Recently, Robert Plant unearthed an abbreviated rendition of Led Zeppelin‘s “Immigrant Song” during a performance at Iceland’s Summer Solstice Festival, marking the first time he played the classic tune since a 1996 concert with former bandmate Jimmy Page.
Plant and Page wrote the song while touring through Iceland in 1970. As JamBase notes, Plant shared his thoughts on “Immigrant Song” in a 1994 interview published as part of Chris Welch’s Led Zeppelin book. Plant explained,
We weren’t being pompous … We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be cancelled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal.
“Immigrant Song” became the lead single on Led Zeppelin’s Zeppelin III album, but vanished from the band’s live repertoire by 1973. Plant went on to play the song at his solo shows between 1988 and 1991 and occasionally with Jimmy Page in 1995 and 1996.
Only time will tell if Plant will continue playing the song throughout his scheduled summer tour dates. For now, enjoy fan-shot footage of Plant performing “Immigrant Song” in Iceland below:
Robert Plant – “Immigrant Song”
[Video: 64N22W]
For a full list of Robert Plant’s upcoming tour dates, ticketing, and more information, head to his website.