www.reuters.com/article/en...71720071210

Wait nearly over for Led Zeppelin reunion gig
By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - British rockers Led Zeppelin reunite on Monday to headline a tribute concert to the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun in what has been billed as one of the biggest gigs in years.

The three surviving members of the hugely successful 1970s group that created "Stairway to Heaven" and "Whole Lotta Love" have rarely performed together since splitting in 1980 after the death of drummer John Bonham following a drinking binge.

By their own admission, each reunion has been a flop, so anticipation is high that the 90-minute set at London's O2 Arena late on Monday will get somewhere close to the heyday when they were considered by many to be the world's biggest rock band.

Singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones will be joined by Bonham's son Jason on the drums for the one-off comeback, although there has been fevered speculation that the gig may be followed by a full-scale tour.

"Let's just do the O2 and we'll see what happens from there," 63-year-old Page told Reuters in a recent interview. "I haven't got a crystal ball here and nor have you."

Led Zeppelin sold an estimated 300 million albums and were legendary for their rock'n'roll excess, but their popularity is also attributed to the influence the music had on later acts.

When organizers announced the concert, also featuring the Who's Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings among others, the Web site selling tickets crashed as more than a million people rushed for about 20,000 seats.

One man from Scotland entered a charity auction last month and paid $170,000 for a pair of tickets to the show.

FANS DESCEND

Fans from around the world selected by lottery began arriving in London several days ago to collect their tickets.

"We turned up on Saturday, but we were told to come back the next day as we would still be at the front of the queue," said David Beesmer, 42, a businessman from New York who spent more than $7,000 on his ticket and trip.

"I didn't want to take any risks," he told the Daily Mail.

Net profits from the concert will go to the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund which provides scholarships for gifted children.

The Turkish-born music promoter and record label founder died last year aged 83 after slipping backstage at a concert by the Rolling Stones and going into a coma.

As well as Led Zeppelin and the Stones, Ertegun and his Atlantic Records helped launched the careers of acts ranging from Ray Charles to Aretha Franklin.

He was born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1923. His father, a lawyer, served as Turkish ambassador in Switzerland, France, England and the United States.

With older brother Nesuhi, he explored black neighborhoods in Washington and they amassed more than 20,000 78-rpm records.

Realizing he knew more about music than most label owners, he co-founded Atlantic in 1947 with blues expert Herb Abramson and a $10,000 loan from a Turkish dentist.

Its first smash hit was a 1948 rerecording by bluesman Stick McGhee of the novelty ditty "Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee."

(Editing by Paul Casciato)