Robert Plant apparently has said yes -- nearly 28 years to the day after Led Zeppelin disbanded.
According to a report yesterday in the London Sun, the Led Zeppelin singer has finally agreed to reunite with former bandmates guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones, along with drummer Jason Bonham (son of Zep drummer John Bonham), for a world tour that will begin some time in spring or summer 2009.
While nothing has been officially confirmed or announced, the Brit Sun's report has merit. It was the same newspaper that reported before the band's one-off reunion gig last December at London's O2 Arena that the group had down-tuned several songs to allow Plant to hit the high notes. The report was ridiculed by some but turned out to be true.
Yesterday, the Sun said Plant recently contacted the others about coming aboard.
"They were over the moon when he gave them the news," a source told the newspaper. "They are now forging ahead with tour plans and can't wait to get on the road."
Following the Sun's report yesterday, Australia's National Nine news stated the Zep tour would begin in May 2009.
Earlier in the week, reports had circulated that Page, Jones and Bonham were preparing for a tour with or without Plant's involvement. The same reports indicated the trio had decided on an American vocalist but no name was announced.
"(They) had all but given up on Robert joining them, but they were determined to go ahead (and) started to seriously explore other avenues," said the source.
It appears the idea of being replaced by the new vocalist is what made Plant, who performed at a benefit concert in Oklahoma City last night to help victims of Hurricane Ike, agree to the tour.
"When Robert realized the band were serious about doing it without him, it made him think long and hard," the source told the Sun.
Plant had previously mentioned the possibility of doing another album with Alison Krauss following the success of the duo's Raising Sand release and tour this past summer. The tour's extension nixed a report on a MuchMusic blog in the spring that had Led Zeppelin performing in Toronto in August.
In a mid-July news conference backstage at Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre, Plant seemed to put any Zeppelin reunion thoughts to rest by pretending to doze off and snore at a reporter's question concerning it.
Even Page seemed resigned to Plant's absence earlier this month at a news conference at the Toronto International Film Festival for the documentary It Might Get Loud. This was in spite of Bonham telling a Detroit radio station that he, Page and Jones were working on new material.
"Well, we're not actually really recording," Page said at the film fest. "When we played at the O2, that was our reunion. Basically that was it. In order to have a reunion you need four members."
Zeppelin broke up three months after John Bonham died Sept. 25, 1980. The survivors have played just three one-off reunion shows since.
Heard this acouple of days ago but now even my cities newspaper is carrying the report,hey who knows until its official.
