Dissent persists over Jimmy Page's booking at Beijing concert

Public relations spokespeople representing the organizer of the Show of Peace concert say they are not sure whether or not artists including Jimmy Page and Aerosmith have actually been booked to perform at the concert scheduled to be held in Beijing this April.

ZZYX Entertainment, the creator and executive producer for the Show of Peace concert, expects to make an official announcement within the next few weeks about what artists have been booked to perform at the concert. In the meantime, the communications firm representing ZZYX is unable to confirm or deny any individual artist bookings, company spokespeople say.

This came to light when LedZeppelinNews.com double checked on a spokesperson's earlier disclosure that Page had been "definitely confirmed" to perform at the show. Classic Rock Magazine has posted a story stating that neither Aerosmith nor Page has been booked to appear at the concert.

Page appeared Wednesday at a press conference in Beijing during which some acts performing were said to have been announced. Similarly, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry appeared at the concert in a televised statement saying he is willing to support the concert in any way possible.

Some media outlets have evidently interpreted Perry's statement as saying that his splintered band would appear at the concert, either with or without singer Steven Tyler. Aerosmith's official Web site refutes this, saying:

Reports that Aerosmith are performing at ‘The Show Of Peace Concert’ in Beijing are erroneous, but Joe Perry will be there taking part in the event.

As for Page's statement, one spokesperson representing ZZYX said he personally had assumed, based on Page's statements at the press conference, that the Led Zeppelin guitarist had been booked to appear in April. That spokesperson says he has since realized that Page may have been only demonstrating his support for the concert without having any intention of playing at it.

LedZeppelinNews.com is particularly sensitive to the mission of reporting accurately whether or not Page will actually perform at the concert since the last time he appeared anywhere with a plugged-in electric guitar in hand was at a charity benefit in November, when he strummed a single guitar chord only once during the whole of his appearance. However, Page has said in a handful of recent interviews that he intends to present new music in a live setting this year.

Update, Jan. 18: A trusted source tells LedZeppelinNews.com that Jimmy Page will indeed play the Show of Peace in Beijing, as originally reported, while organizers remain unable to confirm headlining acts.