by Seth D. Olson
TicketNews.com
As many sources did this week, TicketNews reported rumors that Led Zeppelin was slated for a comeback tour this summer. Unfortunately for Zep fans, solo rocker/Led Zeppelin lead vocalist Robert Plant has stated otherwise. According to www.RollingStone.com, at a press conference for Greece’s upcoming Rockwave tour, Plant joked about the rumors saying “If there was [a Zeppelin reunion], then there wouldn’t be enough doctors to support it!”
It is not a rare occurrence for Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page to join each other on stage for a song or two during Plant’s solo tours. For that reason alone, many fans do not believe it to be that far fetched for them to reunite and play the songs that made them rock legends. For now though, it appears that Zeppelin fans will have to continue waiting to see if the tour will ever really happen. . .
Robert Plant’s Solo Career
After the breakup of Led Zeppelin in 1980 following the sudden death of drummer John Bonham, Plant pursued a successful solo career beginning with his first solo album, Pictures at Eleven in 1982, followed by 1983’s The Principle of Moments. Popular tracks from this period include “Big Log” (a Top 20 hit in 1983), “In the Mood (1984), “Little by Little” (1985), “Tall Cool One” (a #25 hit in 1988) and “I Believe” (1993), another song written for and dedicated to his late son, Karac. In 1984, Plant formed a short-lived all-star group with Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck called The Honeydrippers, who had a #3 hit with a remake of the Phil Phillips’ tune, “Sea of Love”, along with a lesser hit with “Rockin’ at Midnight.” Plant avoided performing Led Zeppelin songs through much of this period.
On rare occasions, Plant performed with both surviving members of Led Zeppelin: In 1985 for Live Aid (with Phil Collins and Tony Thompson on drums), 1988 for Atlantic Records 40th anniversary, and in 1995 when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the last two with Bonham’s son Jason filling in on drums. Additionally, Plant, Jones, and Page attended—and later performed at Jason’s wedding in 1990.
As a former member of Led Zeppelin, along with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, Plant received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and the Polar Music Prize in 2006. Plant still actively tours, the most recent taking place in US and Europe during 2005/2006 with Strange Sensation. His sets typically include recent, but not only, solo material and plenty of Led Zeppelin favorites, often with new and expanded arrangements.
A DVD titled Soundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation, featuring his Soundstage performance (filmed at the Soundstage Studios in Chicago on September 16, 2005), was released in October 2006. An expansive box set of his solo work, Nine Lives, was released in November 2006.
Thanks to wikipedia.org, mtv.com and rollingstone.com
