Heady Daze: The Mission Years, 1985–1990 by Wayne Hussey

Author:Wayne Hussey
Format: epub

Mick: ‘The biggest bleedin’ pieces of wood I can find.’

Robert Plant was great. Is a great. He was everything I wanted him to be; the quintessential rock star. He was friendly and sociable, down to earth, a fount of musical knowledge, and he loved a natter about football. He was also a total babe magnet. Just being sat with him I’d look on in absolute astonishment and awe, and a teeny-weeny bit enviously if truth be known, at the number of stunning women that would parade past him, blatantly giving him the come-on. And he loved it, revelled in it. Of course he bloody did. Who wouldn’t?

Much later, in October 2012, I went to see Robert play in São Paulo. I hadn’t seen him for a good few years, probably since the late Eighties, but I managed to finagle myself a place on the guest list with after-show passes. I took Cinthya, my wife, who, it must be said, is not a fan. She’s an Eighties kid – loves The Cure, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, the Cocteau Twins, that kinda thing. She dismissed Zeppelin as she pretty much dismissed most music from the Seventies. I’ve tried to educate her but she’s not having it. ‘I just don’t like the sound,’ she opines. Fair enough. Anyway, she came with me to see Robert this night, the first of two nights he was playing at the Espaço das Américas. And while I can’t claim that she loved the show and was converted, it did reduce her to tears when Robert performed his shatteringly moving version of Tim Buckley’s ‘Song To The Siren’. Of course Cinthya knew the song primarily as sung by Elizabeth Fraser as part of the This Mortal Coil project. The song is so beautiful that I’ve included all three versions in my playlist at the head of this chapter. Take yer pick, they are all goosebumpy. After the show, we went backstage and stood in the outer dressing room area chatting with the lads in the band, a couple of them Bristol lads (as am I) who’d also played with Massive Attack and Portishead, when Robert came out of his dressing room and made a beeline straight for Cinthya and me. ‘Wayne, me old fruit. I haven’t seen you for years. How the devil are you?’ he asked, while warmly taking my hand and giving it a rigorous shake. And before I could reply, ‘and who is this ravishing beauty?’, he went on with a twinkle in his eye. He then proceeded to chat to Cinthya for the next 20 minutes or so while I barely got a word in edgeways. Cinthya received the full Robert Plant charm offensive and was absolutely enchanted by the old Lothario. By which time the tour manager was trying to clear the dressing room and get everyone ready to leave. ‘Are you coming tomorrow night?’, Robert asked. ‘Come and watch the show from the side of the stage.’ Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for me, Cinthya couldn’t make the next night.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.