The following appeared on a previous site of mine, "From Black Dog to Hot Dog." Given the he-said-she-said, gossipy, speculative and self-aggrandizing nature of this report, I'm not particularly proud of it 10 years later. However, the notion that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page were splitting up at the time was correct, and the speculation that Page could spend some time working on a chronological live set (including the Royal Albert Hall concert mentioned) also panned out within five years. Other aspects, not so much.
I, Steve "The Lemon" Sauer, was the first to report the breaking rumor in the Usenet newsgroup alt.music.led-zeppelin just before 9:00 PM EDT on March 4, 1999.
Najma Akhtar, the female vocalist on Page and Plant's No Quarter tour and album, and reportedly Plant's girlfriend since then, apparently told her sister that Plant is thinking of breaking up the band with Page in favor of returning to a solo career. Najma's sister told someone who frequently posts to alt.music.led-zeppelin who then later told a user of the Led-zeppelin.com chat room that Robert wants to quit his current band, as was reported by myself earlier.
The speculation is that Page wants to be a full-time father to his newborn son, Asher. In addition to fathering his infant son, Page may work on some outside "projects." Meanwhile, Robert will return to solo status. He has had drummer Michael Lee and bassist Charlie Jones (Plant's son-in-law as Jones is married to Plant's daughter Carmen) in his backing band for the entire decade; a change in that core lineup at this time in unforeseen.
EVIDENCE THAT THE BREAKUP COULD HAPPEN
Page and Plant had been in the public eye almost constantly since their long-awaited reunion in 1994, their first permanent combination since the breakup of Led Zeppelin in 1980. Since then, the voice and guitar of Led Zeppelin have recorded two collaborative albums and have embarked on extensive touring. The media's focus on them has dwindled since the end of their last tour in December 1998. Page and Plant have retracted from the public view, not even making an appearance to accept their Grammy award last month for their single "Most High". Plans for tour dates in Japan in 1999 have been shelved, as was the release of a Japanese CD commemorating their 1998 tour. The management team has made no reply to an invitation for the band to appear at Woodstock '99.
Plant is allegedly vacationing in India right now. He could be there with Najma, which would solidify the report.
Page and Plant's manager Bill Curbishley may want to manage The Who on another reunion tour rather than undertake another venture with the duo.
PAGE'S ACTIVITY AFTER THE BREAKUP
For Page, a breakup would mean two things: being a father to his new son Asher, and getting done the things he should have done long ago, some live Led Zeppelin releases. With not being tied down to working with Robert Plant, the sky is the limit.
Page's other "projects" could very well include the release of a live Led Zeppelin album, as was promised last year. Rumor has it that Jimmy Page is already in his archives remastering the Royal Albert Hall concert from January 9, 1970. Only one track from the soundboard recording has already been released by the band, and that was "I Can't Quit You Baby" which can be found on the LP Coda in 1982. The band had recorded this concert professionally for a television documentary, so perhaps even a video release is in the works.
After that, who knows, Page might even get to working on the live chronological album that he has been talking about for over twenty years.
"We have so much good live stuff. We've got six live concerts on tape which were good nights. We've got some ancient stuff live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970. It's very interesting to listen to. You can compare different versions of tunes as they span the years. So a chronological live compilation is a thing I've always been keen on, but the soundtrack came out so it's been shelved for a while." — Jimmy Page, 1976
"It's [the soundtrack to The Song Remains The Same] an honest soundtrack live album, but a chronological live album is something I've always fancied. There's great stuff there and it takes us right up to this year. There's a winning version of 'No Quarter' from Earl's Court and from the Albert Hall 'I Can't Quit You Baby'. The 'How Many More Times' is also pretty good. It's great hearing those numbers that we'll probably never do again. We've also got numbers from Southampton University and some small clubs." — Jimmy Page, 1977
"It's all in the tape vaults still but it would take a long time to do it. It would be a monumental task at this point in time." — Jimmy Page, 1988
For those who fear that a Page/Plant breakup will mean not hearing Page play the guitar, it could mean something entirely different. While he is in the studio mastering tapes, he may suddenly getPresence fever, the strong urge to record himself playing guitar.
The last two years have shown that Page likes to spread himself out. His contribution to The Inner Flame (a 1997 tribute album to Rainer Ptacek), his contribution to the Godzilla soundtrack (1998), his live performance with Puff Daddy on Saturday Night Live (1998), and his contribution to The Jimmy Rodgers All-Stars' tribute album to Jimmy Rodgers (1999) are all indications that he may again become a session man.
PLANT'S ACTIVITY AFTER THE BREAKUP
Should Plant decide to go solo again, his rhythm section would probably remain the same: Michael Lee on drums and Charlie Jones on bass guitar. He would be out of a guitarist, so in search of a guitarist, he may turn again to Phil Johnstone who played on Robert's last solo album,
Fate Of Nations, in 1993. Johnstone, Lee, and Jones already have a good rapport, having worked together not only on Plant's records but their own –
Chernobyl Poppies.
Since Plant's album
Fate Of Nations was arguably the best-sounding of all of his solo albums, his future work as a solo artist seems promising. He definitely still can write songs, as heard on
Walking Into Clarksdale!
PAGE/PLANT STILL HAVE WORK TO DO TOGETHER
Should Plant go solo again and/or Page return to session work, they must keep in mind that they have signed a contract with Atlantic Records in the United States. This is a three-album deal. As of now, they have released two albums.
The third album could be the result of yet another Page/Plant reunion, or they could just cop out and release previously recorded material and call that the obligatory third album. They certainly have the material to release, given that the Japanese live CD was almost issued.
The latter of those two plans recalls what Led Zeppelin did in 1982. Since the band had signed a five-album deal and had broken up in 1980 just one album short of fulfilling their contractual obligations, Coda, an album of outtakes was released posthumously by the band.
PAGE/JONES REUNION ON THE HORIZON?
If Plant does break away from Page, that proposes an interesting situation for Page and his former bandmate John Paul Jones. Formerly the keyboardist and bassist of Led Zeppelin, Jones is scheduled to release a solo album early this year, which will be followed by some touring of his own.
There are a few good reasons why Jones has not collaborated with his former Led Zeppelin bandmates since 1980 (except for a few one-off appearances). He has been a well-known producer of albums for rock bands such as R.E.M. and The Butthole Surfers. He has been in the studio experimenting with keyboard techniques and technology. He has appeared on an album by (and toured with) Diamanda Galas. Arguably the most musically diverse member of Led Zeppelin, Jones could be at a turning point following the course of his scheduled touring.
He may have the option to separate Page from Plant. He and Plant have not seen eye to eye over issues in the last several years, hence Jones was not invited to participate in the Unledded project. Now that Page may be on his own again, Jones could be more accepting of Page and perhaps lead to a Page/Jones reunion in some form or another.
If he forms an alliance with John Paul Jones, with Jones' production skills and Page's remastering/mixing abilities, they could have a most enjoyable chronological live album on their hands.
DISCLAIMER
All of this is pure speculation, and the report has certainly not been confirmed by Trinifold, anyone of authority over the band, or the band members themselves directly. But should any of this news be true, please remember that you heard it here first.
