Pretty much everyone wants Led Zeppelin to reunite except Robert Plant. Even the financial power of Virgin billionaire Richard Branson could not get the legendary band to perform together.
According to The Mirror, the frontman ripped up a reunion contract promising $800 million for a reunion tour in front of a room full of promoters. The deal included an evenly distributed revenue split for Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones. Jason Bonham, who would have filled in for his father and original Led Zep drummer John, would have been a salaried player. The rest of the band had signed the contract by the time it got to Plant and his team.
"Jimmy, John and Jason signed up immediately," a source close to the band told the newspaper. "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."
The offer included 35 dates in three locations: London, Berlin and New Jersey. The band would have gotten a nice chunk of the merchandise profits, and there was even an option in place to do 45 additional shows among five venues.
"They have tried to talk him round, but there is no chance," the source said about Plant. "His mind is made up, and that's that."
Branson, a lifelong Led Zep fan, planned to rename one of his jets "The Starship," in honor of the band's old private jet, to fly the crew between venues.
After Page said he was ready to perform with Zeppelin again in May, Plant countered by shutting the idea down.
"I feel for the guy," he told Uncut. "He knows he's got the headlines if he wants them. But I don't know what he's trying to do. So I feel slightly disappointed and baffled."
Led Zep last hit the stage together in 2007 at London's O2 Arena, but the recent reissues of their back catalog got the reunion rumor mill turning again.
