What Robert Plant Thought About His British Contemporaries After the Death of Their Drummer: “Dull, Obvious, and Sad”

In the 1970s, two of the biggest bands in the world were from the United Kingdom—The Who and Led Zeppelin. While they were never formal competitors, they shared an unspoken rivalry that was seemingly fueled by mutual fanbases, similar styles, and cross-band criticism. Concerning criticism, Robert Plant once chimed in on The Who’s continuation after the death of their drummer, Keith Moon. Both for artistic and ethical reasons, Plant was not a fan.

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In 1978, The Who’s founding drummer, Keith Moon, passed away from a drug overdose. Subsequently, The Who started to perform just months after his death in May of 1979 with new drummer, Kenney Jones. This story completely contrasts the story of Led Zeppelin, as after the death of John Bonham in 1980, Led Zeppelin split up and only got together a handful of times after the fact.

The Who’s continuation without Moon is seemingly what brought on Plant’s negative perspective of the band, as he told Rolling Stone in 1994 that their shows without Moon were “dull, obvious, and Sad”, via Showbiz Cheatsheet.

Robert Plant Didn’t Want What The Who Had Post-Moon

The death of John Bonham rocked the world of pop culture for countless reasons. Not only did the world lose one of the greatest drummers of all time, but it also lost one of the greatest rock bands of all time. While Led Zeppelin could have continued without Bonham, that is seemingly the last thing Robert Plant wanted. And this is exactly why he had some critical words to share about his rock ‘n’ roll contemporaries, The Who.

Regarding The Who’s decision to continue without Moon, Plant told RS, “I was frightened of the bandwagon.” “I saw the Who trundled around the stadiums of America, and I found it so dull, obvious, and sad. The fact that they carried on without [Keith] Moon was always a mystery to me, but the fact that they did it again and again, augmenting it with more and more musicians … I don’t want to be a part of that aspect of entertainment. I’ve played Vegas already,” continued Plant.

To each their own, right? It’s fair to say that Plant is not a fan of reconfigurations in light of a passing band member. To Robert Plant, the guys you start with are the guys you end with. Hence, after Bonham’s death, Led Zeppelin put a stop to their career.

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