A new report claims Led Zeppelin turned down a $14 million offer to perform at the first Desert Trip Festival in Indio, CA this fall.
According to Showbiz411 columnist Roger Friedman, sources say that Jimmy Page was all for it but Robert Plant wouldn’t agree to any kind of reunion.
“Jimmy went crazy,” one source told Friedman. “He really wanted to do it.”
Friendman adds that Zeppelin’s payday was equal to what all of the acts are being paid – $7 million per weekend – which doesn’t include merchandise cuts that are expected to be huge.
The new classic rock festival Desert Trip will be headlined by The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Roger Waters.
Running October 7-9 and 14-16 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, the Stones and Bob Dylan will perform on Fridays, McCartney and Neil Young on Saturdays and Roger Waters and The Who will close out Sunday evenings.
With performances starting after sunset, each artist will play a full set with their own stage productions.
Last month, the event sold out both of its weekend events in less than three hours.
Plant has continually refused to reunite with Led Zeppelin since their one-off performance at the December 10, 2007 concert at London’s O2 Arena tribute concert for friend and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.
In 2014, he explained why he passed on a full reunion tour following the 2007 show, telling Rolling Stone "A tour would have been an absolute menagerie of vested interests and the very essence of everything that's s****y about about big-time stadium rock. We were surrounded by a circus of people that would have had our souls on the fire. I'm not part of a jukebox!"
At the time, Plant also refused to make a statement forever ruling out the possibility of him fronting Zeppelin again.
"I don’t think there’s any reason for me to do that," he said. "Otherwise we’ve got nothing to be mystic about...Everything will develop as it develops. All doors are open. All phone lines are open. I don't hear from anybody. Talk is cheap...But I just think everything has to be new. Then you can incorporate history."
Plant and Page are currently spending time together in a Los Angeles court defending a copyright infringmenet case over “Stairway To Heaven” brought by the estate of late Spirit guitarist Randy California (Wolfe).
See also:
Led Zeppelin ask judge to decide Stairway To Heaven trial
Led Zeppelin members reunite at Stairway To Heaven trial
Jimmy Page testifies on day 3 of the Stairway To Heaven trial
Led Zeppelin: Jimmy Page testifies at Stairway To Heaven trial
Search Led Zeppelin at hennemusic
