When Led Zeppelin’s founding drummer, John Bonham, died due to an alcohol overdose in 1980, the classic-rock band broke up, and its three surviving members vowed to never reunite. Guitarist Jimmy Page, vocalist Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones did so informally a few times, mostly for tribute events.
But it wasn’t until a 2007 concert celebrating the life of music executive Ahmet Ertegun – who signed Led Zeppelin to his Atlantic Records – that Page, Plant and Jones played a full set for the first time in almost three decades. The show was so historic, and demand to attend it was so high (with 20 million ticket requests tallied), that Led Zeppelin set a new Guinness World Record.
The Bad Penny (beta) 