Blur bassist slams Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones

(Image credit: Joseph Okpako/WireImage - Getty)

Blur bassist Alex James has taken aim at Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.

The Britpop musician-turned-cheesemaker launched a scathing attack on older musicians during a recent interview with The Mirror, referring to them as “grotesque” caricatures.

He says: “There are rumours of Led Zeppelin getting back together again and nobody really wants to hear their fucking new record, do they? They want to listen to Stairway To Heaven.

“How old were they when they did Stairway To Heaven? Like 20 or something? And how old are they now, they are fucking 70.

“It’s insane. At least people want to come in and try my cheese as well as listen to Parklife. That is really important. I think it’s really good that I’ve got something else to talk about.”

He adds: “You have to do it otherwise you become this weird, grotesque caricature of yourself by the time you get old like Mick Jagger.

“I’ve been listening to the Rolling Stones recently, but I wouldn’t fucking go and listen to them live, fucking hell. You can’t be Jumping Jack when you are 78.”

There’s been a flurry of activity surrounding the surviving members of Led Zep this year, with the band celebrating their 50th anniversary.

Last month bookmakers Betway named them favourites to headline Glastonbury 2019, although that seems unlikely given that Robert Plant has repeatedly distanced himself from any reunion since they last played together with Jason Bonham on drums in 2007.

They were 2/1 favourites last month and are now priced at 8/1.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.