How Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin Signed my Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow Rising Program

[@brianpirie5490]

What an amazing story...it must have been so surreal. What a hero!!

[@timopaakkonen6462]

What a wonderful story! It really portrays Robert Plant in a very nice way!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@jean-lucpernel2202]

waouh lucky man !!!!! the great singer of led zep BRAVO!!!!!! i think PLANT is a good man !

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Robert Plant was a true gentleman and the perfect rock star. He came across as a caring guy and genuinely concerned on how we were getting home. Phil

[@jean-lucpernel2202]

@@NowSpinningMagazine j'en etais sur merci de me le confirmer!!! jean luc

[@remnantsofasoundblast]

This is by far one of THE coolest stories I have ever heard. Thank you so much for sharing. You are a very lucky man to have experienced that (concert and meeting Plant). That is Amazing! That was very kind and thoughful of Plant to walk with you guys until you got your bus ride. WOW. That is unlike any other Rock God story

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi, thank you for watching and your kind words. It was an amazing night which I realise is more amazing with each passing year! Phil :)

[@67Parsifal]

I met Robert in 1988 and very nice he was, too.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi Parsifal, thank you for watching. I have also read his biography, he is a very genuine guy - Phil :)

[@dplzkc6713]

Nice Plant/Rainbow story 🙂. I saw Rainbow for the first time just a few days after this one, Stockholm September 20, 1976. I was also 17 years old back then. After the show we went backstage and it was really easy then to get in backstage because there were no guards. We meet Ronnie Dio who signed stuff and talked to us. Nice 🙂. Then came Blackmore. He was surrounded by bodyguards so no talking or signing there. On the whole it was a nice experience and the show was fantastic with, as you mention, Mistreated and Stargazer were the absolute highlights. They did not play A light in the black. And no Robert Plant at the show 🙂

[@AJAndyO]

Fabulous story! Thanks so much for sharing. What a wonderful memory to have.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi Andy, thank you. You don’t realise at the time how unusual or special these moments are. Phil

[@harryurz]

I was at the same gig Phil ....changed my life forever.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi Harry, thank you for watching and it is wonderful to meet someone who was at the same gig! - Phil

[@harryurz]

Been a Blackmore fan ever since; wrote a Rainbow biog and numerous articles for the DPAS over the years. That 1976 line up was something rather special though.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

@@harryurz I was also a member of DPAS, I am sure Simon still owes us another magazine :) I agree the 1976 line up and Blackmore's guitar sound from 74- 76 was awesome.

[@makka7890]

Well done Percy and a great story Phil. Good job Peter Grant & co weren't hanging about, you might be telling a different story.

[@ricardoluistomasone4663]

Que buena historia!! Nada menos que Robert plant viendo al más grande de todos ritchie blackmore!!!!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@tonydixon635]

What an amazing story, and a great memory for you to treasure.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi Tony, thank you. I wish I had not been so tongue tied, as there were so many things I wish I had asked, but on the other hand it just seemed so normal walking with Robert plant to our bus stop! Phil

[@pgreed100]

Morning Phil, a great story, well done to Robert Plant for creating a memory that lasts a lifetime

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi Paul, thank you for watching. My love for led Zeppelin grew a lot more from that point. In 1976 Zeppelin we’re the biggest rock band in the world. As a 17 year old having the lead singer talk to us and seem genuinely concerned about how we were getting home made him even more special. Phil

[@HockeyDudeJames2]

Great story.you are Lucky to have been alive during the golden age of classic rock. All I have is video and audio. You have legendary memories. Good.on you sir!! How great of plant to have given you his time(:

[@deepzepp4176]

Fantastic. I love stories like this. What a memory to have.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@johnvanzuilekom1305]

Great story!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi John, thank you for watching - Phil :)

[@derekclacton]

Great story Phil :)

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi Derek, thank you for watching. It was a fabulous night ! Phil :)

[@simonwithers4941]

What a wonderful story...thank you for sharing.

[@ivanterekhov5369]

Although you didn't get Ritchie Blackmore's autograph that time, it's still a pretty cool story. Thanks for sharing it. Did you guys actually ask Robert Plant whether he was simply hanging out with Rainbow or what? I tried to get get Ritchie Blackmore's autograph twice after Blackmore's Night gigs at St. Petersburg, but, just like you, had no luck there. It seemed as if he simply disappeared after the the gig. Most probably, he left the venue right after walking off the stage, before anyone could get to the back entrance. Again, I tried to get Ritchie's autograph after his "Rainbow" reunion gig in Moscow. I waited several hours outside arena's underground parking entrance with lots of other people. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much this time. Just like in your story, the crowd shrunk as time passed. Most the of band came out and gave autographs, but to be honest, I wasn't really interested in anyone's autograph, but Ritchie Blackmore's. However, I took David Keith's autograph and gave him my SACD of Osipov Russian State Orchestra Balalaika Favorites by Mercury Living Presence and asked David to pass it to Ritchie as a souvenir. By the time most of the band left, except Ritchie and Candice., there were like 5 of us left there. Basically, we were simply hanging out there just talking about the gig we just saw and I suddenly noticed Ritchie and Candice go out and get in the black multivan. First, they drove right past us. Several seconds later the van stopped and backed up, the door slid open and the security guy stepped out. He asked us whether we were waiting for Ritchie Blackmore to get his autograph. We sure said YES. He invited us to the van door to get Ritchie's autograph. I asked Ritchie to sign my Japanese K2 Deep Purple Mk2 The Gemini Suite Live (1970) CD I had with me and he did. After that I gave him a double CD of Bach transcriptions for guitar by a group of 5 Russian classical guitarists as a souvenir and thanked him for the autograph, the 2 hour gig he just did and coming to Russia. When they drove away I realized that the Moscow metro was about to close for the night and my hotel was far away from the venue. When I came to the metro station entrance and got inside the the station worker shut the station entrance door right after me, so I was able to get in at the very last moment. The next day I had to catch a train to get back to my town 500 km south of Moscow.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

What an amazing story - thank you for sharing- Phil

[@paulduggan5323]

Wow that’s one heck of an autograph story! A casual stroll taking in WH Smith’s and the bus stop while talking “Presence” with Robert Plant and getting a scoop on the Zep film 😮 That even beats my own Heavy Metal Holocaust/drinks and chat with Lemmy anecdote!

[@ushrit]

What a lovely story🤟

[@orange70383]

You must've felt magical on the way home, but the best part is you had the autograph to back it up when you told your mates about it.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi Orange, thank you for watching. Most of my mates when straight home after the concert feeling it was pointless trying to get the bands autographs. So when I met them the next night they asked if Blackmore had signed it. I remember their puzzled looks when I said no but Robert Plant did! Phil :)

[@anthonylatz2608]

Bonham was a friend of Blackmore, but it seems Page never talks about Blackmore. Does anybody know why?

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Don’t know, I guess they were not interested in what each other were doing being caught up in their own careers.

[@wagstaff6135]

This is such a great story. After reading Mick Wall's book, I would think of Plant as much more imperious... though maybe by Presence this is where that started to change. Or maybe my impression from the book is bull! Thanks for telling this story. Pretty amazing.

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@StevieBluenoseScott]

Bloody great story

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Thank you 🙏

[@shaunsmith3538]

Phil, what a great and unique story! Thanks for sharing. Rainbow Rising is definitely in my top 20 albums of all time. A true classic! 👍

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi Shaun, as the years have rolled by and I have told people about this story I began to realise how amazing it was. I had created a small blog post on the Now Spinning Website to start with and then thought perhaps a video would be better. I am very pleased people are finding it and liking it! Rainbow Rising is a total classic, I will do a separate video on this at a later date.

[@shaunsmith3538]

@@NowSpinningMagazine I'll look forward to that 👍

[@johnwheatcroft1188]

What a great story Phil..how have you kept this quiet😲😲🤟🤟😂

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi John, since starting this channel and the Now Spinning project I have realised a lot of the musical memories I have are interesting to others! Thank you for your support - Phil :)

[@ChristinaM69]

Phil, thanks so much for sharing this great story with us. I only want to know how Robert got home and what he thought of the Rainbow show?

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

I presume Robert was staying somewhere in the city as he seemed in no rush. We had watched him standing by the side of the stage and could see he was enjoying the gig. Phil

[@rolandconnor575]

Phil it would be an astonishing circle of fate if someone from Robert's management saw this video / story of yours and he agreed to do a short interview. How could that happen? Have you tried to contact him? Great story. I have a couple myself on meeting Ritchie but Lord he did not walk me to the bus stop!

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

I haven’t, perhaps I should !

[@rolandconnor575]

@@NowSpinningMagazine Oh Heavens yes, Can you imagine what he would say about that... and if you have noticed, with advancing age, he is very willing to talk about his life in extended formats now. Please try.

[@thetruthhurts6652]

To bad he didn’t say… guys I’m partying with rainbow tonight would you like to join us 😂

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

HaHa 😂

[@AlexAlexon3897]

A genuinely lovely story. Robert Plant sounds such a great person. A taxi-driver recently told me he'd driven RP somewhere, and he'd been really pleasant, but to actually walk you guys to the bus-stop and wait until you were on it - those are the actions of a gentleman. But there's a possible postscript. I read elsewhere (don't we always?) that, during the guitar-smashing at Birmingham that night, two or three bouncers got hit with debris! Could it be that either Rainbow's or the hall's management were keen to prevent a backstage fracas, so hustled the band away asap? If you think about what happened in Vienna a year later - Blackmore arrested after a fight with a bouncer, Cozy Powell also punching security - drama did follow Rainbow at that time. 😁

[@NowSpinningMagazine]

Hi Alex, thank you for sharing your story. I had not heard that before and it does make sense. Very interesting 🧐 Phil :)

[@AlexAlexon3897]

@@NowSpinningMagazine: Cheers. Just remembered - it was in the DPAS magazine when it was still (I think) called Stargazer. 🙂

[@garyh.238]

@@AlexAlexon3897 Hi again Alex! I just discovered this video today.....it is the one you described to me a couple of weeks ago. A touching story indeed.

[@AlexAlexon3897]

@@garyh.238: Hello! Glad you like the story/video. Hope you're good. 🙂

[@garyh.238]

@@AlexAlexon3897 Hi Alex, I'm well thanks. I hope all is good there for you. Yes, the YT algorithm directed me to this particular site a couple of days ago...probably because of the Deep Purple / Blackmore factor in my various video views and comments. I have been going through a number of the episodes on this channel...a very nice discovery indeed.

[@robertwheatley2471]

5:12 ... I've heard comments from Ronnie James Dio about Ritchie Blackmore that were less than flattering and that he could be a real a-hole towards concert go'ers after shows in a similar experience as yours. Good story about Plant, what are the chances of something like that happening, wow.