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The Priory of Brion 

This page contains general information about Priory of Brion, the band members, and their music. 

Band Members
The Music
The Setlists

The Priory of Brion grew out of a reunion between Robert Plant and his old friend Kevyn Gammond from the Band of Joy. The origins of the band were in the Performing Arts faculty at Kidderminster College, where at least two of the members have worked and where the others may have been students. Robert's first reported appearance with a band featuring Kevyn Gammond and "students at Kidderminster College" was for Bewdley tennis club at the end of 1997. The idea took some time to crystallize, but the Priory of Brion eventually took to the road in July 1999. They set out to play cover versions of songs which influenced Robert and Kevyn in the early days. They were clearly influenced by Them, as a high point of their act was a rousing version of Gloria. Another major influence was Arthur Lee, whose songs always featured prominently in the set. According to Robert in an interview, the band's name was an amalgam of the Priory of Zion (a mysterious and ancient French secret society) and The Life of Brian (the Monty Python film). The band members were at first introduced under names which were obviously not their real ones. It is not clear whether this was prompted by shyness, by college rules, or by the Inland Revenue.

Priory of Brion Members

Robert Plant and his fellow members.

Kevyn Gammond (aka "Carlyle Egypt") on guitar is described by Robert as a "lifetime member of the Band of Joy". In the early 1970s Kevyn played in a band called Bronco with Robbie Blunt. More recently he has held a senior position in music education at Kidderminster College.

Paul Timothy (aka "Owain Glyndwr") plays the electric piano and Hammond organ, and for some songs he plays guitar. During the instrumental breaks he and Kevyn often take turns, but they also blend well together to create a strong overall sound. Paul is also associated with the music courses at Kidderminster College.

Paul Wetton (aka "Eric Bloodaxe" and "Brian") is the bass player. Comes from Wolverhampton, but I have no further details of his background.

Andy Edwards (aka "Aleister Crowley" and several other stage names) is the drummer, and a good one too. Now plays with Paul Timothy in the Wikkamen Project.

Initially they performed only in the UK, usually visiting small venues with little advance publicity. In the spring of 2000 the "tour" went to Norway and then to Ireland, and during the summer they made several festival appearances both in the UK and in continental Europe. More UK and continental dates followed in the autumn, ending in Wolverhampton just before Christmas. The band visited a recording studio during the summer, but in an interview Robert told Classic Rock magazine that we should not expect a Priory of Brion album.

Priory of Brion Songs

A House Is Not A Motel (Lee)

Written by Arthur Lee, this was the first song taken from Love's Forever Changes, one of Robert's own favorite albums. This became the regular set opener.

As Long As I Have You (Elgin/Ragavoy)

Once used regularly by Led Zeppelin in their early stage act, this was originally recorded by Garnet Mimms. Priory of Brion seem to play this differently each time, with inserts taken from other songs.

August (Lee)

This Love song, from the album Four Sail, was played a few times only.

Baby Please Don't Go (Williams)

Big Joe Williams wrote the song and it has been also been performed by Them in the Sixties and The Amboy Dukes.

Bluebird (Stills)

Written by Stephen Stills in his Buffalo Springfield days, this often appeared on Robert's solo setlist. 

Bummer In The Summer (Lee)

This was the second track taken from Love's Forever Changes album. 

Chevrolet (Young/Young)

This song by Ed and Lonnie Young was played a few times in December 2000.

Darkness Darkness (Young)

Written by Jesse Colin Young for the Youngbloods. Usually there are long instrumental sections, during which the flavor can vary from rock to jazz.

Early In The Morning (Bartley/Hickman)

Another song which has been recorded by artists too numerous to mention. 

Evil Woman (Weiss)

This Larry Weiss song (recorded by Canned Heat) was played a few times only.

Flames (Ferry)

Original was recorded by Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera.

Girl From The North Country (Dylan)

A Bob Dylan composition, recorded with Johnny Cash during the Nashville Skyline sessions, this was played as a gentle folk song.

Gloria (Morrison)

Written by Van Morrison in his days with Them.

Hey Joe (Roberts)

The song is the Jimi Hendrix classic, once recorded as a demo by the Band of Joy. The Priory of Brion treatment is entirely different, although equally effective.

Houses Of The Holy (Page/Plant)

Often pops up in the middle of other songs.

If I Were A Carpenter (Hardin)

Written by Tim Hardin, this is the only Priory of Brion song which has previously appeared on one of Robert's solo albums (Fate of Nations in 1993), also was performed by Plant during his 1993 tour.

If 6 Was 9 (Hendrix)

This Jimi Hendrix song (from Axis) was another late addition to the set.

I'm Waiting For The Man (Reed)

This Lou Reed song comes from the classic Velvet Underground and Nico album (the one with the banana on the front).

I've Got Money (Brown)

This James Brown song has been played a few times only.

Lazy Me (Mosley)

This was written by Bob Mosley for Moby Grape, another of Robert's favorite bands. 

Live And Let Live (Lee)

Yet another track from Love's Forever Changes album, Priory of Brion played this only once.

Morning Dew (Dobson/Rose)

Tim Rose, Episode Six and the Grateful Dead have each performed this song.

No Regrets (Rush)

This Tom Rush song was made famous by the Walker Brothers.

Santa Claus Is Back In Town (Leiber/Stoller)

Originally written for Elvis Presley, this was performed around Christmas 1999 and on the Christmas show for Saturday Night Live in 1984.

Season Of The Witch (Leitch)

Written by Donovan, this was also recorded by Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger. Included an occasional Plant guitar solo. Bits and pieces of this song showed up in earlier Plant setlists as a part of the In The Mood Medley in 1993 and Calling to You in 1995.

Song To The Siren (Beckett/Buckley)

This Tim Buckley song was added to the set in June.

Southern Man (Young)

This Neil Young song was not played too often.

Think (Brown)

The band seemed to enjoy playing this bouncy James Brown song. Apparently the original is played whenever Wolverhampton Wanderers score a goal, so perhaps Robert chose it for nostalgic reasons!

Trouble In Mind (Jones)

A traditional blues number usually attributed to Richard M Jones, this has been recorded by just about everybody. This often closed the set, and sometimes Robert played the guitar.

Turn On Your Love Light (Scott/Malone)

Another oft-recorded song, once covered by Them, now usually coupled with ...

We're Gonna Groove (King/Bethea)

Released on the Coda album, this is the only song recorded by Led Zeppelin which Priory of Brion played regularly. It is usually features extracts from other songs, and sounds very different from the Zeppelin version.

White Rabbit (Slick)

This Jefferson Airplane classic made a few setlist appearances.