What's on: Robert Plant (From Lancashire Telegraph)

What's on: Robert Plant

5:10pm Wednesday 25th August 2010 in Music: What's on By Rick Bowen

ROCK legend Robert Plant will bring his Band of Joy tour to Manchester on October 31.

The former Led Zeppelin front man is back on the road again to promote BOJ, his 10th solo album and the firsst since the Grammy Award winning Raising Sand in 2007.

Band of Joy takes its name from Plant’s first band in the 1960s. His solo career spans 30 years and began after Zeppelin disbanded, due to the death of the band’s legendary drummer, John Bonham.

His debut solo album Pictures at Eleven was released in 1982, followed by The Principle of Moments, released a year later. Popular tracks from this period include Big Log, a top 20 hit in 1983, and In The Mood.

Despite Zeppelin’s break up, Plant was to work with his former band mate, the iconic rock guitarist Jimmy Page again in the mid 90s. The partnership was to produce two albums, including Walking into Clarksdale.

The 60 something from West Bromwich may be one of the most revered figures in rock music and he demonstrated this by teaming up with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss for Raising Sand.

It features everything from R&B to folk and country music, and ended up scooping one of the music industry’s moat prestigious accolades.

* The Robert Plant Band of Joy UK Tour comes to the Palace Theatre on October 31. Tickets are now on sale and can be booked by calling 0844 847 2484.