[Premiere Radio News - March 4, 2008] - Singer Robert Plant reportedly turned down a 198-million-dollar offer to do a Led Zeppelin reunion tour.

Britain's Sunday Mirror quotes a source as saying, "Despite the enormous offer, the decision did not come down to money. They always said they would do the one-off show and then see how they felt.

Jimmy [Page] had enjoyed the concert in December enough to want to tour. He argued they still had something to offer. He likes the idea of another chapter in the band -- the grown-up tour.

John [Paul Jones] sided with Jimmy. He loved making music with the others again. But Robert wanted to leave last year's concert as their legacy. They had proved they could still do it and that was enough."

Instead, Plant will tour with Alison Krauss, with whom he recorded the Grammy-winning album Raising Sand.

However, the latest rumor has Zeppelin reconvening in November for a North American arena tour over 30-odd dates.

Drummer Simon Kirke, who was among the musicians who opened for Zeppelin last December and also recorded for their Swan Song label with Bad Company, says they are not touring.

"I don't think they can stand the adulation they would get, particularly if they came to America... And they went out on a high."

Audio: Simon Kirke says Led Zeppelin will not tour. OC:...on a high. :13 "I heard they are not going to tour, unfortunately. I don't think they can stand the adulation that they would get, particularly if they came to America. It's a whole different ballgame and they don't need the money. And they went out on a high."

Robert Plant has cast further doubt on a Led Zeppelin reunion tour, because he's not ready to pledge his full commitment to the group.

Plant joined his fellow bandmates for a one-off tribute concert in London last December and fans have been waiting for what they feel is an inevitable world tour announcement ever since.

And while guitarist Jimmy Page has vowed to consider a tour after Plant concludes his string of live dates with new musical partner Alison Krauss, the singer admits going on the road with the legendary band is not one of his top priorities.

He says, "I really enjoyed playing with my friends, and we are a lot closer because of it. But the responsibility, the whole deal...it's a whole different thing to what I'm doing with Alison."

I don't know about you guys but I feel like Robert Plant is cheating on us and Alison Krauss is the other woman.

Zep Meets But John Paul Jones Still Has "No Idea"
[London - February 5, 2008] According to Jason Gregory from Gigwise, Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones has said that the band has "no idea" about what their future plans might be.

Speaking at Radio 2's annual Folk Awards in London last night (February 4th), the bass player couldn't confirm any further recent tour rumours.

Asked if they had spoken to each other, he told the BBC: "I am obliged to say we have and we have absolutely no idea of what we are going to be doing."

Rumours about the band's future have been persistent since they performed a one-off show at the O2 Arena in London last December.

The high demand for tickets – which saw over 1 million people register for just 9,000 pairs of tickets – is believed to have caused them to think about doing more shows. Last month, guitarist Jimmy Page told reporters that they wouldn't be able to consider additional shows until at least September.

Rundgren: Plant Could Do It For the Money"
[February 5, 2008] Todd Rundgren says that Robert Plant is in the rare position of being so satisfied with his current projects that a Led Zeppelin reunion would only be done for money.

Rundgren who performed at Britain's legendary Knebworth festival along with Zeppelin back in 1979, said the buzz around a Zeppelin reunion is ironically taking place while Plant enjoys a creative resurgence with his recent collaboration with Alison Krauss, called Raising Sand.

"Robert Plant will probably always have a gig somewhere, Rundgren said. "And the only reason for him to reunite with the Led Zeppelin thing is because it would just be huge money involved, I guess. But he has an opportunity to play music that he feels like. Some music that he may feel actually more akin to than what he's, I guess 'obligated' to do (laughs) at this point with Led Zeppelin.

"Everything that he did after he left Led Zeppelin was an octave lower (than the Zeppelin songs). (Laughs) And now he's got to go back and sing and scream at the top of his lungs."

Plant and Krauss' Raising Sand was released last October and peaked at Number Two in the charts. The album currently sits at Number 21 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Raising Sand is Plant's highest charting post-Zeppelin album.

At a recent press conference in Japan, Jimmy Page said that the earliest that Led Zeppelin could reconvene for a reunion tour would be in September, when Plant and Krauss end their series of dates to promote the album.

Todd Rundgren is planning his first new studio set since 2004's Liars. He says that the album will have a decidedly "arena rock" sound to it. He recently wrapped up a series of U.S. solo dates.

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