Darren Middleton was 15 when he first picked up the guitar and within two years he was playing works by Led Zeppelin.
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He joined alternative rock band Powderfinger soon after graduating from Brisbane Boys' College.
Powderfinger generally performed covers of The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Steppenwolf as well as Neil Young in their early days.
They were highly influenced by popular heavy metal bands.
Middleton said Led Zeppelin tunes were tricky to master.
"(Led Zeppelin guitarist) Jimmy Page was a beast!" he said.
"But I love the challenge of it."
Now Middleton was teaming up with Mark Wilson (Jet), Davey Lane (You Am I) and Kram (Spiderbait) on their super group Australian Rock Collective to bring to life Led Zeppelin's 1971 masterpiece, Led Zeppelin IV.
Hitting the road for a 12-date national tour in June (including Albury on Wednesday, June 26), ARC would perform Led Zeppelin IV in full to be followed by a second set playing classics and fan favourites from Led Zeppelin's catalogue.
Hailed as one of the most innovative, successful and influential bands of modern music, their untitled fourth album, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV, features the eight-minute epic Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, Black Dog and Rock and Roll.
Middleton said ARC was thrilled to take their tribute to Led Zeppelin on the road.
"We feel really passionate about it," Middleton said.
"Stairway to Heaven is a gateway song for most of the public!
"Led Zeppelin IV is a decent spread of acoustic stuff and it covers all of the band's strengths."
This tour marked ARC's fifth national outing after their sold-out tours paid homage to Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (2023), Neil Young's Harvest (2022), The Beatles' Let It Be (2021) and the extended dates of their debut tour, The Beatles' Abbey Road (2019-2020).
Postponed twice owing to the global pandemic, ARC finally presented the last Beatles album - Let It Be - following two sold-out tours of The Beatles' Abbey Road Live in 2019-2020.
Middleton said The Dark Side of the Moon was a cerebral show.
"It was very primal and raw," he said.
"This new show is just rock and roll and it's what everyone needs right now."
Led Zeppelin - Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones - released Led Zeppelin IV on November 8, 1971.
Produced by guitarist Jimmy Page, the album was recorded between December 1970 and February 1971 at the historic English cottage, Headley Grange.
The informal recording environment inspired the band, allowing them to try different arrangements of material and create songs in various styles.
After the band's previous album, Led Zeppelin III, received lukewarm reviews they decided their fourth album would be officially untitled and would be represented instead by four symbols - one chosen by each band member - without featuring the name or any other details on the cover.
As with prior albums, most of the material was written by the band, although there was one cover song, a hard rock re-interpretation of the Memphis Minnie blues song When the Levee Break.
Australian Rock Collective presents Led Zeppelin runs at Albury Entertainment Centre on Wednesday, June 26, from 7.30pm.
Bookings: livenation.com.au or alburyentertainmentcentre.com.au.
