Black Country Question

[Abramelin]

Hello, all

This is my first post here so i apologise if it has been asked before.

I am very curious about the Black Country and nearby Birmingham, and how it gave birth to various vocalists and musicians.

Could someone please tell me where exactly Robert Plant grew up?

Wikipedia says he was born in West Bromwich but grew up in Halesowen?

Is this correct? He also went to school in nearby Stourbridge I believe

Which place would he consider his hometown? Halesowen or Stourbridge?

Is there any interview where Robert talks about growing up or his hometown?

Is the county Hereford & Worcester or Worcestershire or have the names been changed now?

I have also heard his name associated with Kidderminster (as per below link), hence the confusion

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/How+Led+Zeppelin+legend+almost+sang+for+Slade%3B+AMAZING+SECRETS+OF...-a0175774151

Many questions i know,

Thanks in advance,

Abramelin

[Plantpothead]

Hello, all

This is my first post here so i apologise if it has been asked before.

I am very curious about the Black Country and nearby Birmingham, and how it gave birth to various vocalists and musicians.

Could someone please tell me where exactly Robert Plant grew up?

Wikipedia says he was born in West Bromwich but grew up in Halesowen?

Is this correct? He also went to school in nearby Stourbridge I believe

Which place would he consider his hometown? Halesowen or Stourbridge?

Is there any interview where Robert talks about growing up or his hometown?

Is the county Hereford & Worcester or Worcestershire or have the names been changed now?

I have also heard his name associated with Kidderminster (as per below link), hence the confusion

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/How+Led+Zeppelin+legend+almost+sang+for+Slade%3B+AMAZING+SECRETS+OF...-a0175774151

Many questions i know,

Thanks in advance,

Abramelin

......and he supports Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

[Disco Duck]

I've read he grew up in Kidderminster, but attended secondary school in Stourbridge. I believe both towns are in Worcestershire.

[kitts]

Hi Abramelin

I'm new here too. I can't help you with the specifics of your question but Robert Plant definitely has a Midlands/Black Country accent when he sings. ie. "Vallhalla I am coming(gg)". Those hard 'g's were slightly comical to me when I was young and stupid.

[SteveAJones]

Robert Plant was born in West Bromwich; his parents resided in a home on Trinity Road in West Bromwich at the time.

Having moved to Halesowen, Robert attended King Edward VI Grammar School for Boys in Stourbridge.

Though others have written his first public performance as a singer was in 1963 at Leicester when he filled in on lead vocals for Andy Long & The Original Jurymen, Robert has said his first public performance was in 1962 at an ice skating rink in Swadlincote when he filled in for a school friend who had become ill the night of the show:

"The singer got ill one night and we played an old ice-skating rink in Swadlicote," he remembered. "I could actually sing and ad-lib bits I'd heard on Dion and the Belmonts tracks in the middle of the song."

Some of his fondest memories as a teen pertain to the Seven Stars Blues Club in Stourbridge, where he often performed on harmonica with the Delta Blues Band. Stourbridge Town Hall also holds a special place in his heart.

In 1963 Robert attended Kidderminster College to study for his A-levels.

There's a recording with Led Zeppelin for the BBC in '69 (as I recall) where he distinctly ad-libs he's got the "West Bromwich blues".

All in all, I think it's fair to say Robert considers the West Midlands his home.

[ACrowley]

Yes born in West Bromwich. I suspect he supports Wolverhampton Wanderers or Wolves (who are actually fierce rivals to West Bromwich Albion) because back in the fifties Wolves were the much more successful team winning the league a couple of times...although there could be another reason.

I think his roots are firmly in the West Midlands - Kidderminster (Shropshire) and Stourbridge are both towns not far from his home town. I believe he has a house in Shropshire not far from Kidderminster.

[Abramelin]

Wow,

Thanks to everyone who took the trouble to answer. It was a bit confusing where exactly he was brought up. So not too far from Bonzo in Redditch - both from the Black Country.

So, it is safe to say then that Halesowen is where he grew up and spent his formative years? He left West Bromwich at a very young age I imagine.

It's nice to see that he stayed close to his roots in the West Midlands and still has ties there.

Thanks again,

P.S. I actually really like the West Midlands accent, and the very distinct Brummy accent too.

Abramelin.

[Pagesbow]

Thanks to everyone who took the trouble to answer. It was a bit confusing where exactly he was brought up. So not too far from Bonzo in Redditch - both from the Black Country.

Redditch is in Worcestershire - which is not part of "The Black Country"

P.S. I actually really like the West Midlands accent, and the very distinct Brummy accent too.

Abramelin.

Firstly - you are insane. Secondly, the West Midlands accent is the "Brummy" accent. The Black Country or "yam-yam" accent is something completely different to the Brummy (like 10x worse and less comprehensible) Robert doesn't really have either - or he did - and he "lost" it.

For example, Bonzo is definitely putting on a posh accent for the BBC, if you compare it to the second interview.

[Abramelin]

I like both accents, I think they haver character. For some reason they fascinate me more than any other regional accents.You are right though, even if you listen to an interview with Robert early on in Zep it is very hard to detect a heavy accent, maybe just the bring-ing or sing-ing, things like that. Is it not an accent you like, Pagesbow, if I may ask?

[TheZeppyWanderer]

I like both accents, I think they haver character. For some reason they fascinate me more than any other regional accents.You are right though, even if you listen to an interview with Robert early on in Zep it is very hard to detect a heavy accent, maybe just the bring-ing or sing-ing, things like that. Is it not an accent you like, Pagesbow, if I may ask?

You may already be aware, the tall building on the cover of the 4th album is called "Butterfield Court", in Dudley.

It is still standing, and has been upgraded over the years, unlike other (falling down) houses you see in the picture, which have been demolished.

[Michael Glattback]

Based on information in the public domain, Robert was born in West Bromwich and spent the first few years of his life there but his family moved out to a suburb of Halesowen called Hayley Green. Where Roberts family lived, Causey Farm Road sits right at the foot of the beautiful Clent Hills and is right on the border of the West Midlands and Worcestershire and also the southern border of the Black Country on the edge of green fields, woodland and lovely countryside. I believe Robert moved back to West Bromwich in his late teens to live with his girlfriends family, after attending King Edwards in Stourbridge and not long after his music career really took off. 

[Walsall Boy]

On 7/15/2013 at 1:18 PM, ACrowley said:

Yes born in West Bromwich. I suspect he supports Wolverhampton Wanderers or Wolves (who are actually fierce rivals to West Bromwich Albion) because back in the fifties Wolves were the much more successful team winning the league a couple of times...although there could be another reason.

 

I think his roots are firmly in the West Midlands - Kidderminster (Shropshire) and Stourbridge are both towns not far from his home town. I believe he has a house in Shropshire not far from Kidderminster.

His house is actually in Worcestershire (I won't say exactly where), between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth. 

[Walsall Boy]

On 7/17/2013 at 11:04 PM, TheZeppyWanderer said:

You may already be aware, the tall building on the cover of the 4th album is called "Butterfield Court", in Dudley.

 

It is still standing, and has been upgraded over the years, unlike other (falling down) houses you see in the picture, which have been demolished.

Butterfield Court in Dudley is where John Bonham lived for a while. John also lived at The Three Men in a Boat pub on Stephenson Avenue, Beechdale, Bloxwich just before he joined Led Zeppelin. The pub landlord was William Bonham, John's uncle. I believe Robert Plant lived there too.

The building featured on the album Led Zeppelin IV is Salisbury Court, Birmingham, not Butterfield Court. The building still stands today.

[Walsall Boy]

On 7/14/2013 at 3:09 PM, Abramelin said:

Hello, all

 

This is my first post here so i apologise if it has been asked before.

 

I am very curious about the Black Country and nearby Birmingham, and how it gave birth to various vocalists and musicians.

 

Could someone please tell me where exactly Robert Plant grew up?

 

Wikipedia says he was born in West Bromwich but grew up in Halesowen?

 

Is this correct? He also went to school in nearby Stourbridge I believe

 

Which place would he consider his hometown? Halesowen or Stourbridge?

 

Is there any interview where Robert talks about growing up or his hometown?

 

Is the county Hereford & Worcester or Worcestershire or have the names been changed now?

 

I have also heard his name associated with Kidderminster (as per below link), hence the confusion

 

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/How+Led+Zeppelin+legend+almost+sang+for+Slade%3B+AMAZING+SECRETS+OF...-a0175774151

 

Many questions i know,

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Abramelin

Robert does support Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club as has been mentioned. He's also been known to spectate at Kidderminster Harriers and he's kicked a ball around there in a few friendly games.

I don't know if he was ever considered as a singer with Slade but he almost certainly would have know Noddy Holder because Noddy was a regular at The Three Men in a Boat pub in Bloxwich where Robert and John (Bonham) both lived for a while. The landlord of the pub was John's uncle, William Bonham.