Led Zeppelin pay tribute to tour manager Richard Cole following his death
Cole was "brave to the end", said Robert Plant
Led Zeppelin’s former tour manager Richard Cole has died at the age of 75.
The London-born music manager was known for working with the legendary rockers from 1968 to 1980. He also worked with Eric Clapton, Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne during his career.
Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin‘s frontman, has paid tribute to the band’s tour manager who died from cancer yesterday (December 2).
Plant wrote on Instagram next to a blurry image of himself and Cole: “Farewell Ricardo…sadly no more tall tales…brave to the end.”
Page’s Twitter account shared a photo of the two together.
Led Zeppelin originally disbanded in 1980 but have since had a number of reunions, with the last one being in 2007.
The news of Cole’s death follows Plant recently announcing a 2022 US and European tour with singer-songwriter Alison Krauss, his collaborative music project partner. It’ll mark the first time that pair will have toured together in 12 years.
Plant and Krauss released their second collaborative album ‘Raise The Roof’ last month, 14 years on from their first joint release, ‘Raising Sand’ (2007).
‘Raise The Roof’ features 12 new recordings of songs by acts including Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Bert Jansch and more. The record also includes ‘High and Lonesome’, an original song written by Plant and the album’s producer, T Bone Burnett.
In 2014 the band were sued by the band Spirit, who alleged that Plant and co. took elements of their 1968 song ‘Taurus’ for ‘Stairway to Heaven’, which came out in 1971 and went on to be a global hit.
Two years later, Zeppelin won the court case, with a judge ruling that ‘Stairway to Heaven’ did not plagiarise ‘Taurus’.
In a recent interview for BBC Radio 4, Clive Anderson asked Plant: “You had to experience the American legal system with ‘Stairway to Heaven’ arguing. What sort of experience was that? That lasted quite a few days, didn’t it? Somebody claiming copyright.”
Plant responded: “What can you do? I just had to sit there, I was instructed to sit directly opposite the jury, don’t look at them but just don’t look at anybody, just sit there for eight hours.
“As much as I am musical, I cannot comment on anything musical. I just sing.”