Obs-Tweedle

Obs-Tweedle was a Walsall-based 1960s rock band notable for singer Robert Plant's appearance prior to joining Led Zeppelin.

Contrary to popular myth, the band name was never titled Hobbstweedle or connected with JRR Tolkien literature. The name Obs-Tweedle originated from the pub's owner, Billy Bonham's father, who randomly selected words from a dictionary when they couldn't agree on any names.

The band were originally known as The Answer, a band which had toured Europe, and renamed themselves after ex-Band of Joy singer Robert Plant joined their group. Plant and his future wife Maureen Wilson were in the audience at one gig at Dudley Zoo to see The Answer perform, when Plant was invited to join the band after their singer Tommy Burton came down with food poisoning. The band also featured Billy Bonham, a cousin of future Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, on keyboards and piano, and Noddy Holder as the band's "roadie". Both Billy Bonham and Plant lived in upstairs rooms at the 3 Men In a Boat pub in Beechdale estate, a venue which the band also used for rehearsals. The 3 Men In a Boat pub would also be the future destination in which manager Peter Grant would sent dozens of telegrams to get local John Bonham to sign with Led Zeppelin. As Plant recalled in Q magazine:

I had nowhere to live and the keyboards player's dad had a pub in Wolverhampton with a spare room. The pub was right over the road from Noddy Holder's father's window cleaning business, and Noddy used to be our roadie. We used to go to gigs with Noddy Holder's dad's buckets crashing around on top of the van!

Other members which passed through the Obs-Tweedle line-up included Richard Brown on guitar, Mac Bailey on drums, and Barry Sargeant on drums. Their music was influenced by the West Coast sounds of America, in particular Moby Grape and Buffalo Springfield, which Plant was a fan. The band was reputed to have recorded a number of songs for a demo, but these tracks have never surfaced since. Plant later admitted "the band overplayed and there was a lot of hubbub and flash but no real content".

Led Zeppelin
It was whilst performing with this band at the West Midlands College of Education in Birmingham on 20 July 1968, that Yardbirds Jimmy Page, Chris Dreja, and manager Peter Grant first saw Plant. Page had been recommended Plant by Terry Reid, who had been Page's first choice vocalist for what would become Led Zeppelin. As Grant recalled later:

This big guy [Plant] with a University of Toronto sweatshirt appeared to let us in backstage and I remember Jimmy saying, 'Crikey, they've got a big roadie!' He came back and it turned out to be Robert Plant! Jimmy loved Robert straight away

After hearing him sing, Plant was subsequently invited to Page's home in Pangbourne, Berkshire to discuss musical ideas and was offered the job of vocalist at the end of July 1968. Obs-Tweedle folded after Plant left to join Led Zeppelin, with Billy Bonham eventually performing keyboards and bass for Terry Reid and other artists.