Damian Jones of NME reports:
On September 30th, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page sated that he ruled out any chance of the band playing together ever again.
Page was hosting a playback of his remastered versions of Houses Of The Holy and Led Zeppelin IV at Olympic Studios in London when he confirmed the news.
Asked directly by NME if remastering the albums made him want to reform the band again, he said, “I don’t think it looks as though that’s a possibility or on the cards, so there’s not much more I can say about that. I’m not going to give a detail-by-detail account of what one person says or another person says. All I can say is it doesn’t look likely, does it?”
When pressed on whether this was down to frontman Robert Plant, Page added, “I’ve just said it doesn’t look very likely.”
His comments come after Plant recently said that he felt “disappointed and baffled” after Page dropped repeated hints about wanting to play with the band again. The guitarist also said that he was “fed up” with his bandmate for delaying his plans. Led Zeppelin last played together in 2007 for a one-off tribute to Atlantic Records’ Ahmet Ertegun at London’s O2 Arena.
But Page did today confirm that he is likely to form his own band and play live material right across his whole career, including his Zeppelin work, in the near future.
He told the Q&A session, “If I was to play again it would be with musicians that would be… some of the names might be new to you. I haven’t put them together yet but I’m going to do that next year. If I went out to play, I would play material that spanned everything from my recording career right back to my very, very early days with The Yardbirds. There would certainly be some new material in there as well.”
Page added, “I love playing live, I really do. Live concerts are always an interesting challenge because it means you can always change things as you’re playing every night. You can make it even more of an adventure. I would play all of the things I’m known to play – instrumental versions of Dazed And Confused etcetera, etcetera…”
The playback saw a selection of remastered tracks from the latest reissues aired in a theater against a backdrop of old tour posters and photos of Led Zeppelin.
It followed a reissue campaign earlier this year of the band’s first three albums. Various formats of ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ and ‘Houses Of The Holy’ will be released on October 28th.
source: nme.com
72 Responses
Jimmy needs to quit remastering the Zeppelin catalog for the umpteenth time and start writing new original music! Robert has moved on, and Jimmy needs to do the same.
As a Zeppelin fan, I disagree. I don’t expect new Zeppelin music (nor do I want any as the Robert plant of today simply can not sing in the manner a Zeppelin record would demand). And while the occasional side project of Jimmy Page (The Firm/Coverdale-Page) have been a nice treat, they are so few and far between that I simply don’t experience hunger pangs for new releases from him. So if he wants to give me new takes (or higher quality mixes) of old music…it’s nothing but a bonus.
Led Zeppelin was his own band.
Good to hear he’s getting another band going though. He says he has material written that’s as good as anything he did in the past.
Would love to see Jimmy get out and do some shows. His Outrider solo cd was very good. Put out some new music and hit the road. Would love to see him play with a group of relative unknowns. It wouldn’t be Zeppelin, but I’m sure he would be energized by the “band” vibe. Just look at how Ritchie Faulkner has kicked Priest in the ass and given them a shot in the arm. C’mon Jimmy, your fans are ready and waiting!
Faulkner has done no such thing……
Hopefully Robert & Jimmy can get on the same “Page” again, so we can see them on the same stage again! 🙂
Sir, the man clearly stated its not possible.Snap out of it
Another one, snap out of what? Nothing wrong with hoping for a “reunion” no matter how impossible it may seem, is there?
Dougy, you’re talking about a 70 something guy. What exactly are u hoping for? A wheelchair convention? Snap out of it!!!!
Get a clue Evan, even if Page & Plant did a acoustic set together, IMO that would be awesome. No wheelchairs Evan, maybe a couple of stools, whatever makes them comfortable. Evan you seem to have the same problems as Bill Slate, he must be your buddy, because neither one of you know how to spell, (Dougy?) or have a clue, snap out of that, Evan.
Here’s hoping that Page gets back out there …
Maybe Myles Kennedy can fit in a few dates with Jimmy’s new project. Maybe Jason Bonham can as well … just need a bass player … hmmmm, let’s see …….
Dude don’t even say those two words…..
Gene Simmons!
Jimmy, you wanted the best; you’ve got the best with Gene. You’ve got nothin’ to lose, cause it’s not like Robert is comin’ home. Plus, Gene can’t hold his tongue, so he could tell Robert off.
Who the heck does Robert think he is if he won’t even sign Zeppelin memorabilia?
But seriously, Jimmy is too talented to not make new music!
Interesting. Gene is certainly a better bass player than he’ll ever be given credit for simply because he’s in KISS. What if Jimmy actually picked up the phone and asked him? Does he leave or put KISS on hold to play and jam with Jimmy Page?
Myles Kennedy? I don’t understand the appeal for an average singer with zero charisma.
Totally agree. I just don’t get what everyone sees in Kennedy.