At venues across the world there’s a select group of frontmen struggling in vain to hold on to their rock-star vitality, even though the years are against them. What keeps the pension-aged rocker performing when he could be relaxing? Perhaps it’s the love of the music that keeps Steven Tyler going and ensures that Iggy Pop continues to launch himself off stages?

Of those who have hung up their heavy rock hats, Led Zeppelin’s former frontman Robert Plant is one of the few to admit that he has done so because the love of the music is gone. Speaking to English newspaper The Independent, Plant explained that a recent visit to a Them Crooked Vultures gig left his ears bleeding. “I feel so far away from heavy rock now… For me, it's no longer to do with vanity, ego, and visible success,” he said. “[Now] it's just about getting down into the earth of music. I spent three, four, five years never playing a Zeppelin song, from 1981 onwards, because I didn't just want to lean on Zeppelin. I've gone from being in that huge band to picking up the pieces of my own gift.”

Plant’s own gift has served him well, having found huge success with Alison Krauss and their brand of country-tinged music, and the next installment of Plant’s maturing musical style can be witnessed with the Americana-flavored release of Band of Joy on September 14.