Neal Preston says Led Zeppelin will never reform their band.
70-year-old Neal Preston was the only photographer ever hired to go on tour with Led Zeppelin, and he also worked closely with other famous rock musicians such as Queen and Bruce Springsteen.
In a recent interview with Goldmine magazine, Neal revealed that “there is never going to be a Led Zeppelin reunion.”
The band was formed in 1968 by guitarist Jimmy Page and broke up after drummer John Bonham’s sudden death in 1980.
Neal said: “There is never going to be a Led Zeppelin reunion. And if you hear that there is, I authorize you to cash out, liquidate everything and put it on ‘No, it’s not going to happen.’ It comes up every year and it’s not going to happen, and it never was going to happen.
He also addressed the way the different members of the band feel about reuniting, specifying that Jimmy Page always wanted to do more tours, whereas Robert Plant didn’t want to make any sort of rock music anymore.
The photographer explained: “It was amazing that they even did the one-off years ago, which I decided not to go to because I need that band to live somewhere in my brain. They turned down a billion dollars and it just gets under Jimmy [Page]’s craw, because Jimmy has always wanted to do the adult tour, the sober tour, the musical tour, not about all their shenanigans.
“Robert [Plant] just doesn’t want to make that music anymore. They offered them so much money for the ‘Old Chella’ thing, the desert trip show. It’s never going to happen! I don’t want to see a 75-year-old Jimmy Page duckwalking across the stage.
He also addressed the occasional reunion shows that the remaining members of the band did, including a performance at London’s O2 arena in 2007 that featured John’s son, Jason Bonham, on the drums.
Neal said: “I know that the show at the O2 in London got great reviews, but it’s not Led Zeppelin! It’s three guys from Led Zeppelin and Jason Bonham.”