Robert Plant’s favourite song by The Cure
In 1968, The Yardbirds ground to a standstill, with all band members but guitarist Jimmy Page departing to new pastures. Page resolved to reform the band, eventually rebranding as Led Zeppelin. In a carefully selected bassist and drummer, he somehow matched his own instrumental virtuosity. The wheels were finally put in motion when Page stumbled across Robert Plant, the powerful young vocalist of a West Bromwich group called Band of Joy.
“I was appearing at this college when [manager Peter Grant] and Jimmy turned up and asked me if I’d like to join the Yardbirds,” Plant said, recalling his first meeting with Page in a 2008 interview with Classic Rock. “I knew the Yardbirds had done a lot of work in America – which to me meant audiences who would want to know what I might have to offer – so, naturally, I was very interested.”
The frontman sang Jefferson Airplane’s song ‘Somebody To Love’ to Page during this first encounter. The guitarist later recalled the moment: “When I auditioned him and heard him sing, I immediately thought there must be something wrong with him personality-wise or that he had to be impossible to work with because I just could not understand why, after he told me he’d been singing for a few years already, he hadn’t become a big name yet. So I had him down to my place for a little while just to sort of check him out, and we got along great. No problems.”
As Led Zeppelin sculpted their associative brand of explosive, intricate prog-rock, Plant dropped jaws with infallible cadence and window-shattering projection. Rock ‘n’ roll had already had a few notable sets of lungs in the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, Little Richard and Janis Joplin, but Plant was something of a first.
In a past interview with Q, Plant picked out his ten favourite songs, giving an insight into his influences, old and new. Among the choices were telling classics by Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Johnson, Ray Charles and Elvis Presley. He also showed some love for This Mortal Coil for their arresting cover of Tim Buckley’s ‘Song to the Siren’, undoubtedly ensnared by Elizabeth Fraser’s distinctive vocal style.
Most surprising of all among Plant’s selections was ‘Lullaby’, the haunting lead single from The Cure’s 1989 album, Disintegration. A far cry from Led Zeppelin’s classic rock sound, the gothic hit hears Robert Smith whispering of unsettling childhood nightmares. “I love Robert Smith’s beckoning you into his vulnerability,” Plant said of the track. “It’s an interesting little world, like H.G. Wells’s History Of Mr Polly.”
In 1995, Plant and Page performed a live cover of ‘Lullaby’ during a concert in the US, inviting The Cure’s former guitarist Pearl (Porl) Thompson to join them onstage. “Tonight, it’s great to have with us a member of a very important British group, probably the last great British band to affect America, The Cure. On guitar, would you please welcome Mr Porl Thompson,” Plant announced, introducing the song.
Watch Robert Plant and Jimmy Page cover The Cure’s ‘Lullaby’ below.
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