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Robert Plant nixes £500,000,000 Led Zeppelin reunion offer


bacardimayne

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Led Zeppelins Robert Plant has turned down a Whole Lotta Lolly more than £500MILLION to reform the band for the dearest tour in history.

The rock legend ripped up Sir Richard Bransons contract for 35 dates in three cities in front of astonished promoters after the other members of the supergroup all signed up.

The tour would have earned singer Plant and fellow founders Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones £190million each before tax.

But Plant, 66, said he thought it wasnt the right thing to do.

A source close to the group said: They have tried to talk him round but there is no chance.

His mind is made up and thats that.

Virgin tycoon Branson, 64, has been a lifelong fan of the band.

He was getting ready to rebrand one of his Jumbo jets The Starship to fly the group around the venues.

An industry source said they were told they could have £250 million for 35 dates in three cities, London at the O2, Berlin and New Jersey.

Led Zep were also promised £70million of the profit from merchandise and there was an option to do 45 more gigs in five venues.

The cash was to be split three ways between Plant, Page, 70, and Jones, 68, while Jason Bonham, 48, son of late drummer John, would have been paid a wage to perform.

Our band source said: Jimmy, John and Jason signed up immediately.

It was a no-brainer for them but Robert asked for 48 hours to think about it. When he said no and ripped up the paperwork he had been given, there was an enormous sense of shock.

"There is no way they can go ahead without him.

Branson had planned to have the staircase of the Starship jet renamed the Stairway to Heaven after the bands 70s hit and was going to sell off the back 20 rows of the aircraft as special Led Zep seats for £100,000 each.

The source added: Branson tried to pull out all of the stops. But even his money was not enough to get Plant to sign up. He is gutted.

Plant has previously said: I have to be in some brand new zones quite regularly... Its an insane thing to do, to go back.

Formed in 1966, Led Zeppelin have sold more than 300 million albums. Their last performance was a one night only gig at Londons O2 on December 10, 2007.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/led-zeppelins-robert-plant-turns-4595788

It takes conviction to turn down $300,000,000. Good for him.

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A billion to see a bunch of old geezers.

I agree here too. I think Plant knows he just can't sing anymore. Listen to the O2 show and how many layers upon layers upon layers of effects they put on his voice. He has some moments of the past (Kashmir) but for the most part he just doesn't have it and probably doesn't want to try and fail.

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I saw Robert live about 3 weeks ago as well as a huge fan of the O2 concert they did, I definitely think he t is definitely capable of handling the task of singing.

If I had to guess what is going on in his mind I have a few ideas: First I think that he is not fond of the huge spectacle it would be. Even at the end of the 90's Page/Plant shows Robert has said that the whole arena thing was something he didn't like doing and got sick of the "circus" as he called it. And if he reunites with Zeppelin he is relegated to playing all old songs, and as close to the way they did them back in the day - where I think he likes constantly changing up the sound and arrangement of songs nowadays. And third I get the feeling that he has a mindset of "Zeppelin's story has already been told and it ended some time ago".

I also think that part of why Plant even agreed to do the O2 concert in 2007 was to end Zeppelin on a high note, and to not end their legacy with the Live Aid and Atlantic Anniversary shows that were horrible reunion attempts

Edited by WhazUp
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There are always going to be two sides to this for me. I'd love to see them (obviously). But I know, deep down, that there is no way Plant would be able to sustain that many dates with that kind of material. He can perform his solo stuff very well, but Zeppelin material is not within his range anymore. I love Celebration Day, and think it's a pretty awesome job by all the members. But that's already seven years ago. It's just not feasible anymore. I give him a ton of credit for not giving in.

There's a reason they stopped being a band in the first place, and it's nice to see that Plant won't be swayed because of money. A band can't just be a band for the money. Well, not a good band anyway. And Led Zeppelin should not be together for money.

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I've moved on, anyways. I've seen Robert a few times and even got to see Jimmy at an event. I also saw Jason, and hopefully will see Jones sometime.

Either way, Zeppelin has given me a lot over the years. This news would have really saddened me in the past but, eh, they have their legacy. Celebration Day is amazing and if you are a big enough fan even if you are young, you could have still gotten a lot out of the band like I did, even if I don't have a ticket stub that says "Led Zeppelin" on it.

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What an obnoxious cunt.

Why? Because he has integrity and can't be bought out?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEOvfI5uhLM#t=556

the guy's a right cunt on a personal level, or at least he used to be - just read neil strauss' recollection of when he interviewed him at the start of strauss' career - but you have to admire his artistic credibility that he's not willing to sacrifice the band's history for what could ostensibly be seen as a cash-grab tour.

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I actually find reunions very distasteful. Firstly, it is all about the cash. Secondly, the crowds are usually really lame, full of casual fans who want the big hits (here, it would be Whole Lotta Love and Stairway). Reunited bands rarely go into the deep cuts, Neil Young territory. It is all about 'greatest hits'. Thirdly, it is never a patch on the band's heyday. Watching fat balding men replicate stuff they did in their 20s is embarrassing.

I am not really an admirer of arena rock in general though haha. I go to about one gig every five years haha.

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I've moved on, anyways. I've seen Robert a few times and even got to see Jimmy at an event. I also saw Jason, and hopefully will see Jones sometime.

Either way, Zeppelin has given me a lot over the years. This news would have really saddened me in the past but, eh, they have their legacy. Celebration Day is amazing and if you are a big enough fan even if you are young, you could have still gotten a lot out of the band like I did, even if I don't have a ticket stub that says "Led Zeppelin" on it.

Ya I agree. Even though I would literally have a spirtual awaking at an actual Zeppelin concert, I'm ok with it never happening. I've seen them live multiple times, everytime I watch the Zeppelin dvd or song remains the same or even the O2 show. Zeppelin has given me a lot, I don't really have anything else I can ask for. Now maybe someone can offer Axl and Slash this kind of money and see if they jump....

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I actually find reunions very distasteful. Firstly, it is all about the cash. Secondly, the crowds are usually really lame, full of casual fans who want the big hits (here, it would be Whole Lotta Love and Stairway). Reunited bands rarely go into the deep cuts, Neil Young territory. It is all about 'greatest hits'. Thirdly, it is never a patch on the band's heyday. Watching fat balding men replicate stuff they did in their 20s is embarrassing.

I am not really an admirer of arena rock in general though haha. I go to about one gig every five years haha.

Oh really haha.
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I actually find reunions very distasteful. Firstly, it is all about the cash. Secondly, the crowds are usually really lame, full of casual fans who want the big hits (here, it would be Whole Lotta Love and Stairway). Reunited bands rarely go into the deep cuts, Neil Young territory. It is all about 'greatest hits'. Thirdly, it is never a patch on the band's heyday. Watching fat balding men replicate stuff they did in their 20s is embarrassing.

There are exceptions though: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and, by a slightly different definition, Aerosmith and Iron Maiden reunited and became touring juggernauts (with fan as well as mass appeal) and also put out some of their best studio material after the reunion. So it can be done well.

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