Plant Rules Out Zepp Tour: Rush, Kiss Rejected
Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant has nixed the idea of a full tour by the band following its November 26th reunion concert at London’s O2 Arena.
“We need to do one last great show because we’ve done some shows and they’ve been crap,” he said.
But the 59-year-old vocalist added that he was seriously considering retiring after the event, explaining, “I know I’m getting on. When I do come back from touring I’m shocked to find a lot of my mates tend to be going to bed far too early and that means I should probably be doing the same. Maybe I should stop having a good time and get old.”
Tens of millions of fans attempted to enter a lottery last month to buy tickets for the November concert. Just 20,000 tickets will be made available for the show. Winners are scheduled to be notified by Monday (October 1st), at which time they’ll be allowed to purchase two tickets for $250 each.
Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones will be joined on drums by late Zeppelin drummer John Bonham’s son Jason.
The concert, a tribute to late Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, will feature warm-up sets from Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman and Paolo Nutini.
Plant, meanwhile, recently recorded an album called Raising Sand with bluegrass artist Alison Krauss, which arrives on October 23rd.
Meanwhile, rock bands Metallica, Rush and Kiss, all eligible for induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, were passed over in favor of such acts as pop entertainer Madonna and disco singer Donna Summer, according to the Chicago Tribune. The nominees for the class of 2008 were announced last Thursday (September 27th) and also include the Beastie Boys, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, hip-hop DJ Afrika Bambaataa, the Dave Clark Five, the Ventures and Chic. Five of the nominees will be chosen for induction next March. Among the other eligible artists left off the list were the Stooges, Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, Electric Light Orchestra, Television and many more.
Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first recording. Metallica’s first release was in 1982, while Rush and Kiss both issued their debut efforts in 1974.
Metallica were widely considered favorites to enter the Hall this time around. The hugely influential heavy rock act inducted metal forefathers Black Sabbath at the 2006 ceremony.