Jaw-dropping Led Zeppelin news to start the new year with – Jimmy Page’s manager has confirmed that the remaining members of the band are planning to reform. But they’re going to replace Robert Plant and they’re going to take this new act on tour and into the studio to record a new album.

From the report – which I just read on NME – Peter Mensch (a far more reliable source than The Sun) told BBC 6Music that Page and Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones enjoy working together, and that John Bonham’s son Jason seems to be more than happy to sign on as drummer.

Jimmy Page has been playing guitar professionally since he was 16 years old. Jimmy Page likes being a musician. That’s what he does! He doesn’t want to be a race car driver or a solicitor.

So they [Page, Jones, Bonham] did the show with Robert Plant; they had a really good time rehearsing, the three of them, before Robert showed up.

And they decided that if they could find a singer that they thought would fit their bill – whatever their bill was at this stage in their career – that they’d make a record and go on tour.

And I support that because, why not? That’s what Jimmy Page does. That’s his job, his hobby, his vocation.

John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page enjoy playing with each other, Jason Bonham is a really good drummer so why not? We just need to find a singer.

Now, this is totally unprecedented stuff for a band of Led Zeppelin’s stature – replacing an iconic lead singer like Robert Plant, who incidentally was named the greatest vocalist in rock by NME recently.

Naming the band?

This immediately begs the question(s): will the project be called Led Zeppelin? Who owns the rights to the name? Can Page resurrect the band without Plant’s consent, or will Plant happily give the project his blessing? Will the fans accept a reformed Led Zeppelin that doesn’t feature Plant?

Funnily enough, I was listening to Zep’s Coda album the other day, with excellent versions of I Can’t Quit You Baby and Wearing And Tearing. Don’t you wonder what the band would have come up with if they’d continued?

To be honest, I don’t think they can get away with calling the new band Led Zeppelin. It just won’t be. Call it something tongue in cheek, like Stairway to Zeppelin. Shit, why not call it Lead Balloon? OK, maybe Led Balloon.

And who’s the new singer?

From all indications, the band are nowhere near recruiting or confirming a new singer at this stage. Aerosmith are just about to hit the studio to start work on their long-delayed new album, so the rumors about Steven Tyler taking over the role are probably ill-founded.

Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell has been suggested as a possible new singer, and that’s an interesting option because he’s currently without a band, is an excellent vocalist and might take the band in interesting directions creatively. He’s also on the verge of recording a solo album, so is he a plausible replacement for Plant? Hope so.

I wonder if Page’s original choice of singer for Led Zeppelin – Steve Marriott – is available for the gig? I’m pretty sure Jimmy won’t have to worry about broken fingers this time around!

Anyway, as I hinted up above, if this rumor had come from the tabloids, I’d be severely sceptical. But coming from Jimmy Page’s manager, the news is exciting and has me wondering what the future holds for Zeppelin. And much as I’d miss Plant, how exciting to see most of the band back together again?

Must dig out that Walking Into Clarksdale album again…

Robert Plant has denied falling out with his former Led Zeppelin bandmates – insisting there is no rift over his decision not to join them for a reunion world tour.

The singer reunited with his bandmates for a one-off gig in London in December 2007, but has opted out of a planned comeback, leaving the other rockers to search for a replacement vocalist.

Plant admits that he couldn’t bring himself to go back to Led Zeppelin because he is working on such different music in his solo collaborations with Alison Krauss.

But the star insists he is still good friends with guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones.

He says, “I’m doing very well with Alison and I’m enjoying that. I still see Jimmy quite a lot and he’s very complimentary and supportive of what I’m doing. But we are in different place now and you have to go on to do different things.”

As we said last week amid all the speculation of a Led Zeppelin reunion – it ain’t over with Zep until someone releases an official statement.

And now someone has released an official statement: stand up Mr Robert Plant. Via his website, Plant has released an official statement saying that he’s not planning to tour for at least the next two years, and that he will certainly not be touring with Led Zeppelin.

In a post-script to all this, he managed to insult fans and Zep-watchers by claiming that the speculation was “frustrating and ridiculous”.

This leaves folk like us confused about what’s going on with Led Zeppelin. Wasn’t there speculation that Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham were working together with an unnamed singer?

Only time will tell if this is true or not. If the remaining Zeppelin members did decide to tour, would they have the right to call it “Led Zeppelin” if Plant’s still alive? We’re sure that issue is a legal and logistical minefield. Probably better to call it something else and disassociate Led Zep. The fans will lap it up anyway.

But is Plant a spoilsport? Is he disregarding the wishes of the loyal legions of fans who’ve followed him and Zeppelin over the decades?

It’s hard to judge. Plant has had a long and distinguished career, first as lead singer of Zep, then as a solo artist. He’s now managed to completely reinvent himself and start a new phase of a career with Alison Krauss in the bluegrass genre. How many musicians are that lucky in their lifetimes?

And Zep fans, especially those who’ve taken the time to read and learn about Robert and Jimmy, will understand Robert’s need to thrive and record new music and explore different genres. It would be easy for him to coast by on past glories and spend his later years rehashing Zeppelin tracks while people complain “he can’t hit the high notes like he used to”.

Interestingly, Plant has taken the high road, while we – the fans – seem to be living in the past. Let’s celebrate his career, buy a copy of Raising Sand and stop day dreaming about reunions that will never happen.

The Led Zeppelin rumour mill has been in overdrive since way back in June 2007 – that’s when we first started talking about possible reunions.

As you all know, Robert, Jimmy and John reunited, with the rightful heir to the drum riser, Jason Bonham, and the band performed a one-off concert in London last autumn.

However, Robert Plant went cold on the idea of a full-on reunion soon after the O2 concert, preferring to focus on his collaboration with Alison Krauss. I remember saying at the time that while disappointing, Plant’s comments about preferring to be a “creator, not a curator” were dignified and understandable.

Recently the instrumental section of Led Zeppelin have been getting together for some sessions. Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham were said to be working with an unnamed singer with a view to replacing Robert Plant as lead singer. Sacrilege! No way!

Whatever the truth of the matter, it seems that this may have spurred Plant into action – recent reports suggest that Led Zeppelin might be reforming for that all-important tour. According to the various sources:

The rest of the band had all but given up on Robert joining them, but they were determined to go ahead so had started to seriously explore other avenues. When Robert realised the band were serious about doing it without him, it made him think long and hard.

He realised he couldn’t face the thought of not being involved. The band were over the moon when he told them the news. They are now forging ahead with the tour plans and they can’t wait to get on the road.

I saw Page and Plant’s Walking Into Clarkesdale tour back in the 90’s, and my only criticism was the way they’ excluded Jones from the Unledded project and the follow-up album. So a proper reunion that fans can afford has me salivating.

However, if you’re a long standing Zep fan, you’ll be waiting for that official announcement, since the rumour mill can be deadly unreliable. All we can ask for now is that the guys come out and confirm the speculation. And hopefully some free tickets and an interview for Unreality Music?

The dilemma is all the more acute because the Led Zeppelin gig at the O2 Arena whetted our appetites for more. And because live Led Zeppelin has been a scarce commodity since 1980, the fact that Plant may be holding things up must be driving fans crazy with frustration.

But Robert Plant has always charted his own course and seems to want to explore new musical ambitions rather than relive his glory days. That must be a source of annoyance for Jimmy Page, who’s spent most of his post-Zep career remastering and repackaging Zeppelin material.

The reason this is all so very frustrating is that there are countless faded musicians who are still plaguing the scene with dull, uninspiring music. Yet people are clamouring to see Zeppelin play their old hits while Plant is out there making diverse music in another genre entirely.

We always knew that Plant was going to hold off until he’d toured the Plant/Krauss project, so no surprises there. What isn’t immediately clear is whether Plant and Krauss are planning to collaborate again in the near future or if he’s got plans to do something different that doesn’t involve either Alison Krauss or Led Zeppelin.

Let’s just watch this space, eh?

We’re not ones for idle speculation here at Unreality Music. That’s why we didn’t entertain rumours of a Led Zeppelin tour to follow on from their appearance at the O2 arena.

Let’s face it, anyone who knows anything about Zeppelin would realise that Robert Plant was too excited about his album with Alison Kraus to jump straight into a Zeppelin tour. And that’s exactly what Jimmy Page confirmed recently when he spoke to the press on a promotional tour of Tokyo.

Now, we know the members of Led Zeppelin were due to meet this month to discuss future plans. It would seem that touring was a hot topic, and that the planets – if you believe in Astrology – are aligning in favour of a Led Zeppelin world tour. In talking to the journalists, Page acknowledged Plant’s touring commitments (as a parallel project) and hinted that there may be more discussion when the Plant/Krauss project wraps up around September. Robert Plant has made similar comments too.

Seasoned Zep-watchers will agree with me here – if Led Zeppelin weren’t going to tour again, they’d shoot the rumours down right now. One thing they won’t do is lead their fans on. Based on that, I’d say there’s a 90% probability that the Zeppelin will embark on a major tour before the end of 2008. ZME even suggests that we might see some new material, but personally I think the timings may be too short for them to deliver that in time for the concert.

Plus, an autumn tour distances the band from the one-off O2 event, so hopefully those punters who paid thousands for tickets won’t be too upset when the tour bus lands in their town…

The Robert Plant/Alison Krauss collaboration, Raising Sand, has been amazingly successful both Stateside and here in the UK. No surprise that the two are planning to pack their bags and tour in the USA and Europe.

As you can see from our exclusive photo, Alison had some trouble understanding the concept of touring, so Robert helpfully explained by making an ‘aeroplane’ shape.

According to Billboard:

The first leg begins in Louisville, Ky., on April 20 and continues to Knoxville, Tenn., on April 22, Chattanooga, Tenn., on April 23 and Birmingham, Ala., on April 26. The tour’s 11-date run in Europe follows in May.

The duo will be joined on stage by producer and musician T Bone Burnett. Tickets for the April U.S. dates go on sale Jan. 25. A longer run of North American shows is planned for June and July, but dates and details have not yet been announced.

I’m especially pleased for Plant, as his post-Led Zeppelin career has avoided shameless commercialism. He’s always taken a road less travelled with his music, and I’m glad to see that the Raising Sand album has struck a chord with people across the world.

The obvious fact is that the tour with Krauss will shelve any plans for a Led Zeppelin tour. But as Robert said in an interview in the autumn, he wants to be a ‘creator, not a curator’. I think we can wait a little longer for a Zep tour.

What do you guys think?