The fake drug bust that launched a rock and roll legend: “Robert Plant must go free!”
In the 1960s, there was arguably nothing cooler for a musician than a drug charge. In February 1967, it made The Rolling Stones legends as Keith Richards’ house was raided. It had become a kind of rite of passage, the ultimate sign of a rock and roll rebel, the ultimate badge of countercultural honour to become an enemy of the state simply for smoking a little pot or doing a little line. Robert Plant clearly knew that, and he knew what he needed to do.
The photo is iconic. An 18-year-old Plant stands in the middle, dressed in truly hippie garb, adorned in a huge medallion, surrounded by beautiful women and a whole entourage of other kids, all holding signs with slogans. “Happiness is pot-shaped,” one reads, another simply says, “Legalise pot”. But one other specifically says, “Robert Plant must go free.”
That’s the slogan that confuses people. On Getty Images, the photograph comes with the caption, “Musician and singer Robert Plant after he appeared in court on drug charges.” But that’s a lie—Plant was never arrested, and the charges never existed. Who knew that PR stunts were a thing back then?
Maybe this was the earliest example or merely an example of the way counterculture at that point was starting to get clued in on marketing, a sign of how Plant, especially, would know exactly how to make Led Zeppelin a success and how, when he and Jimmy Page eventually met, the two would become a perfect double act, both half creative and half business-minded.
Plant’s first sign of that savvy was right here, as phoney as it was. As his earlier group, Band Of Joy, were relaunching with new players and trying a second wave of making things work, he seemed to want to do an image rehash too, and when he got a ticket for his bad driving, an idea hit.
Plant roped in the band’s manager to write a press release regarding his upcoming court appearance, erasing the fact it was for a traffic violation and repositioning the singer as the new rebel, the next warrior fighting the war on drugs.
“Robert Plant is well known for his sympathy with the ‘Flower Generation’ and for being an ardent supporter of the campaign to legalise the smoking of cannabis,” the press release read, “In view of this public appearance, a large number of flower children, and other Robert Plant fans, have decided that this will be an ideal time and place to display their support to Robert’s beliefs.”
It’s genius wording. It’s not that Dolan is specifically saying that Plant is there for drug charges, but is encouraging people to gather in support of drugs, crafting a perfect image, but technically lying. “As a result of this, at least 30 fans have already made banners, in preparation for a demonstration meeting, to take place at approximately 10.30am next Thursday, 10th August, outside the court buildings,” Dolan wrote, tipping off the press to send photographers.
That’s how the photo came to be. Inside the court, Plant managed to get out of his driving charges, then he emerged into this scene, primed to play the role of the hippie hero. A bold deception? Yes. A stroke of genius that got Plant in the papers? Yes. “We helped him get his first publicity,” said Tony Noons, Plant’s then-booking agent, “And the rest is history”.
