September 12th, 2007Led Zeppelin Reunites!
The surviving members of Led Zeppelin said Wednesday that they would reunite for a one-off comeback concert in memory of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.
Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones will perform together for the first time in 19 years on Nov. 26 at London’s O2 Arena, promoters said. John Bonham’s son, Jason, will sit in for his late father on the drums.
“During the Zeppelin years, Ahmet Ertegun was a major foundation of solidarity and accord,” Plant said. “For us, he was Atlantic Records and remained a close friend and conspirator. This performance stands alone as our tribute to the work and the life of our long standing friend.”
Ertegun, who signed the legendary rock band to Atlantic in 1968, died in December at age 83 after falling backstage at a Rolling Stones concert and hitting his head.
In addition to Zeppelin, Pete Townshend, Foreigner, Bill Wyman and Paolo Nutini will perform at the event, which will raise money for the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, a charity founded by the music mogul that provides students with scholarships to universities in the U.S., U.K. and Turkey.
Led Zeppelin broke up after Bonham’s death in 1980, with the band members agreeing there was no way to replace the drummer.
“We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were,” the band said in a statement at the time.
After disbanding, the members of Zeppelin briefly reunited for a performance at 1985’s Live Aid concert in Philadelphia and again in 1988 for Atlantic Records’ 40th Anniversary concert, where they were joined by Jason Bonham on drums.
In 1994, Plant and Page teamed up for a hugely successful world tour and subsequently produced a joint live album dubbed Live Quarter. The twosome’s decision to work together created tension with John Paul Jones, who was reportedly miffed he was not consulted about the trek ahead of time.
The strained relations between Jones, Page and Plant were evident the following year when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where Jones created an awkward moment by joking, “Thank you, my friends, for finally remembering my phone number.”
Despite inner tensions, rumors about a possible reunion tour have been circulating for years, with speculation heating up again this summer, despite Plant denying as recently as June that such an event would take place.
The singer more or less spoke the truth–there will be no stadium tour, as many had hoped, simply a one-off performance in honor of a departed friend.
The November concert date comes on the heels of the band’s scheduled release of the compilation album Mothership on Nov. 13—the first Zeppelin album to be made available for digital download.
Zeppelin will also release a reissue of the soundtrack to This Song Remains the Same, accompanied by a new DVD, on Nov. 20.
*Courtesy of E! News
Here is a video of Plant and Page performing ‘Live Quarter’.
Obviously this duo knows what they are doing, eh?
