Led Zeppelin’s first rehearsal since reforming was so ‘brilliant’ they ’embraced’ in triumph.
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Frontman Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page were so ‘fired up’ after the legendary band’s first practice session ahead of their comeback concert at London’s O2 arena on December 10 they insisted on hugging.
Jason Bonham – who will replace his late father John Bonham on the drums for the show – revealed: ‘I didn’t think there would be an instant sound. I thought, ‘It’s going to take some time.’ But as soon as they started playing the classic No Quarter it was if they had never been apart.
‘When the riff came in there was this look that went around. It was brilliant. And the band were so fired up after the run-through of the next song we did, Kashmir, that Jimmy and Robert insisted on embracing.
‘Jimmy said, ‘Can you give me a hug?’ and Robert shouted, ‘Yeah, sons of thunder.’
Plant added to NME: ‘It was cathartic and therapeutic. We got through it and it rocked.’
Led Zeppelin – Page, Plant, John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones – formed in 1968 and went on to sell more than 300 million records worldwide, spawning classic hits such as Stairway to Heaven and Whole Lotta Love.
They split after Bonham choked to death on his own vomit following a day of heavy drinking in 1980.
The band last took to the stage 12 years ago for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio, but agreed to reform for next month’s tribute concert to the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who
signed the group.
