While Robert Plant might have nothing against Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, he has made it clear that he doesn’t want to tour with them under the Led Zeppelin name. He’s sticking to his position, even declining an $800 million offer from Richard Branson to tour.
According to a report from the British tabloid the Mirror, Branson offered Page, Jones and Plant £190 million each (over $302 million) before tax to play 35 dates in three cities. The contract also gave them £70 million for merchandise profits and gave them an option for 45 more gigs in five other venues.
The first three venues were London’s O2, Berlin and New Jersey (which would likely have been MetLife Stadium).
However, Plant allegedly ripped up the contract right in front of promoters, even after Page and Jones had signed the deal. Jason Bonham, the son of the late drummer John Bonham, also agreed to tour.
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“It was a no-brainer for them but Robert asked for 48 hours to think about it,” a source told the Mirror. “When he said no and ripped up the paperwork he had been given, there was an enormous sense of shock.”
The Mirror even claims that Branson offered the group tickets for a Virgin Galactic flight into space.
Obviously, the group can’t tour without Plant’s help, so the tour is off.
Led Zep did reunite for a one-night stand at the O2 in December 2007. That concert was recently released on DVD and CD as Celebration Day. While promoting that release in 2012, Plant made it pretty clear that he didn’t want to do a reunion tour.
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