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Why did Robert Plant hate David Covedale?


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  • 3 months later...

Having met both men I think I can put a bit of a different perspective on the relationship between the two....

First off....it amazes me the difference of perspective between European and American views of Coverdale. He's held in MUCH higher regard in England and Europe than he is in the States. My own theory is that plain ignorance of DC's work has led to people thinking he was a Johnny come lately in 1987....when in actuality he had been steadily working for 20 years. Early Whitesnake was a very BRITISH band. Hard for American audiences to get into. Yet, it was the best era of the band and possibly David Coverdale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wqWaLdjoqo

This is the band at their peak in terms of live performances

I can say that it came as a HUGE surprise to DC when Plant started taking shots at him in 1987. Coverdale considered Plant a friend and struggled to come to terms with the shots. From Plants perspective he was seeing someone "do him" and it irritated him....however, lets not discount this one thing....Coverdale was outselling Plant by 11 million copies or something (The Whitesnake 1987 album has sold 14 million worldwide....I believe Now and Zen has sold in the neighborhood of 3 million...someone will correct me if I'm wrong) and maybe...just maybe a hint of "I've known this guy for 15 years and now he's outselling me" crept into Plants brain.

Who knows? DC himself has said he's tried to bury the hatchet...maybe it will happen soon enough. It irritates me that people in the States only know this BRIEF cartoon version of DC and not the rest of his work...but those are the facts of life.

Jeff

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Having met both men I think I can put a bit of a different perspective on the relationship between the two....

First off....it amazes me the difference of perspective between European and American views of Coverdale. He's held in MUCH higher regard in England and Europe than he is in the States. My own theory is that plain ignorance of DC's work has led to people thinking he was a Johnny come lately in 1987....when in actuality he had been steadily working for 20 years. Early Whitesnake was a very BRITISH band. Hard for American audiences to get into. Yet, it was the best era of the band and possibly David Coverdale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wqWaLdjoqo

This is the band at their peak in terms of live performances

I can say that it came as a HUGE surprise to DC when Plant started taking shots at him in 1987. Coverdale considered Plant a friend and struggled to come to terms with the shots. From Plants perspective he was seeing someone "do him" and it irritated him....however, lets not discount this one thing....Coverdale was outselling Plant by 11 million copies or something (The Whitesnake 1987 album has sold 14 million worldwide....I believe Now and Zen has sold in the neighborhood of 3 million...someone will correct me if I'm wrong) and maybe...just maybe a hint of "I've known this guy for 15 years and now he's outselling me" crept into Plants brain.

Who knows? DC himself has said he's tried to bury the hatchet...maybe it will happen soon enough. It irritates me that people in the States only know this BRIEF cartoon version of DC and not the rest of his work...but those are the facts of life.

Jeff

Cheers Jeff, but the comments I have made in this thread also come from the perspective of having met both men. I can't see why Coverdale would have considered Plant a "friend" as they only met at a few gigs and did not socialise "out of work" at all.

Oh and I can say the first time I heard Plant "taking shots at " Coverdale was in 1981 - when Coverdale could only dream of the kind of success Plant had seen.

Edited by Knebby
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Your painting with a very broad brush. David Coverdale has been a singer of songs and maker of music his whole life and continues to do so. One particular era of his career

copped Robert's style but that's as far as it goes so far as I'm concerned.

well said, and i still think that Coverdale will be onstage with Jimmy before Plant.

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If Jimmy would get on stage again regularly,I wouldn't care if Mickey Mouse was the singer.

i'm really with ya on that. wonder what p.diddy is doin.....

btw, after re-reading the posts directly over my head from earlier this year, i have to say that ian gillian is a monster and i've loved everything he's done. not pretentious, no bullshit, great pipes, lotsa passion.

there. i said it. it needed to be said.

(ducks behind bushes)

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Surely to god Jimmy can find somebody more appealing than Coverdale to play with. Watching the video posted above just confirms to me how cheezy he is.

No wonder Plant doesn't like being compared to him; they're not at all is the same class!

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Cheers Jeff, but the comments I have made in this thread also come from the perspective of having met both men. I can't see why Coverdale would have considered Plant a "friend" as they only met at a few gigs and did not socialise "out of work" at all.

Oh and I can say the first time I heard Plant "taking shots at " Coverdale was in 1981 - when Coverdale could only dream of the kind of success Plant had seen.

Cheers to you Knebby...This is where we diverge because I heard Plant being nothing but complimentary about DC all the way till about 1985. Plant first met DC in 1974 and in fact there's photographic evidence of Plant visiting DP while they were rehearsing with new addition Tommy Bolin in Malibu in mid 75 in the Days May Come, Days May Go cd (released by Purple Records of the Malibu rehearsals with Tommy Bolin for what was to become the Come Taste the Band CD) Glenn Hughes has repeatedly said that Plant and Bonzo were friends of the band and in fact Bohnam wasn't exactly happy the band no longer had Ritchie Blackmore as a guitar player (then he stumbled on stage in 1976 in New York and made public his drunken disdain for Tommy Bolin)

Plant went so far as to say in a couple interviews in 1988 that he didn't even KNOW Coverdale which was pantently false and DC knew it. I met Plant in the late 70's. He and Billy Connelly would show up at Whitesnake gigs in the late 70's and early 80's. Does anyone think it's a little "on the nosey" that Plant jammed with Bernie Marsden, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice at the Sunflower Jam in 06? That's half of the best era of Whitesnake.

DC has said over and over that he could deal with Plant's "fishwife" type attitude towards him, but the fact that he said he didn't know him hurt him most of all. As we all know Robert has a tendency to...talk shit about people. He took it a wee bit too far in the case of Coverdale.

Coverdale maintains that he and Plant were "friends" and that Plant's late tirades were do to the fact that DC was finally outselling him. David said to me once that Plant has blinders on and as he told and inteviewer in 88..."we are all magpies...I suggest that Robert check his own nest before pecking around in mine"

I like Robert....I truly do...I think he is a gentleman and deserves both the success he has achieved and the critical praise he has engendered. His influence on modern music is unquestionable. He dissapoints me when it comes to David Coverdale because he took what was legitimate annoyance with David dying his hair blond and singing in his upper register to a vendetta status and frankly carrying it on to an unnessesary level.

And please....can we give this "David Coverversion" thing a rest....it's so 80's :)

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Cheers to you Knebby...This is where we diverge because I heard Plant being nothing but complimentary about DC all the way till about 1985.

Hey again Jeff :wave:

Like I said I personally heard him slagging off Whitesnake as early as 1981. You may not have heard it, but it was happening.

Plant first met DC in 1974 and in fact there's photographic evidence of Plant visiting DP while they were rehearsing with new addition Tommy Bolin in Malibu in mid 75 in the Days May Come, Days May Go cd (released by Purple Records of the Malibu rehearsals with Tommy Bolin for what was to become the Come Taste the Band CD).

Yeah I have copies myself of pics of them together, and Magnet (who worked for Zeppelin at one time and was a great mate of Robert's) was working for DP then and often invited Robert around. I'm not disputing that.

Glenn Hughes has repeatedly said that Plant and Bonzo were friends of the band and in fact Bohnam wasn't exactly happy the band no longer had Ritchie Blackmore as a guitar player (then he stumbled on stage in 1976 in New York and made public his drunken disdain for Tommy Bolin)

I know Glenn and I know that he often mixed in the same social circles as Robert and Bonzo, being from roughly the same area. Again, I'm not disputing that.

Plant went so far as to say in a couple interviews in 1988 that he didn't even KNOW Coverdale which was pantently false and DC knew it. I met Plant in the late 70's. He and Billy Connelly would show up at Whitesnake gigs in the late 70's and early 80's. Does anyone think it's a little "on the nosey" that Plant jammed with Bernie Marsden, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice at the Sunflower Jam in 06? That's half of the best era of Whitesnake.

I'm not sure what you mean by "on the nosey", but that was a legitimate charitable event that Robert agreed to play at and would have played at regardless of whether those ex-Whitesnake members were there or not.

Yeah I know he made a stupid remark about not knowing DC - but that was in response to DC claiming that they were big mates - they weren't. Robert only went to a couple of WS shows, you make it sound like it was regular - and once (in 1982) it was because the show in Birmingham coincided with Cozy Powell's 35th birthday and he was attending the party afterwards - I know because I was there. I was also at the Whitesnake show in 1981 in Edinburgh that Billy Connolly attended - in fact I danced with him to "Aint No Love" on the side of the stage and he told me how he missed Bonzo.

DC has said over and over that he could deal with Plant's "fishwife" type attitude towards him, but the fact that he said he didn't know him hurt him most of all. As we all know Robert has a tendency to...talk shit about people. He took it a wee bit too far in the case of Coverdale.

Coverdale maintains that he and Plant were "friends" and that Plant's late tirades were do to the fact that DC was finally outselling him. David said to me once that Plant has blinders on and as he told and inteviewer in 88..."we are all magpies...I suggest that Robert check his own nest before pecking around in mine"

I like Robert....I truly do...I think he is a gentleman and deserves both the success he has achieved and the critical praise he has engendered. His influence on modern music is unquestionable. He dissapoints me when it comes to David Coverdale because he took what was legitimate annoyance with David dying his hair blond and singing in his upper register to a vendetta status and frankly carrying it on to an unnessesary level.

And please....can we give this "David Coverversion" thing a rest....it's so 80's :)

The thing is - they were never FRIENDS - and while I do find Robert's public attitude to Coverdale a bit nasty and I can see why it hurts him, it was COVERDALE who stretched the truth. They weren't mates, but yes, they certainly encountered each-other.

Peace to you. B)

Edited by Knebby
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The thing is - they were never FRIENDS - and while I do find Robert's public attitude to Coverdale a bit nasty and I can see why it hurts him, it was COVERDALE who stretched the truth. They weren't mates, but yes, they certainly encountered each-other.

Peace to you. B)

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The thing is - they were never FRIENDS - and while I do find Robert's public attitude to Coverdale a bit nasty and I can see why it hurts him, it was COVERDALE who stretched the truth. They weren't mates, but yes, they certainly encountered each-other.

Peace to you. B)

Hello Knebby...as a compliment to you I must say it's refreshing to have a civilized discussion about this subject. It tends to get people riled up. :)

First of all I'm willing to concede that there is a misconception between the two about the level of each other's friendships. David says the two met quite often in 75 when both DP and Zep were in Malibu rehearsing for albums....I do not have first hand knowledge of how many times Plant attended WS concerts in the early 80's period, however I do know David puts the number much higher...up to and including a concert where Robert brought Carmen which David specifically points out. Also....I believe Whitesnake didn't tour in 1982....are you sure you arent thinking of 1983? I believe the party you are referring to occured either right before...or immediatley after their headline apperance and Donnington. Memory is fuzzy on this one.

While Whitesnake was never the darling of High Street they were certainly a band of the people in that time period.

Lets remember one thing. Robert tends to talk out of both sides of his mouth at times. He put down DP in the press several times....yet he had a good relationship with most of the band members. He said, from my perspective, highly complimentary things about DC in the early 80's....at one point telling a friend of mine he was the best blues rock singer in England at the time. In a bit of irony I remember David telling me that Pictures at Eleven was "bollocks". He said the best part of the record was Cozy's drumming on Slow Dancer and he couldn't understand why Plant was "doing a bit of lounge". So I guess things cut both ways.

David was shocked by Robert's initial comments (he called it a hate campaign) but he was only "hurt" by Plant saying he never knew him...which as we've both said was a dumb comment. If you know David...he can dish it out with the best of them (Including the famous "you can hear Kashmir on Moroccan radio 24 hours a day")

David tends to be very straightforward about his relationships with the other members of Zeppelin. He says he rarely saw Jimmy and Jonesy in the 70's. He says he didn't see Bonzo in person after 1976...but he maintains he and Robert remained in contact. Once again...this could be a value judgement both men place on their perspectives.

Knebby....you said that you've met both men. Was your interaction with Coverdale as pleasent as it was with Plant?

Cheers :)

Hey Jeff - I also enjoy a civillised discussion so thanks :beer:

First thing I want to answer is your question re Coverdale - I like him very much. He is incredibly witty and a great raconteur - wonderful company - and has a warm heart. I have always enjoyed his company. I do like Robert better though - I find him a more honest character of greater integrity. But as you know they are very different.

The gig you mention where Robert took Carmen is the one I'm refering to that was Cozy's birthday. He also took Maureen, and Jason Bonham, along with Rex King. It was definitely 1982 - December - and you will see from this pass that there were dates then.

pk108.jpg

As for the rest of what you say - I think we have similar perspectives. Robert CAN be a bitch, and so can DC.

Anyway we've both made our points so I won't ramble on!

Edited by Knebby
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You all need to understand that the people in the U.S. do not know anything about David Coverdale other than the "Whitesnake 1987" and "Slip Of The Tongue" so they view them as a hair band because they are ignorant.

Maybe the kids, but my friends and I were well aware of Coverdale when he was actually in Deep Purple.

And if any Led Zeppelin member has a reason to really take issue with Whitesnake, I'd say it would have to be Jimmy. Have you seen Adrian Vandenberg in Still of the Night pulling out a violin bow and playing along to the string section like it was on a guitar at all? What a blatant ripoff! But clearly Jimmy took that in stride. As for Robert, I was at a Whitesnake show in 1987. Some fans hung a banner of the balcony. It read "David Coverdale vs Robert Plant: Give it up Dave". And these people bought tickets to the show! I saw Coverdale look up with a smile and then saw the change of expression when he actually realised what the banner said. He was not amused in the least. But yeah, Coverdale wasn't any sort of Robert clone in the 70s. In the 80s the lines may have been blurred. Although I don't remember Robert wearing makeup and having his photos airbrushed! :rolleyes:

That said, up Glenn Hughes!!! What a voice that guy has! I remember the Cal Jam when DP opened for Sabbath. Coverdale was raspy, but Hughes sounded amazing! Burn fucking rocked!!! Hughes makes that song! I was fortunate enough to have a pint with him before he jumped onstage at a Badlands show. What a nice guy!

I love the Coverdale Page album, I just wish I could take the vocals out at times. They can be unlistenably shrill. I like Coverdale when he's soulful. I hate it when he shrieks. It doesn't serve the song, IMO. It's hitting high notes for the sake of hitting high notes. That's what makes Robert so magnificent as a vocalist. He knows he's got it, but he does it for dramatic effect when the song is served by it. Coverdale never learned that discernment. It's like he just thinks "I'll sing high here". He needs to let that 80s mentality go (for all I know he has these days). Because on Coverdale Page it can be downright painful.

Oh, and for anyone fancying the idea of Coverdale singing for "Zeppelin", I've heard Coverdale do Zeppelin songs. In a word, No. Please, no!

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One of my favorite Plant "bitch" moments was his rant against ever doing the "push push", "little girl" thing again onstage. He was too old and dignified to sink that low ever again. He claimed he had moved on. This was in 1988, when he went off on Coverdale long before Coverdale/Page. Since then, he's probably done "Whole Lotta Love" in concert a thousand times.

Hey little girl.....turned into Hey Hey Mama....."bitch bitch" :D

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I distinctly recall an interview with Plant right around the Coverdale / Page era and when the interviewer compared the two and Robert just bristled and said something like " Oh no, I was never that bad, all that preening, Good Lord.."

And Evester, I too was there at the Cal Jam in '74, "Burn" fucking smoked. Glen Hughes is bad ass. So is Ian Paice for that matter

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lol....Robert saying he never "preened" like that is hysterical. Limp wrist....chest out...blouse wearing. Every front man preens link a peacock. It's shtick.

For those who don't know. The Cal Jam was a HUGE festival that Purple headlined in 1974. Something like 200,000 people packed the Ontario Motor Speedway in California.

Here is a clip

Great blues song. It's amazing to see how young DC looks.

Jeff

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lol....Robert saying he never "preened" like that is hysterical. Limp wrist....chest out...blouse wearing. Every front man preens link a peacock. It's shtick.

For those who don't know. The Cal Jam was a HUGE festival that Purple headlined in 1974. Something like 200,000 people packed the Ontario Motor Speedway in California.

Here is a clip

Great blues song. It's amazing to see how young DC looks.

Jeff

I think Glenn is absolutely outstanding at that show. He has the most incredible voice.

Of course Coverdale's aint bad either. B)

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I think Glenn is absolutely outstanding at that show. He has the most incredible voice.

Of course Coverdale's aint bad either. B)

kick-ass clip. not the best purple, imho, but tasty.

i'll take this purple. that's what's good about that band: there's a purple for everyone!

robert would probably preen all over this...

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One of the funniest things I ever heard was Cozy talking about Coverdale and Ritchie Blackmore getting into a backstage brawl in Germany. Hair pulling? lol :hysterical:

:lol: I heard a similar story re Glenn and Bonzo - no hair pulling tho. :D Glenn couldn't keep himself out of trouble back in the day! :rolleyes:

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