http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/led-zeppelins-robert-plant-turns-4595788
Led Zeppelin’s 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 Branson’s 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 wasn’t 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 that’s 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 band’s 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... It’s 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 London’s O2 on December 10, 2007.
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
Page was in . lot of cash to turn down . They should get Steven Tyler or Ann Wilson lol and go on tour with out spacey Plant God knows Greg would be back at the Beacon for 5 million let alone 100 mill..
Tons of respect for mr. Plant. One of the last men standing in the Rock And Roll Pantheon who is not a sell out like almost everybody else. Led Zep with Steven Tyler would be an extreme travesty. Even with Ann Wilson, who happens to be one of my all time favorite lead vocalists, it would be a kaput zeppelin.
People like Brian May who keeps the feeding frenzy going on the carcass of Queen make me wanna puke. So kudos to mr. Plant.
[Edited on 11/10/2014 by ABBDutchFan]
If 100% true and who knows that for sure, I say kudos to Robert Plant. I would think all of them outside of maybe Jason are sitting ok moneywise.
Sounds like money doesn't buy everything Mr. Branson. Back to building rocketships
Good for Plant. Although the 2007 one-off gig at the London O2 was overall really good (IMO), I don't think his voice would've held up for a tour in 2007-08 time frame. No way now. Which brings up another question. I've read this Mirror article as well as a couple others, and in none of them is a time-frame mentioned. Was this tour proposed by Branson a recent thing, or is this the one from 2007-08 time frame when the other 3 were itching to go out on the road?
Consider this: he doesn't need the money. He is probably at a stage where a $100 million or $200 million would not really change his living situation.
Led Zeppelin’s 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 Branson’s 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.
This is your brain on drugs kids.
No, "Ramble On" is your brain on drugs.
The shows Branson wanted to schedule were going to be in London, Berlin, and New Jersey???
I'd tear up that contract too!
Good for you Robert Plant......
Yes, there is a stadium of some size in East Rutherford.
I thought Berlin was more of an odd choice than Jersey/Giants Stadium. I know it's [Berlin] a hipster/bohemian hotbed, but figured London, NYC area, and Los Angeles would have made more sense.
[Edited on 11/10/2014 by Zambi]
He has f-u moiney; enough to say f-u to anything.
Reminds me of John Densmore vetoeing the use of I believe "Break on Through" a few years back in an auto commercial costing Manzarek and Krieger millions.
Wish I had enough money to just do what I wanted to; the 50 million that buys that type of freedom is greater than the billions that keep you a captive.
Steve Jobs always wanted more; when someone offered Steve Wozniak a buy out of 200 million he took it and said "I can now wake up every day and do whatever I want to"
I thought Berlin was more of an odd choice than Jersey/Giants Stadium. I know it's [Berlin] a hipster/bohemian hotbed, but figured London, NYC area, and Los Angeles would have made more sense.
Berlin is probably in there because it's near the middle of Europe, which would've made it convenient for fans on the Continent.
Perhaps, but they're only 600 miles apart though, while LA-NY is over 2500 miles. So that logic, by itself, doesn't work too well. But I get the "optics" of doing 2 U.S. cities and only London for the entire European market. I just thought it was odd b/c Zep was so much bigger in the U.S. than in Europe anyway, and I'd never really heard of them being especially popular in Germany.
Probably also had a lot to do with Virgin branding in Europe and Branson's involvement. It was a giant marketing concept. We have some Virgin brands here, but it's nowhere near the juggernaut here as it is in GB & Europe.
Also, the USD is weak compared to EUR and especially GBP, so that's a 30-60% price premium right there.
I'm just guessing that that's their reasoning. You could be right, too. They had an option to add more shows and perhaps a West Coast date would've been part of that package.
I admire Robert not doing it just for the money. He realizes you can't go back and based on interviews I have read does not want to relive the past and also has hinted he can't do justice to the old songs any longer. He seems to be happy with the music he is making and playing smaller venues.
Jimmy needs to move on and get on with his life instead of waiting for Robert to suddenly change his mind. I am a big Led Zep fan and Jimmy has been saying he is going to release new music for years now but can't seem to pull the trigger. He is living in the past.
Aren't they in the middle of remastering their entire catalogue? Not that there's anything wrong with it, but that's not exactly moving on. It's also an extremely lucrative business move.
[Edited on 11/10/2014 by Marley]
Aren't they in the middle of remastering their entire catalogue? Not that there's anything wrong with it, but that's not exactly moving on. It's also an extremely lucrative business move.
[Edited on 11/10/2014 by Marley]
When you say "they" you mean Jimmy Page right as he is the one digging into the archives? and as I said he is not moving on.
Zeppelin is Page's life. Nothing wrong with that, but he is obsessed with the legacy and possibly tarnishing it. I think he's afraid to do solo projects b/c of his past relatively limited success. If he can't do arena tours, I think he views it somehow as a failure and/or poor reflection on Zeppelin. He tried it with The Firm and the Outrider solo project, and David Coverdale, and when it fails he quickly moves on and seems like inevitably back to Plant where there is a bigger draw and media attention, and obvious focus on Zeppelin.
I just don't think Page would do a headlining tour of 2-4k seat theatres which, sadly, is about all I suspect he could draw on his own with a solo project. Doubly hard to go out and do that when you have a half-billion dollar offer on the table.
I'd love to see him do something like he did with the Black Crowes back in 2000 time frame though.
Zeppelin is Page's life. Nothing wrong with that, but he is obsessed with the legacy and possibly tarnishing it. I think he's afraid to do solo projects b/c of his past relatively limited success. If he can't do arena tours, I think he views it somehow as a failure and/or poor reflection on Zeppelin. He tried it with The Firm and the Outrider solo project, and David Coverdale, and when it fails he quickly moves on and seems like inevitably back to Plant where there is a bigger draw and media attention, and obvious focus on Zeppelin.
I just don't think Page would do a headlining tour of 2-4k seat theatres which, sadly, is about all I suspect he could draw on his own with a solo project. Doubly hard to go out and do that when you have a half-billion dollar offer on the table.
I'd love to see him do something like he did with the Black Crowes back in 2000 time frame though.
Nothing wrong with the pride he has taken in Led Zeppelin as he has something to be proud of but IMHO it is such a waste of talent for him to not be making new music. I do agree he seem afraid to put out new music. Maybe he is afraid nothing could live up to his past?
Robert has shown he can change his mind on a dime but he has been pretty adamant about not doing Led Zeppelin again so wish Jimmy could let go.
Plant has previously said: “I have to be in some brand new zones quite regularly... It’s an insane thing to do, to go back."
Sums it up pretty well...
Formed in 1966
?
Aren't they in the middle of remastering their entire catalogue? Not that there's anything wrong with it, but that's not exactly moving on. It's also an extremely lucrative business move.
[Edited on 11/10/2014 by Marley]
When you say "they" you mean Jimmy Page right as he is the one digging into the archives? and as I said he is not moving on.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jimmy-page-digs-up-substantial-rarities-for-new-led-zeppelin-remasters-20121126/blockquote >
OK, that's Page's project. Do the others not need to approve that? I don't know.
Do the others not need to approve that? I don't know.
Yup. By...make checks payable to...
I'm sure Plant & Jones have no qualms with Page's ability in the work he does in the studio. 😉
Just turned on abc news...
they briefly referred to this story,ending with ,when asked,Plant said"rubbish"
I wasn't sure if he meant the whole story or that he turned down he gig.
Interesting?
I don't get the "good for you Robert Plant" responses. Why do you view it that way? I respect his decision to turn it down, but I don't see it as the better response. I would bet my bottom dollar his rejection of the contract is only due to his lack of singing ability, and not any moral reason.
Rubbish pertains to the supposed offer.
But the dollar amounts are huge. Why not play some shows and feed the hungry?
Do a live TV charity event with the Kings of British Rock. Clapton, Pink Floyd, The Who, The Stones, Led Zeppelin then Paul and Ringo closing it out. Show does not commence until a donated amount is obtained. Add the merch dollars and sponsorship and it would be the greatest telethon ever.
All of these seniors have been raking it in for years and don't need a cent.
http://www.gigwise.com/news/95909/robert-plant-didnt-turn-500-million-to-reform-led-zeppelin
Looks like a hoax..........
When I first read this I thought the same as some of the others, good for you Robert. Flipping the bird to Branson...it's not all about the money .Some say It was a moral decision about the legacy and integrity of Zep and others say it's about his voice. I tend to lean towards the moral aspect , I suspect to a degree. He did sing very well during the 2007 gig and pulled that off very well.
Could he hold up for a tour? Depends on what you call a tour. Playing 2-3 shows a week for a couple dozen shows world wide..maybe. He did set the bar pretty
high during those years, but he still can sing. Who knows, all speculation.
I am sure he had plenty of opportunities over the last 30 plus years to do a tour, but nothing has happened except in the mid to late 90's. Why? Who knows. He has mentioned many times before in the past and in this current article ,“I have to be in some brand new zones quite regularly... It’s an insane thing to do, to go back.” . Thats nothing new. He has always said he wants something new to work with and not rehashing the past. I respect that.Yes he does Zep stuff in his sets, but they are rearranged. I like what he is doing solo.
Zambi quote:
Zeppelin is Page's life. Nothing wrong with that, but he is obsessed with the legacy and possibly tarnishing it. I think he's afraid to do solo projects b/c of his past relatively limited success. If he can't do arena tours, I think he views it somehow as a failure and/or poor reflection on Zeppelin. He tried it with The Firm and the Outrider solo project, and David Coverdale, and when it fails he quickly moves on and seems like inevitably back to Plant where there is a bigger draw and media attention, and obvious focus on Zeppelin.
Interesting point. I wonder if thats why Page has not done that much over the years. If he cant match that, he might feel that it was a failure. What Plant is doing now is very good and worthy. Yeah he may not being drawing the numbers of huge arenas and stadiums, but quality beats quanity and he is doing what he wants. Jimmy has sat idle for WAY TO LONG.
After hearing the 2007 set from them, it really does not bother me that they did not do a tour . I am a HUGE Page fan, and always will be. He is one of the main reasons why I picked up the guitar 30 yrs ago. I never wanted to believe what people have said on the internet about Jimmy losing it and not quite as sharp.
I thought his performance one O7 gig was very pedestrian for many reasons I have described in various threads about that topic on this site. I only have listened to that show maybe a hand few of time when it came out and never played it since. Just not what I envisioned from him.
Good for Plant whatever his descision or reasoning is behind it.
Led Zeppelin.....one of the greatest ever.
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
I never wanted to believe what people have said on the internet about Jimmy losing it and not quite as sharp.
Very, very few people are as sharp as they were in their 20s. In that sense, it's all relative, innit? 
Very, very few people are as sharp as they were in their 20s.
You mean...my mind has been lying to me?! 😮 😛 😉
