LED ZEPPELIN Says JASON BONHAM Is More Than Pulling His Weight For Upcoming Reunion Gig

December 1, 2007

The Pulse of Radio reports: According to LED ZEPPELIN, the main reason for their upcoming reunion concert in London is to make up for several slipshod, unrehearsed reunion sets that they've played over the past three decades. In the new issue of Rolling Stone, which features surviving members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones on the cover, the group salutes Jason Bonham, who'll be filling in for his late father John Bonham on drums at the upcoming gig.

Bonham, who now drums for FOREIGNER, says that he feels a duty to pay tribute to his dad, as well as to make up for what he felt was a lazy performance on his part during ZEPPELIN's 1988 set at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Concert in New York City. Bonham says that he was too young to properly rise to the occasion of filling his father's shoes that night, recalling, "I took it for granted. I expected it and didn't do my homework."

Plant agrees with Bonham: "When Jason was younger and more juvenile, he thought (playing in ZEPPELIN) was a hereditary situation. But now, Jason knows that not only is he the right guy for this — with his enthusiasm and prowess, he's changing it."

John Paul Jones says that nearly 20 years after their last prolonged set together, Bonham has more than done his homework: "Jason has an encyclopedic recall of every live bootleg and studio outtake... Jason will go, 'In 1971, you did it this way, and in 1973, at so-and-so auditorium, you did it this way into that."

Page added that, "Jason knows the numbers. But not only that, he understands them. That makes a lot of difference."

The 100-minute plus set will not only feature such ZEPPELIN classics as "Whole Lotta Love", "Dazed And Confused", and "No Quarter", but also rarities as well. The band has been rehearsing "For Your Life", an album track from the band's 1976 album "Presence" that they have never before played live.

Despite numerous rumors that the band is plotting a 2008 tour, so far they are only booked to play one night, on December 10 at London's O2 Arena, at a tribute to Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun.

MTV.com reported that earlier this month THE CULT frontman Ian Astbury told a Cincinnati audience, "We'll be back next year, because we're opening for a band you may have heard of... the name starts with an 'L'and has a 'Z' in it." When an audience member called out "LED ZEPPELIN!" Astbury nodded and raised his fist in the air.

The most consistent rumor circulating regarding a ZEPPELIN tour is that Plant is waiting to see how well the band performs at the London gig before committing to any future concerts. He is also planning on performing solo dates with Alison Krauss behind their new album "Raising Sand", as well as plotting a new studio album with T-Bone Burnett.

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