Robert Plant Opens Up On Led Zeppelin Tour That Never Was
Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant is opening up about his decision to walk away from a tour that could have been the biggest of all time.
During an interview with Rolling Stone, Plant addressed the topic of the failed Led Zeppelin tour, which many fans hoped would occur following the band’s long-awaited 2007 reunion. The topic still “rankles” Plant, bringing forth an adamant response from the legendary singer.
“A tour would have been an absolute menagerie of vested interests and the very essence of everything that’s shitty about about big-time stadium rock. We were surrounded by a circus of people that would have had our souls on the fire. I’m not part of a jukebox!”
-Robert Plant
Guitarist Jimmy Page, who, like Plant, has lately been promoting the upcoming Led Zeppelin remasters, acknowledges that Plant was the only member holding out after the reunion.
“At the time of the 02 show we were led to believe there were going to be more. You’ll have to ask Robert why he changed his mind. I don’t even know if he considered it. I don’t know what he thinks.”
-Jimmy Page
Nevertheless, Page joined John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham in rehearsals following Plant’s decision not to tour. Despite auditioning Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Alter Bridge singer Miles Kennedy, the guitarist wasn’t entirely happy with the idea of the group without Plant.
“I wasn’t feeling comfortable. Going out with the three members from the 02 show and another singer might have looked like trying to jam a square peg into a round hole. I wanted to see what we could come up with musically.”
-Jimmy Page
What happened next is well known to any Led Zeppelin fan: as rumors of a tour persisted for months, Jones left to join Dave Grohl and Josh Homme in the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, effectively sinking any hopes of a full-fledged reunion. Despite his decision to walk away, Plant concedes that he would have supported the band in continuing on without him. “I don’t know what happened,” Plant admits. “It seemed like a great idea to me.”
In what may well be the last word on the issue, Plant says that his decision had nothing to do with anything other than his own state of mind.
“Do you know why the Eagles said they’d reunite when ‘hell freezes over,’ but they did it anyway and keep touring? It’s not because they were paid a fortune. It’s not about the money. It’s because they’re bored. I’m not bored.”
-Robert Plant
As the new remasters hit shelves, fans will have little choice but to wonder what the tour, with or without Robert Plant, would have been like.
Images via Huffington Post and Wikipedia
