ªºªandcarole(R)(tm)
2008-02-15 01:31:35 UTC
TOKYO (AP) - Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page said Monday he was ready to
take the iconic band on a world tour after burning up the stage at last
month's reunion concert in London. But it probably won't be before
September.
"The amount of work we put into O2 was what you would normally put into a
world tour anyway," Page, 64, said of the intense rehearsing the band did
for the Dec. 10 concert at London's O2 Arena.
The band's three surviving members - Page, singer Robert Plant and
bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones - were joined at the sold-out benefit
show by the late John Bonham's son Jason on drums.
Page, who was in Japan to promote the new Zeppelin release, "Mothership,"
said the two-hour-plus concert was proof that Led Zeppelin can still perform
at its best.
He said the band, which formed in 1968, was ready musically to get back
together and take it out on a wider run, but it was not clear when it would
go on tour as the singer had other plans.
"Robert Plant has a parallel project and he is busy with that until
September," Page said.
Plant and bluegrass star Alison Krauss will begin their world tour with a
run of shows in the southern U.S. this spring. The two released an album in
October called "Raising Sand" that debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard chart
in the U.S. The duo will tour Europe in May before returning for North
American shows still to be announced for June and July.
Page said the band set their standards very high before agreeing to do the
reunion, their first in 20 years. Led Zeppelin broke up in 1980 after the
elder Bonham's death.
Page said they rehearsed for weeks, apprehensive that the cohesion they had
in the 1970s when they were at their peak might be hard to rediscover.
"We wanted people who might not have even been alive in 1980 when we
finished to understand what we were," he said.
Page said all went well until he broke a finger in three places, forcing the
band to postpone the show for several weeks.
"But we did the show, and it was great," he said. "It was instant in terms
of chemistry."
It will be a show to remember. I saw Zep in 1977 and it was antake the iconic band on a world tour after burning up the stage at last
month's reunion concert in London. But it probably won't be before
September.
"The amount of work we put into O2 was what you would normally put into a
world tour anyway," Page, 64, said of the intense rehearsing the band did
for the Dec. 10 concert at London's O2 Arena.
The band's three surviving members - Page, singer Robert Plant and
bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones - were joined at the sold-out benefit
show by the late John Bonham's son Jason on drums.
Page, who was in Japan to promote the new Zeppelin release, "Mothership,"
said the two-hour-plus concert was proof that Led Zeppelin can still perform
at its best.
He said the band, which formed in 1968, was ready musically to get back
together and take it out on a wider run, but it was not clear when it would
go on tour as the singer had other plans.
"Robert Plant has a parallel project and he is busy with that until
September," Page said.
Plant and bluegrass star Alison Krauss will begin their world tour with a
run of shows in the southern U.S. this spring. The two released an album in
October called "Raising Sand" that debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard chart
in the U.S. The duo will tour Europe in May before returning for North
American shows still to be announced for June and July.
Page said the band set their standards very high before agreeing to do the
reunion, their first in 20 years. Led Zeppelin broke up in 1980 after the
elder Bonham's death.
Page said they rehearsed for weeks, apprehensive that the cohesion they had
in the 1970s when they were at their peak might be hard to rediscover.
"We wanted people who might not have even been alive in 1980 when we
finished to understand what we were," he said.
Page said all went well until he broke a finger in three places, forcing the
band to postpone the show for several weeks.
"But we did the show, and it was great," he said. "It was instant in terms
of chemistry."
outstanding
concert. Jimmy Page inspired me to learn to play the guitar.