Simon Rushworth
Dread Zeppelin – Heartbreaker (At The End Of Lonely Street) (Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham) b/w Your Time Is Gonna Come (Page/Plant) 1990
Imagine you were faced with a Led Zeppellin tribute band fronted by an overweight Elvis impersonator delivering the band’s iconic anthems in a reggae style. Sounds crap? In fact it was exactly the opposite.
Never taking themselves too seriously (just as well) but delivering some seriously professional sounds, Dread Zeppellin justifiably enjoyed some minor chart success in the early 1990s. Vocalist Tortelvis cut an ebullient figure as he belted out his favourite band’s biggest hits while staying true to the King himself.
Amazingly DZ are still doing the business live now and to celebrate their 20th anniversary an album called The Best Of The IRS Years was released in 2009. The band still trade on the fact that Robert Plant insisted he preferred their version of Your Time Is Gonna Come to the Led Zepp original – and it is, indeed, a cracking tune from the classic Un-Led- Ed album.
Carving themselves a niche in amongst the hair metal mayhem and pre-grunge drama of the early 1990s, Dread Zeppelin delivered great rock and roll music with a humourous twist. This single was suitably slick and suitably silly but this was one act who were always so much more than a simple covers band.