Robert Plant has kept prescription pills from the 1970s

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Robert Plant has kept three prescription pills he was given in the 1970s to warn him away from "poison".

The Led Zeppelin frontman famously partied hard at the height of the band's fame, but he leads a much quieter life now and still has an unusual keepsake of sedative Quaaludes - which have been banned in the US for over three decades because of their popularity for recreational use - to remind him of the perils of excess.

He revealed to MOJO magazine: "The label on the bottle says, 'Robert Plant - for sleeplessness' - it looks like an album cover!

"Three Rorer 714s, from Schwartz pharmacy in LA and I often think to myself, 'Wow, there they are - poison.' "

The veteran rocker turns 70 this year and he might mark the occasion by turning back to prescription pills as he isn't interested in a wild celebration.

Recalling his 60th birthday, which saw comics Frank Carson and Tommy Mundon provide the entertainment, he said: "Lenny Kravitz's tour bus came from Ireland and it got stuck on the hump-back bridge in my village, with its front wheels on one side and the rear wheels on the other.

"But neither of those comedians are with us any more, so if ever there's a day for opiates... I might drop an Ambien and see what happens.

"If there's a bustle in the hedgerow, it'll be me, snoring."

Robert is currently touring with the Sensational Space Shifters and though their gigs are "very intense", he's driven by awareness of his own mortality.

He said: "Being with our gang is like a fun factory.

"It's very intense musically but it's all done with the greatest open heart - like open-heart surgery.

"That's what drives me to it, because, you know, you can't duck out from mortality.

"That's all going on every day, so why not sing your heart out?"