Led Zeppelin Dodge Reunion Questions at ‘Celebration Day’ Press Conference
This morning the three living members of Led Zeppelin gathered to discuss 'Celebration Day,' the DVD and Blu-ray release of their 2007 show at London's O2 Arena. The nearly 35-minute long press conference covered the show, the band's early career and the possibility of a reunion. Well, they mostly ducked reunion questions.
"Have you seen the film? Did you enjoy it? Then we've done our job, haven't we," Jimmy Page responded a bit testily to one inquiry. Robert Plant also ducked the question. However the tone didn't seem to foreshadow that something big was coming. Instead the trio of Page, Plant and John Paul Jones seemed exhausted by the question. All three said they were relieved when the show was over.
"The good thing about what we were … is that we were always creative," Plant said when talking about the band's history. Audio from the press conference can be seen at Absolute Radio.
Additional zingers from the group include answers to questions about why it took so long to release the show to DVD. "Five years is five minutes in Zeppelin time," bassist John Paul Jones said to the delight of reporters.
On playing 'Stairway to Heaven' Plant admits he's struggled with the lyrics over the years, answering why he'd previously avoided the song. "Maybe I'm trying to still work out what I was talking about," Plant says. "Every other f---er is."
There was minimal overdubbing for the audio release of 'Celebration Day,' available Nov. 19. Plant admits he ran out of steam towards the end of 'Kashmir,' so some retouching was done there.
Plant tells an fun anecdote early in the presser. After praising Jason Bonham's performance and referring to him as something of a band historian he reminds the crowd that they'd played with John Bonham's son before.
"We played with him before, at his wedding," said the frontman. "But sadly he decided to go to bed at his wedding reception. Because I was a friend of the family from way back, I was the one who had to go to his room and get him out of bed."
"It was peculiar, it was strange at times," Plant says later about the show with the younger Bonham. "But at the same time it was very rewarding for all of us."