Robert Plant

Few rock bands cast as monolithic a shadow as Led Zeppelin, but their vocalist, Robert Plant, has stepped outside it and met success on his own terms during an admirable 40-year solo career which shows little sign of winding down.

Hitting the ground running with 1982’s acclaimed, gold-selling Pictures At Eleven album, Plant has pursued a restless muse, and his post-Led Zeppelin canon includes records designed to distance him from his past (The Principle Of Moments, Shaken ’n’ Stirred) while others have gone some way towards making peace with it (the high-octane rock of Manic Nirvana). Plant’s desire to break new ground has often resulted in him making his most resonant music when he’s simply followed his own path. This approach has led to sublime solo sets such as 1993’s Fate Of Nations, plus several notable collaborations. To date, these include two albums with The Sensational Space Shifters; a high-profile reunion with Jimmy Page, which resulted in 1998’s acclaimed Walking Into Clarksdale; and thrilling, Americana-flavoured sessions with Alison Krauss, resulting in the Grammy-winning Raising Sand and its hotly-anticipated follow-up, Raise The Roof.