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, signed the deal almost immediately when Branson presented the contract. The contract was to play 35 shows in London, Germany, and stateside in New Jersey. Concert promoters were in attendance when Plant walked up, ripped the contract to shreds, and walked out, shocking everyone.
“There was an enormous sense of shock,” a source who was in the room told the UK’s Mirror. “He said no and ripped up the paperwork he had been given.” While Page and Jones were all too eager to sign the contract, Plant was given 48 hours to think the deal over before he ultimately decided against it in dramatic fashion.
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.”
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