1983 saw former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant score a UK hit single, something he never did with his old band as they were famed for eschewing the single format throughout their career, at least in their home country. He'd reappeared the year before with his first solo album 'Pictures At Eleven', which featured drums from both Phil Collins and Cozy Powell, and when that charted on both sides of the Atlantic he was soon back in the studio to craft 'The Principle of Moments', released in July 1983. Collins appeared on several tracks once again, although the musical direction of both this and his previous offering aimed to move away from out and out hard rock as exemplified by Led Zeppelin.
The gentler, laidback track 'Big Log' would prove to be Plant's breakthrough hit in the UK, even earning him an appearance on BBC chart rundown show 'Top Of The Pops', albeit only in video form. That video was a popular clip on MTV, a road-movie style clip shot in numerous locations including Death Valley Junction in California, as well as Crystal Road, Nevada (the location for the gas station shots).
Plant toured the album with Collins on drums for the US leg of the tour, the Genesis man remained a background figure even though he was a star in his own right by this point. Another single, 'In The Mood', followed in November 1983 and was also a hit, charting as high as 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 while reaching 39 on the UK singles charts. This established Plant as a successful solo artist, enabling him to move on from his Led Zeppelin days and during this period, he declined to play any Zeppelin material live. He reasoned at the time that he could not do it without his old bandmates, although he would later relent and introduce classic Zeppelin songs into the live set in later years.
Led Zeppelin never reformed (and could never do so fully, following the death of drummer John Bonham) although there were sporadic reunions over the years of the surviving members. The two which stand out were 1985's Live Aid performance (poorly received critically, but significant as it was their first major reunion since their split) and 2007's show at London's o2 Arena, ostensibly to celebrate the life of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun and with other notable acts on the bill, but the interest in the show centred exclusively on Zeppelin who were to perform their first full set since Bonham's death (drums were performed by Jason Bonham). They have resisted every call to reform fully since then. Plant has worked with guitarist Jimmy Page in the interim however, the pair collaborated on tracks on Plant's 1988 album 'Now and Zen' and toured together in the 1990s, not under the Zeppelin name as their former bassist John Paul Jones was not involved in that project.
From 1983's 'The Principle Of Moments', here is 'Big Log':
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