Led Zeppelin back with a bang
Tuesday, 11 Dec 2007 07:04
John Bonham's son deputised for the late drummer at the reunion concert
Rock band Led Zeppelin wowed close to 20,000 fans at London's O2 arena last night, with their first concert for nearly two decades.
The legendary group played hits from ten of their albums for fans who were eager to see the rockers perform again after their break-up following the death of drummer John Bonham.
Bonham's son deputised for the late star at the show, which opened with old footage of the band arriving for a concert in the US in 1973. The drummer then kicked off one of the band's early hits Good Times Bad Times as the others joined him on stage for the two hour concert.
During the show, the rockers rolled back the years to perform hits such as Stairway to Heaven, Kashmir, Black Dog and Dazed And Confused.
Lead singer Robert Plant strutted across the stage in his characteristic fashion throughout the show and guitarist Jimmy Page also brought back old memories by treating fans to his trademark act of playing the guitar with a cello bow.
Plant also paid tribute to late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun during the show, declaring: "Hey Ahmet, we did it!" after performing their most famous song Stairway to Heaven.
The show, whose proceeds go to causes funded by Ertegun, was postponed from its original date of November 26th after guitarist Page hurt his finger. Over a million people signed up for tickets for the concert which were distributed via an online lottery.
Speaking after the gig, fan Terence Baker said the show met his high expectations.
He said: "I couldn't pick out a favourite song. Every track was brilliant. They still know how to put on a show after all these years."