Chris Blackwell interview, Part 3: Fate of Nations (1991-1993) to present

This three-part interview of Chris Blackwell originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History." Part one can be found here, and part two can be found here.

For Robert Plant's fourth and fifth solo albums, he used one studio band. The same band joined him on the road for two large-scale tours to support those albums. Guitarist Doug Boyle and drummer Chris Blackwell were ready to get down to business for their third studio album with Plant, but they were about to get a wake-up call. The story unfolds here in the third part of my interview with Chris Blackwell.

SS: Your band was on the road all over Europe, the United Kingdom and North America between May 1990 and January 1991.

CB: The 1990 tour was great fun, better than 1988 because it was more extreme! We were all battle hardened by then too and could take the piss out of each other. Knebworth [in June 1990] was the pinnacle, though!

SS: Did you finally get some time off after the tour?

CB: We all had about two months off.

SS: It's said that in January 1991, Robert Plant actually agreed to a full-scale Led Zeppelin reunion tour, about which he then changed his mind after 45 minutes or so. Do you remember this as true?

CB: I have no idea. He kept that side of things very quiet from us for obvious reasons.

SS: I noticed that you co-wrote five songs on Plant's next album, which turned out to be Fate of Nations.

CB: 'Calling to You' and 'Network News' were written in my studio and presented to Robert complete for him to write the melody and lyrics. The others were written by all of us, mostly in Cornwall, Wales, I seem to recall.

'29 Palms' was written in Boulder, Colorado, on the stage at the University [of Colorado]. Phil started playing the opening guitar riff, Doug joined in, and then we all sort of took it from there really! It was very hot outside that day . . . I liked Boulder! We stayed at the Boulderado Hotel (great name!).

All the tracks were written specifically for Fate of Nations. I found that my input as a writer was greater than as a player by that stage because of all the weird vibes that were going down. I played on only one track on the album, and even that was taken from a demo we'd done in Wales!

SS: Did you think the album was going to have Plant's same backing band -- Doug Boyle on guitar, Phil Johnstone on keyboards, Charlie Jones on bass and you on drums?

CB: Initially yes - there was no reason not to. But then I kept bumping into different guitarists and drummers at the studio and thought that perhaps there was something going on that I didn't know about!

SS: At those sessions, I count seven guitarists, two keyboardists, one bassist, and four drummers. Where did all those musicians come from?

CB: I really have no idea!

SS: After two albums and huge tours, was the core lineup finally over in your mind?

CB: I think we knew that it was [over] anyway by this time.

SS: When did you realize that?

CB: When we started recording at RAK studios for Fate of Nations and found various other musicians milling about - bit of a give away really!

SS: Do you remember the last straw before you were through?

CB: I would probably say the last straw was in Cornwall, where we stayed at a studio called Sawmills, writing and recording for a couple of weeks. There was a really strange atmosphere in the place (and I don't mean Doug's socks!). Robert kept coming out with these really obscure references for song ideas, and I couldn't get a handle on where he was coming from at all. Personally I wanted him to go the whole hog and do what he did eventually with Jimmy anyway, but at the time I think he was still fighting the idea. Fate of Nations turned out good though!

SS: Do you still see Plant these days?

CB: I normally pop along to the gigs when he plays in London.

SS: Did you see Plant and the Strange Sensation in London this year?

CB: I didn't see them, but good luck to him!

SS: It's been announced that Porl Thompson, ex-guitarist for The Cure, will not be on tour with the group this year. [At the time of the interview, his replacement had not yet been announced.] Might you recommend any guitarist to take his place?

CB: Doug Boyle?

SS: You play guitar. Would you be up for the gig?

CB: No! Quite happy doing what I do these days!

SS: What you do these days -- which is what www.chrisblackwell.co.uk is all about -- is music for television and film. In February, some of your music was recorded with a complete orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. Here's a quote from your Web site:

"Orchestral sessions are very different to Rock and Roll sessions. For a start they all turn up on time, secondly they read the stuff and play it like they've known it all their lives, and thirdly it all has to be done in an allotted time."

It sounds like a whole different world, right, Chris?

CB: It is the same but different! There are many facets to music, but it all boils down to that same emotional response thing - the power of an orchestra in full flight playing my stuff gives me the same feeling as playing Madison Square Garden with Planty! I love the different avenues I am exploring, and every day brings a new challenge and keeps me on my toes! Doing session work on the kit again too now from time to time - better than going to the gym!

Chris Blackwell interview, Part 2: Now and Zen (1987-1988) and Manic Nirvana (1989-1990)

This three-part interview of Chris Blackwell originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

In Part 1 last week, we were introduced to Chris Blackwell, a session drummer who hit the jackpot in 1987 when a few demos featuring his work were passed on from a publisher to Robert Plant. Among them was a song called "Heaven Knows," which particularly caught Plant's attention, and so he personally called up the musicians from the demo.

CB: Next thing I know there's a message on my answering machine saying, "Hi, it's Robert Plant" and would I like to join his band? He didn't even get his manager to call me! I didn't hesitate in calling him back because I thought it was a wind up! I mean you don't normally get Robert Plant leaving messages do you!

SS: Why didn't you write any of the material on Now and Zen?

CB: I thought it was a session. You don't go into a session and expect to write songs! Anyway, [keyboardist] Phil [Johnstone] had most of that side covered. It was very much Robert and Phil's album. As far as I knew I was contracted to record the album and that was that. After the recording was finished Robert started talking about us as a band and about the upcoming tours and so on. [Bassist] Phil Scragg had other commitments at the time, and he is now heavily into the Jazz scene, so perhaps it was a wise decision on his part. He never played with us live at all - Charlie [Jones] joined at the final stages of recording Now and Zen.

SS: And when you went on the road, it was the first time in Plant's solo career that he sang Led Zeppelin material. Do you know what was going through his head?

CB: You'd have to ask him that! He did seem to have an aversion to playing any Zep though. Zeppelin songs are so good to play, and we were such big fans of all that. We would play stuff in rehearsal when he wasn't there. One time he walked in on us playing "Immigrant Song" and joined in, and off we went!

SS: Do you remember the process by which the Led Zeppelin tracks covered in concert were selected?

CB: I think we all made suggestions based on our understanding of what the songs were, and how we felt they would fit into the set. Obviously 'Stairway to Heaven' was taboo! But I did get to play mandolin live on 'Going to California' . . .

SS: Jimmy Page showed up at a few of Plant's performances in 1988. They played together at the last concert of the Non Stop Go tour. What was it like having him around?

CB: Another very nice man! Great fun to be with, and an incredible musical mind - you really do feel like you are in the presence of genius.

SS: In October 1988, Jimmy and Robert brought their overlapping U.S. tours to the same venue two nights in a row, in Worcester, Massachusetts. They didn't play at each other's shows, but Robert did attend Jimmy's. Do you remember this?

CB: That first tour in '88 with Planty was such an eye opener for me that I was too busy having a good time to take part in any politics that may be going down. I do remember Robert going to Jimmy's show wearing a turban and sunglasses though - problem is he probably looked more conspicuous like that! Shortly afterwards he began to wear Jimmy Page T-shirts on stage.

SS: The next project was the album Manic Nirvana. What was the process for that?

CB: Manic Nirvana was great fun as we all knew each other by then, and we had a tour under our belts which brought many shared experiences into the frame. We began work on this straight after the Now and Zen 'Non Stop Go' tour and we were all encouraged to contribute to the writing.

I felt a little stifled in the rehearsal room, so I wrote 'Tie Dye on the Highway' in my own studio and presented it to Robert complete. He added the melody and lyrics (incidentally, that's me playing guitar on that track!).

The other stuff was written at Robert's house in Wales - 'Watching You' I think I have on video as it is actually being written! 'Big Love' began as a drum feel and just grew from there really.

SS: When you say "Robert's house in Wales," you don't mean the famous Bron-Yr-Aur cottage, do you?

CB: No, unfortunately! He had a lovely house in Monmouth, Wales, that apparently used to belong to the doctor who discovered the G spot (typical!).

SS: What an imagination that doctor must have had! So ... Jimmy Page turned up again for Plant's appearance at Knebworth in June 1990.

CB: We performed 'Wearing and Tearing' at Knebworth, and rehearsing it was a great leveller as none of us had ever played it live before - Robert and Jimmy included!

SS: What was going through your mind, knowing you had to fill the heavy shoes of John Bonham on those songs?

CB: Didn't really occur to me until Knebworth when I found myself playing the intro to 'Rock and Roll' in front of 125,000 people with both Robert and Jimmy . . . the drum solo bit at the end was a bit fraught and I wish I'd played it better! There really was no point in emulating Bonzo as he was a one off, so I just played the stuff how I remembered it with a hint of CB thrown in for good measure!

The conclusion of the Chris Blackwell interview can be found here, focusing on Blackwell's work with Plant on Fate of Nations (1991-1993) and his other professional work to the time of the interview.

Chris Blackwell interview, Part 1: Early influences through 1987

This three-part interview of Chris Blackwell originally appeared in an edition of the newsletter "On This Day In Led Zeppelin History."

Chris Blackwell played drums on three Robert Plant albums (1985-1993) and two tours (1988 and 1990). He also played some guitar and mandolin for Plant in the studio and on the stage. Chris had the opportunity recently to answer some questions for me, and I'm presenting the interview here in three parts.

SS: Chris, thanks for all your help.

CB: No problem- glad I could be of help!

SS: We might as well start from the very beginning. Tell me about your musical influences as a child.

CB: According to my parents, I started hitting things when I was 3! Our neighbour used to play the drums and we would often hear him through the wall practising. Sometimes he would let me go and watch. I remember vividly that his kit had a very interesting smell about it, and of course it was very loud! He later emigrated to South Africa and didn't want to take the kit with him, so my Dad bought it and gave it to me for my eleventh birthday - that was that!

I've been in bands since the age of 14 but picked up the guitar at around 10, bass at 17, and keyboards at 20. There were always instruments lying around at rehearsals and so I would amuse myself with them during the breaks.

The first album I ever bought was Led Zeppelin 4, and this had an undoubted effect on me. I also loved Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Prokofiev, Ralph Vaughan Wiliams and Return to Forever. All very much a part of me now as a musician. I firmly believe that music is an all encompassing thing - you miss so much if you close your mind to certain genres!

SS: So you were a Led Zeppelin fan. Had you heard any of Plant's solo work before joining his band?

CB: Funnily enough, some friends and I drove from London, England to Northern Spain. We covered about 1,000 miles in 24 hours. And we played Shaken 'n' Stirred all the way down! It had just been released then, and my friend had just bought it and kept playing it! The drumming is very complex on the album. I remember saying to my friend "I'd like to have played on this album!"

We [Plant's band] did "Pink and Black" live sometimes, and some of those fast rolls are very difficult to fit in!

SS: Tell me about how you got to be in Plant's band.

CB: I did a lot of session work in and around London and was always in the studio doing something or other. Anyway, one of the people I used to work with a lot was Phil Johnstone. I had drummed on a few of his demos, and Virgin (Phil's publisher) had sent some of these tracks to Robert as potential singles for his new album. Robert liked one track in particular ("Heaven Knows") and also happened to like my drumming (I was on the demo).

Next thing I know there's a message on my answering machine saying "Hi, it's Robert Plant" and would I like to join his band? He didn't even get his manager to call me!

SS: That must have been exciting. Did you call him back right away?

CB: I didn't hesitate in calling him back because I thought it was a wind up! I mean you don't normally get Robert Plant leaving messages do you!

SS: Lots of folks say he doesn't call enough. What did you expect -- musically or personally -- when you got involved with him?

CB: I'm not sure really . . . the first meeting was a terrifying experience 'cos I had all these preconceptions of how he would be I guess. As it turned out he was (and is) a really nice bloke. Any nerves I had totally disappeared after our first handshake! Musically it was a session for me because as far as I knew I was contracted to record the album and that was that. After the recording was finished Robert started talking about us as a band and about the upcoming tours and so on. I had no idea at that time of the fun that was in store!

Part two of the Chris Blackwell interview covers the beginning of his work with Robert Plant.