Credit: Far Out / Led Zeppelin / Alamy

The one half of Led Zeppelin that Keith Richards couldn’t stomach: “Started to get on my nerves”

Sun 24 May 2026 17:15, UK

Keith Richards calling you the lead in Led Zeppelin isn’t exactly the compliment that it might seem at first.

You could be mistaken for thinking he was referring to this as the essential ingredient that kept the band together, but instead, he meant it in the most literal sense of a physical heavy metal, becoming a burden and dragging them down. It was a pretty harsh comment at the best of times, but especially when it applied to John Bonham.

In the eyes of most, Bonham was one of the greatest drummers to ever grace the Earth and perhaps the greatest asset to Led Zeppelin as a whole, especially given the fact that following his tragic passing, the band could simply be no more. But for Richards, despite calling him “a hell of a powerhouse”, he also felt he was “heavy-handed – that’s where the lead comes in”.

It was a bizarre criticism if ever you’ve heard one, particularly since the furthest foray Richards has ever taken towards the drum kit is limited to the studio. To this end, it was also clear that he tends to only respect men of his own craft – Jimmy Page, for example, is “one of the best guitar players I’ve ever known”, saying that the success of the band was essentially down to him alone.

Yet if you were expecting Richards to throw around compliments like confetti, it seemed he was in short supply on that particular day, because he didn’t stop there when it came to firing even more pelters towards the British heavy metal battalion. You can’t disagree with his assertion that Robert Plant is probably the most colourful character of the lot, but it’s just the way he goes about it.

“I played their album quite a few times when I first got it. But then the guy’s voice started to get on my nerves. I don’t know why; maybe he’s a little too acrobatic,” Richards once recalled, throwing in that Plant was “exuberant” for good measure. OK, it maybe wasn’t the worst thing he could have said, but still – the intent raised its head nonetheless.

Saying one was an acrobat and the other was too heavy certainly gave the impression that Richards thought Led Zeppelin existed at polarising ends of the spectrum. Whether other people agreed with his take on the band was another matter entirely, but if there is anything that history has proved, it’s that he’ll not be getting down from his soapbox.

Indeed, if Richards chose not to like Led Zeppelin, then that was his prerogative. You can’t win ‘em all, as they say. But you would still think, being from a top-flight band of the 1960s, that he would be able to recognise the rising talent of the next generation. Well, put it this way – if he did, he definitely didn’t find it within the scores of Led Zeppelin.

In that regard, I highly doubt Bonham or Plant ever lost any sleep at night over Richards’ slightly scathing words towards them. I’m sure they could have a few missiles of their own to fling in his direction, if they ever chose to do so. It wasn’t an out-and-out rock and roll rivalry in the typical sense, more of a sneering contempt. But sometimes, those can be even more lethal.