Robert Plant — Burning Down One Side

JUL 01 1982 · 12:00

Robert Plant — Burning Down One Side (1982) Director: Dave Robinson Era: Post-Led Zeppelin Solo Dawn (1982) - Robert Plant's debut as a solo artist following the dissolution of Led Zeppelin, marking a deliberate pivot toward synth-inflected AOR rock and a new visual identity independent of his classic rock legacy. High curatorial value as a rare surviving official video document of Robert Plant's solo launch moment — one of the most culturally significant artist reinventions in rock history. The video sits at the precise intersection of pre-MTV promotional film conventions and the emerging music video vocabulary, directed by Dave Robinson, a key figure in the British independent music industry. Essential for any archive focused on the 1982 AOR-MTV transition, post-Zeppelin rock history, or early music video production methodology. Context: Released in 1982 as the lead single from Robert Plant's debut solo album 'Pictures at Eleven' on Swan Song/Atlantic Records, 'Burning Down One Side' represented Plant's first public statement as an artist independent of Led Zeppelin following the band's 1980 dissolution after John Bonham's death. The track peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Top Tracks (AOR) chart, demonstrating Plant's retained radio authority even as he consciously distanced himself sonically from his Zeppelin legacy. The video, directed by Stiff Records co-founder Dave Robinson, adopts the emerging MTV language of narrative-performance hybrids, situating Plant in domestic and concert contexts that humanize him as a solo performer rather than a mythologised rock god. The warm, low-contrast visual palette and naturalistic setting stand in deliberate contrast to the stadium-scale iconography of his previous decade. Director notes: Confirmed via IMDB (tt7010386) and IMVDb as director of the 1982 music video for 'Burning Down One Side.' IMVDb additionally credits Nigel Dick as producer. Per IMDB's synopsis, the video features Plant exiting a white car and entering a home, intercut with concert stage performance footage. The video was made to accompany the lead single from Plant's debut solo album 'Pictures at Eleven' on Swan Song Records, released September 1982.