Robert Plant ripped up an $800 million contract to reunite with his legendary rock band, Led Zeppelin.
The offer was put together by Virgin Atlantic billionaire Sir Richard Branson, and apparently the band was moments from inking the deal before Plant, the lead singer, ripped up the contract in the end.
Guitarists Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, the other founding members of Led Zeppelin, quickly signed the deal when Branson showed them the contract. The agreement was for 35 shows in London, Germany, and New Jersey. Concert promoters were present when Plant approached, tore the contract into pieces, and walked out, surprising everyone.
“There was a huge sense of shock,” a source in the room told the UK’s Mirror. “He said no and tore up the papers he had been given.” While Page and Jones were eager to sign the contract, Plant was given 48 hours to consider the deal before he dramatically chose to reject it.
The source who spoke to the Mirror also talked about Branson’s eagerness to get the legendary band back together. Branson was ready to rename one of his jumbo jets “Starship” to get the band from venue to venue. He even wanted to rename the staircase leading to the jet the “Stairway to Heaven.”
“Branson tried to pull out all of the stops,” the source said. “But even his money was not enough to get Plant to sign up. He is gutted.”
Led Zeppelin formed in 1968 and went on to become one of the biggest rock bands in the world. The band has sold upwards of 300 million albums. The last time the band played together was in a one-off show in London’s O2 Arena in December, 2007.
Robert Plant has been asked for years to head up the Led Zeppelin Reunion, but he has said “It’s an insane thing to do, to go back.”
[photo credit: Man Alive!]