Music Blogs

In 2008, the UK press are about as reliable as the Hindenburg airship which crashed to Earth in 1937, killing 35 people and supposedly inspiring the name Led Zeppelin. Although the spectre of the doomed vessel is synonymous with the band and their image, it was actually drumming loon Keith Moon who came up with the suitably heavyweight moniker, albeit inadvertently. The Who's long dead star apparently told Jimmy Page his new group would "go over like a lead balloon", a statement which now looks as foolish as he very often was.

Whether or not Moon would choose to be a part of the wrinkly, nostalgia trip that is the current incarnation of The Who is, of course, impossible to answer. But he might have been better passing. As we all know, Led Zeppelin played the most over-subscribed live show in living rock memory last year, ending years of anticipation with a show at the O2 Arena. Trouble is, the hysterical ‘journalists' in this country won't let us forget it and nearly 12 months on, we remain knee-deep in pointless speculation about a full comeback tour from Robert Plant and co.

The Rapunzal-haired singer finally snapped on Monday, issuing a clearly annoyed statement expressing his anger at the production line of invented Zep updates. "It's both frustrating and ridiculous for this story to continue to rear its head when all the musicians that surround the story are keen to get on with their individual projects and move forward", he said. Plant has no need for this right now, as the plaudits continue for last year's Mercury nominated "Raising Sand", which was recorded with Alison Krauss and not his old band. And he is rightly infuriated by the latest claims that the other members plan to tour with a new singer.

One newspaper/comic made this up last week: "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." This must be the biggest nonsense of all. For Page and Bonham to substitute Plant with some roaring Hard Rock Café clone would be total madness, sullying the band's immaculate reputation in a second. Has the pathetic sight of toxic, revamped versions of Queen, INXS and The Doors begging for attention taught us nothing? This 2008 update of Led Zeppelin would truly go down like a lead balloon and hopefully land on Rupert Murdoch's head.