Plant swaps rock to concentrate on 'own gift'

Robert Plant has given up rock music.

The Led Zeppelin musician – who has refused requests to reform the group for a full tour - said his musical tastes have completely changed.

Speaking about going to see his former Led Zeppelin bandmate John Paul Jones’ new rock group Them Crooked Vultures he said: “I feel so far away from heavy rock now. It’s quite odd how mine and John’s paths seem to have crossed over – we’ve sort of gone into each other’s world’s a bit.”

The 62-year-old musician also admitted that he could no longer handle the decibel level of a rock concert saying his ears “bled for two days” after the show.

Now Robert - who won several Grammy awards for ‘Raising Sand’ his collaboration with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss in 2009 –hopes to focus on a different type of music and lifestyle.

He said: “For me, it’s no longer to do with vanity, ego and visible success.

It’s just about getting down into the earth of music. I spent three or four years never playing a Zeppelin song from 1981 onwards, because I didn’t want to lean on Zeppelin. I’ve gone from being in that huge band to picking up the pieces of my own gift.”