Robert Plant Teases Led Zep Reunion Again

Robert Plant again flirted with the topic of a Led Zeppelin reunion. After telling The A.V. Club, “I think we’re probably thinking about talking,” earlier in the week, the leonine singer gave another tantalizing, yet non-committal morsel to the Daily Mail, while promoting his latest album, Band of Joy.

When asked about the potential of a Led Zeppelin reunion, he didn’t exactly say “no”:

“I can't speak about that, as I'm not in control of destiny. It's not for anybody to say. Anything is possible, but it'll take a lot to turn it into something worthwhile. It was tough tearing into those songs after 27 years, but it was quite something. The sense of the event [at the 2007 reunion at London’s O2 Arena] was so big in comparison to any one of us individually.”

It's been a long time since he's rock 'n' rolled

"The kids have grown up, it's now time for daddy to have a good time," Robert Plant says. "I'm singing in zones I never knew were imaginable and my children, they're all entertainers, they just say, 'Go dad!' "

Dad's been having a remarkable late-career resurgence since he hooked up with singer Alison Krauss and producer T-Bone Burnett and won the 2009 Grammy Award for album of the year. The 62-year-old former lead singer of Led Zeppelin, who was in Toronto recently to promote his new album Band of Joy -- and who sold more than 200 million records when he fronted the band he now calls "the rocket ship" -- first struck out as a solo artist in 1982 after the death of his long-time friend and Zeppelin drummer John Bonham."

Plant's adventure is far from finished, although he's intentionally not making any concrete plans. There's been talk of a Led Zeppelin reunion since the group performed together at a 2007 tribute show, but Plant reportedly turned down US$200-million to launch a stadium tour.

"Would I want the pressure of being a big cheese on a stadium tour? I see what happens to U2 and who'd want that?" Plant says. "Give me a great theatre and the North Mississippi All-Stars kicking things off and I'm gone."

The Final Nail in the Coffin of a Led Zeppelin Reunion

Plant spoke to the press after recently attending a Them Crooked Vultures show whose members include ex-bandmate John Paul Jones. "I feel so far away from heavy rock now. It's quite odd how mine and John's paths seem to have crossed over. We've sort of gone into each other's world's a bit." Before getting involved with his new group, Jones had produced a number of roots and bluegrass albums for a variety of artists.

It looks like there is now almost no chance of seeing a Led Zeppelin reunion by the three surviving members of the group. Robert Plant just doesn't want to rock anymore.

Plant also admitted that his ears "bled for two days" after the Led Zeppelin reunion show at the O2 Arena in London in 2008.

"For me, it's no longer to do with vanity, ego and visible success. It's just about getting down into the earth of music. I spent three or four years never playing a Zeppelin song from 1981 onwards, because I didn't want to lean on Zeppelin. I've gone from being in that huge band to picking up the pieces of my own gift."

Zeppelin Reunion was ‘Too Heavy’ for Robert Plant

Robert Plant recently told Mojo magazine that Led Zeppelin’s 2007 reunion show at London’s O2 Arena wasn’t the easiest experience for him personally.

“[It was] too heavy,” Plant said. “Beautiful – but talk about examining your own mortality... Crazy.”

The show featured original members Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones teaming up with Jason Bonham, son of the band’s late, original drummer, John Bonham. Plant recalled having Noel and Liam Gallagher come rushing to talk to him after the show.

“Well, what could you do afterwards...? Twenty minutes after we finished, the Gallagher brothers were leaning on the door of my dressing room and one of them said, ‘You’re the real [expletive] thing, you are.’” Plant said. “I said, ‘I’ve known that all down the line – but I think you need to go a little further round the corridor, next door on the left.’ And I went.”

[I] ended up in the Marathon [pub in Camden], drank four bottles of Keo [lager] and half a bottle of vodka then went to bed. Because I had to get away from it. I’d done it. Had to go.”

Plant is about to release a new album, titled Band of Joy, on September 14. Americana artist Buddy Miller co-produced the album and plays guitar on it, and Patti Griffin lends her voice to some songs. All three of them, plus a full band, recently did a small tour of the U.S. and have European dates scheduled for the fall.

'I'd Love' a Led Zeppelin Reunion: Jason Bonham

Jason Bonham knows better than to promise a Led Zeppelin reunion as part of his "Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience" show that goes on tour this fall. But he's certainly not opposed to the idea.

"I'm not going to hide it from them," Bonham, who filled his late father John "Bonzo" Bonham's spot and played with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones at the 2007 Zep reunion concert at London's O2 arena, tells Billboard.com. "I will invite them to every show I can, because my goal and dream is, 'Wouldn't it be cool if I did something that they thought was cool and they would get up and play with me?' That's what I'm doing [this] for. I'd love it."

Plant has, in fact, already given his public blessing to Bonham's multimedia show, which is due to hit the road this October in North America. Bonham says he has yet to hear from Page and Jones, whom he worked with on an unrealized project shortly after the O2 show. The shows, commemorating the 30th anniversary of John Bonham's death and the dissolution of Led Zeppelin, are co-produced by Annerin Productions, which also presents the Beatles tribute show "Rain" and "The Pink Floyd Experience."

"What I want to do is a personal story," explains Bonham, who will be accompanied by a five-piece band whose members he has yet to reveal. The show will incorporate archival video material and set changes, and Bonham plans to record narration that will precede some of the songs and "give a little background on them and the reason why I'm playing them, and stories about growing up with dad and how Zeppelin has been part of my life from the beginning. It's a good musical journey; it'll be sad at times...but it will really be a celebration."

Bonham hopes that his "Led Zeppelin Experience" will expand beyond the 30 shows he currently has planned, and he'd like to see the production grow to possibly include orchestrations -- which he may try out in certain cities during the fall tour. Dates and ticket sale information are expected to be announced next week.

Robert Plant Reveals Life of Crime Before Led Zeppelin

Robert Plant may have made his millions as the frontman of Led Zeppelin but he has revealed a shady past that included stealing.

The singer has admitted he used to take fuel out of cars and steal milk in the early hours of the morning, reports The Daily Express.

He also revealed that pre-Led Zeppelin he and his bandmates from the group Band of Joy, including John Bonham, were on the 'point of starvation' in the mid 1960s.

He said, "We were better at siphoning petrol out of parked cars than we were at pulling crowds. We all meant it. We were at the point of starvation and would get involved in thievery.

"We would nick bottles of milk off the doorsteps in Manchester at 5am while tenants were waking up."

The name 'Band of Joy' might be familiar to some after the singer announced earlier this summer that he would be taking his new band on the road for a UK autumn tour, under the name of Robert Plant and the Band of Joy, as previously reported by Spinner. Their album, entitled 'Band of Joy', is due for release on Sept. 13.

Jason Bonham announces Led Zeppelin tribute tour

Jason Bonham, son of late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, has revealed plans for the Led Zeppelin Experience tour. Celebrating the music of the legendary English rockers on the 30th anniversary of his father’s passing, the 30-date North American concert will stop in Boston for a night at the Oprheum Theatre on Tuesday, November 2. Tickets, which range in price from $35.50 to $45.50, are now on sale through Ticketmaster.

Bonham, who played with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin at the band’s London O2 Arena reunion show in 2007, was inspired to start the tour after watching “Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles”. To create the special tour, he has joined forces with Annerin Productions, the acclaimed producers of both Rain and “The Pink Floyd Experience”. Bonham will be accompanied by a five-piece band whose members he has yet to reveal. The show will feature special archived footage of the band history, and Bonham plans to record narration that will precede some of the songs.

“I remember when I went to see Led Zeppelin live in 1979 at Knebworth, there were certain songs that stood out to me and will stay with me forever,” recalled Bonham in a press release. “I will also share other big moments in my life, time with my Dad and my relationship with the band. The show is far from being ‘just another tribute band.’ I want to make the show as personal as I can and show how much Led Zeppelin means to me.”

The Black Country Communion, Bonham’s other project with Kevin Shirley, Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa and Derek Sherinian, will release their self-titled debut album on September 21.