Here's a famous photo of Led Zeppelin that shows the band posing next to a massive plane with their name on it. There was a whole photo shoot done of the boys by their plane, but this particular photo is probably familiar to most folk because it’s a common poster in stores that still catch themselves selling posters. My friend happily accepted the poster as a gift last Christmas and now it hangs on his wall. A wise decision.
When I see that poster of Led Zeppelin, I wonder about how it would have felt to be them, right there in that part of their lives, by their plane, with the camera aimed at them. Pretty untouchable, I think. I mean, at that point in time, when the photo was taken, the band were in their prime. They knew it too, standing there all coolly and cocky, and rightfully so. Imagine you have a chauffeur. Now imagine you chauffeur is a pilot... What I dig and respect about these guys, apart from their outstanding domination in the roots of contemporary rock ʼn rollers, is how they embraced the ride and lived up to the reputation of rockers . The acceptable arrogance and attraction is all there in the photo, clearly dik gerook or just basically tripping balls, as the expression goes. And assuredly, there would have been groupies frantically queuing for Robert Plant and his crew from the boarding gate to the cock pit.
Look, if you’re given that gift and that opportunity of becoming iconic in an industry that asks so much of you, wouldn’t you also take it by the horns, like a matador with a death wish? There should be a time in your ideal life that is reserved for sex, drugs, rock ʼn roll, in no specific order.
