer for a lot of major music publications.
"Look, I'm going to be taking pictures of Robert Plant tomorrow and I'd like to take him some of these records and t-shirts."
"Wow... really!" Yeah, man, take as many as you'd like."
At this point, I'm truly hoping that I hadn't been scammed. Ross was a nice enough guy, and seemed very unassuming and the "real deal," but I always got nervous handing out free goods. He stayed for the whole show, said he loved it and would give the swag to Percy. OK!
Our management got a call a couple of weeks later... apparently, Robert Plant just didn't like the Dread Zeppelin stuff, he LOVED it. When Ross gave him the t-shirt, he insisted on wearing it for the photo shoot. So there is Led Zeppelin's lead singer, proudly wearing our t-shirt while posing for pictures that would wind up in music magazines all over the world.
Turns out Ross Halfin is one of the biggest, and most respected, rock photographers out there. I had no idea... what a lucky break.
In the upcoming weeks, photos and mentions of Dread Zeppelin by Robert Plant were all over the place. Rolling Stone did a major cover story on Led Zeppelin and, in it, Plant says we are his favorite band. British collector mag, Q, does a story on Plant's record collection. In the main photo, Percy is sitting in his music room surrounded by his favorite records - guess which two 45 singles are propped up right in front? Yep, "Immigrant Song" and "Whole Lotta Love" in beautiful red and pink vinyl respectively, both on Birdcage Records. And best, Robert Plant on the cover of British Metal mag, Kerrang!, pointing to the DZ T-shirt he is wearing and the caption reads: Robert Plant: why I Dread Zeppelin.
Plant's endorsement was a game-changer for us. No longer would people say, "Hey, you can't do that" or "You're going to get sued!" They may have thought it, but at least they didn't say it as much.
When I had to go to meet the head of the Elvis Presley estate, original TCB guy, Jerry Schilling, he knew all about Plant's DZ admiration and it cleared the way for him to give the King's approval, too (with a few minor changes - another story for a different time). Turns out Jerry was a huge Led Zeppelin fan. Who knew?
Over the following year, Plant gave many interviews where he would say very kind things about us. It helped legitimize the band... a lot. He appeared on the syndicated radio show, Rockline, and talked over the telephone with Dread Zep singer, Tortelvis. He thanked us for giving him months of pleasure. Can you beat that?
In 1991, while we were on the US portion of our "5,000,000 Tortelvis Fans Can't Be Wrong" tour, Plant's people contacted us and said Robert would like to join us on stage in Rochester, NY. OK... we're figuring we'll bring him up for the big closer, "Stairway To Heaven." During the show, we heard he was there but none of us had seen him. Sadly, as it turns out, several press people got wind of what was planned and hassled him so much that he left early. Bummer! He did send a nice note, though. A gentleman.
