Members of British rock band Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones (C), lead singer Robert Plant (L) and guitarist Jimmy Page arrive for the premiere of their film "Celebration Day", in New York October 9, 2012. Led Zeppelin will release the concert film based on their 2007 charity performance in London that hits cinemas on Oct. 17, the band said on September 13. The film, directed by Dick Carruthers, was taken from the long-awaited reunion of one of rock's most successful acts. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)
Source LIVE: gig Jimmy Page thought redeemed Led Zeppelin’s Live Aid disaster: “I’m not rehearsing” despite so many terrible rumour of them drinking blood” see details..
The history of the band Led Zeppelin is still shrouded in mystery. The band’s behavior with their staff and fans was the subject of numerous rumors when they went on tour. Rumors of them drinking blood, dining with the devil, and selling their soul to Satan were among the more ominous myths that surrounded the normal alcohol and drugs.
Why were rumors about Led Zeppelin so eagerly circulated? They were just simply too delicious. Jimmy Page said to Led Zeppelin during their very first jam session that the goal was to combine many musical styles in a way that was unified, approachable, and potentially profitable. Zeppelin might have scoffed at the idea, but most musicians would have.
Among the greatest musicians who have ever lived are Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones. Due to their proficiency with their respective instruments, they were able to effortlessly blend several genres and were up to the challenge.
The only thing that could ever stop such an unstoppable force as Led Zeppelin was the death of one of the band members, even if they would have had their share of disagreements while touring and disagreements over some of their albums. Without this diverse group of outstanding players to help create such impossible-sounding music, the band could not possibly continue to play.
Subsequently, when drummer John Bonham passed away, Led Zeppelin decided to call it a day. “When we lost John, we agreed unanimously that that was that,” said Robert Plant. “I had to go and find out if I really want to do it. Did I want to do it, or did I just want to sit back there like a croupier at a gambling thing and just kind of rake [the money] in […] I wanted to take all the trappings away, because I’d lost my best mate.”
But Led Zeppelin hasn’t been reunited. They have gotten back together multiple times, with some of those reunions being more successful than others. When they decided to get back together for Live Aid in 1985, it was their first reunion. Phil Collins and Tony Thompson filled in as drummers, but the performance was a complete bust, leading to a falling out between Collins and Page.
Robert told me Phil Collins wanted to play with us. I told him that was all right if he knows the numbers,” said Page, recounting the disastrous gig. “But at the end of the day, he didn’t know anything. We played ‘Whole Lotta Love,’ and he was just there bashing away cluelessly and grinning. I thought that was really a joke.”
Collins equally wasn’t happy with the show. “If I could have walked off, I would have done,” he said. “It was a disaster, really. Robert wasn’t match-fit with his voice and Jimmy was out of it, dribbling. It wasn’t my fault it was crap.”
The band didn’t reunite again until 2007 when they got back together in order to perform for the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute at the O2. This time, it was John Bonham’s son, Jason Bonham, who handled drumming duties, and the gig went much better, so much so that Page thought it made up for their disastrous reunion at Live Aid. He even says he would have liked to have performed that reunion more.
“At first, there were going to be two nights, with us and other Atlantic artists on one night,” he stated. We were supposed to perform a half-hour show, but I told them, ‘I’m not practicing for a half-hour set! We need to fix Live Aid.
