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?