LED ZEPPELIN CONFIRM REUNION GIG:
Rock group Led Zeppelin are to reform for a tribute concert to the Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun.
Singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones will perform together for the first time in 19 years. Tickets for the one-off show at the O2 arena in London on 26 November will cost £125 and be allocated by ballot. Pete Townshend and Bill Wyman will also perform. Ertegun, who signed Led Zeppelin in 1968, died last year.
"During the Zeppelin years, Ahmet Ertegun was a major foundation of solidarity and accord," Plant said. "For us, he was Atlantic Records and remained a close friend and conspirator. This performance stands alone as a tribute to the work and life of a longstanding friend."
The news is likely to spark a huge rush for tickets as devoted fans around the world scramble to get into what could be the band's last show. Promoter Harvey Goldsmith said tickets would only be available to those who registered on a dedicated website - and that a limit of two applications per household had been imposed. Fans have been excitedly discussing the show on message boards - but many are concerned about how difficult it will be to get a ticket.
"Who wants to join me sleeping outside the O2 until I can get a ticket?" wrote one. "And if that doesn't work, I can also sell myself into slavery, or if all of me is not wanted, I will auction off my blood, organs and all worldly possessions. Think I'm kidding?"
Another wrote: "Anybody got three grand to spare for a ticket? I bet that's what the going rate will be. Touts will have a field day with this one." And another comment said: "The tickets will be silly money to start with and the sharks will make a killing. It will be hard for them to perform anywhere near their old levels, and I fear there will be a whole lotta disappointment!"
Uncut magazine writer Chris Roberts told BBC Radio Five Live: "A younger generation - as well as the people who might remember Led Zeppelin from the first time around - are very excited about this. "Reunion tours are big at the moment - The Police, Genesis, etc - but this is the one most people really didn't think would happen. They're pretty much the Picasso of heavy rock. Led Zeppelin's albums have certainly lasted the test of time and they're pretty much the template of heavy rock at its best."
With their pounding, blues-influenced anthems and explosive stadium shows, the band paved the way for artists across the worlds of heavy metal and alternative rock. Their best-known songs include Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Rock and Roll, Kashmir and Communication Breakdown - although they never released singles in the UK. They are one of only four acts to have sold more than 100 million albums in the US - the others being The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Garth Brooks.
Led Zeppelin's last full concert was in Berlin in July 1980 - two months before John Bonham died.
Page, Plant and Jones performed at Live Aid five years later, and also get back together at a concert to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Atlantic Records in 1988. But a rift opened between Jones and the other two band members opened after Page and Plant started working together without him in the 1990s. Rumours of a reconciliation surfaced several years ago, leading to speculation about a reunion. Their return follows comebacks by a number of other rock and pop legends, such as The Police, Genesis, the Spice Girls, Crowded House and Take That. The concert coincides with the release of a new two-CD best of compilation, Mothership, on 13 November. Other acts lined up for the show include Foreigner and Paolo Nutini.
WebLink: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6990704.stm.
Rock group Led Zeppelin are to reform for a tribute concert to the Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun.
Singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones will perform together for the first time in 19 years. Tickets for the one-off show at the O2 arena in London on 26 November will cost £125 and be allocated by ballot. Pete Townshend and Bill Wyman will also perform. Ertegun, who signed Led Zeppelin in 1968, died last year.
"During the Zeppelin years, Ahmet Ertegun was a major foundation of solidarity and accord," Plant said. "For us, he was Atlantic Records and remained a close friend and conspirator. This performance stands alone as a tribute to the work and life of a longstanding friend."
The news is likely to spark a huge rush for tickets as devoted fans around the world scramble to get into what could be the band's last show. Promoter Harvey Goldsmith said tickets would only be available to those who registered on a dedicated website - and that a limit of two applications per household had been imposed. Fans have been excitedly discussing the show on message boards - but many are concerned about how difficult it will be to get a ticket.
"Who wants to join me sleeping outside the O2 until I can get a ticket?" wrote one. "And if that doesn't work, I can also sell myself into slavery, or if all of me is not wanted, I will auction off my blood, organs and all worldly possessions. Think I'm kidding?"
Another wrote: "Anybody got three grand to spare for a ticket? I bet that's what the going rate will be. Touts will have a field day with this one." And another comment said: "The tickets will be silly money to start with and the sharks will make a killing. It will be hard for them to perform anywhere near their old levels, and I fear there will be a whole lotta disappointment!"
Uncut magazine writer Chris Roberts told BBC Radio Five Live: "A younger generation - as well as the people who might remember Led Zeppelin from the first time around - are very excited about this. "Reunion tours are big at the moment - The Police, Genesis, etc - but this is the one most people really didn't think would happen. They're pretty much the Picasso of heavy rock. Led Zeppelin's albums have certainly lasted the test of time and they're pretty much the template of heavy rock at its best."
With their pounding, blues-influenced anthems and explosive stadium shows, the band paved the way for artists across the worlds of heavy metal and alternative rock. Their best-known songs include Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Rock and Roll, Kashmir and Communication Breakdown - although they never released singles in the UK. They are one of only four acts to have sold more than 100 million albums in the US - the others being The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Garth Brooks.
Led Zeppelin's last full concert was in Berlin in July 1980 - two months before John Bonham died.
Page, Plant and Jones performed at Live Aid five years later, and also get back together at a concert to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Atlantic Records in 1988. But a rift opened between Jones and the other two band members opened after Page and Plant started working together without him in the 1990s. Rumours of a reconciliation surfaced several years ago, leading to speculation about a reunion. Their return follows comebacks by a number of other rock and pop legends, such as The Police, Genesis, the Spice Girls, Crowded House and Take That. The concert coincides with the release of a new two-CD best of compilation, Mothership, on 13 November. Other acts lined up for the show include Foreigner and Paolo Nutini.
WebLink: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6990704.stm.
