The late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury was the ultimate showman, an artist who created a new archetype in rock ‘n’ roll. As much as people have tried to replicate Mercury, he’s proven to be irreplaceable. Still, if he could have swapped positions with Robert Plant and front Led Zeppelin for one night only, he’d have done it without a moment’s thought.
While they were two distinctly different groups, Mercury and his Queen bandmates were full of admiration for Led Zeppelin. Led Zep was a source of inspiration for the group, with Brian May later revealing their beloved song ‘Now I’m Here’ was inspired by ‘Black Dog’ by their fellow rockers. However, he also disclosed that the influence of Led Zeppelin on his band went beyond the music.
“I would never be ashamed to say that Zeppelin were a huge influence on us, not just musically, but also in the way they handled themselves in the business, without compromising,” May told Total Guitar. “The way they handled their image, the integrity, the way they built their stage show – so many things. I suppose between Zeppelin and The Beatles and The Who, you would see where we came from. That was the kind of platform that we bounced off.”
Mercury and May bonded over their shared love of Zeppelin, with the singer going one step further than his praise of the band. “I would say that Led Zeppelin are the greatest, and as a rock band they deserved the kind of success they got,” Mercury once said about the four-piece.
He added: “Robert Plant is one of the most original vocalists of our time. He was always my favourite singer. And he’s said nice things about me.”
Mercury’s comments indicate that Plant has been extremely positive about his skills, and the late vocalist’s official website boasts the following quote from the Zeppelin singer: “There’s so few people behind the glamour who really make it as true performers. It’s a very strange thoroughbred condition to be a successful musician and still be able to project it with confidence. Freddie had that, and there’s not many people who have had it.”
Additionally, one song by Led Zeppelin featured in a playlist of Mercury’s 25 favourite songs curated by May and drummer Roger Taylor. The collection of tracks includes efforts from Prince, John Lennon, Elton John, Michael Jackson and many more greats, but also lists the Led Zeppelin epic ‘Kashmir’.
Following Mercury’s death, the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert occurred at Wembley Stadium, which saw the Led Zeppelin frontman perform ‘Innuendo’ with Queen. Notably, with the knowledge of Mercury’s adoration of ‘Kashmir’, part of this song was also integrated into Plant’s cameo at the iconic London stadium.
Mercury’s opinion that ‘Kashmir’ is Led Zeppelin’s finest hour is shared by Plant, who named it as a personal favourite in 2018, noting: “It was a great achievement to take such a monstrously dramatic musical piece and find a lyric that was ambiguous enough, and a delivery that was not over-pumped. It was almost the antithesis of the music, this lyric and this vocal delivery that was just about enough to get in there.”
