ABASSIST, SONGWRITER and session musician of distinction, during his lifetime Paul Martinez performed with an impressive selection of artists, most notably working on and touring Robert Plant’s first three solo albums Pictures At Eleven, The Principle Of Moments and Shaken ‘N’ Stirred, released between 1982 and ’85. He co-wrote several songs with Plant, including the worldwide hit Big Log. Martinez was also a part of Plant’s side project the Crawling King Snakes. In 1985, he played with Led Zeppelin for their 20-minute set at Live Aid in Philadelphia, taking over on bass from John Paul Jones when Jonesy moved over to keyboards for Stairway To Heaven.
Prior to his stint with Plant, Leicester-born Martinez had worked with Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack, The Adverts, John Otway, Cat Stevens, Renaissance and Stretch. In 1977 he played bass on the now iconic Malice In Wonderland album by Paice Ashton And Lord. He also worked with Dave Edmunds, Peter Gabriel, Maggie Bell and George Harrison, among many others, and was regularly in demand for sessions at Rockfield Studios. Martinez was also rumoured to have been in the frame to take over from Bill Wyman when Bill walked away from the Rolling Stones in 1993.