Led Zeppelin vows great reunion

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - Rock legends Led Zeppelin have performed only a handful of times since splitting in 1980 after the shock death of drummer John Bonham, and by their own admission each occasion was a "shambles".

A reunion concert on November 26 offers the surviving members of one of pop music's most successful and influential acts an opportunity to remind the world what they can do.

Bass guitarist John Paul Jones and guitarist Jimmy Page said they, together with singer Robert Plant and Bonham's son Jason, got together for a secret session earlier this year to determine whether they should go ahead with the London gig.

"It sounded like we've played this every night for the last three weeks," Jones, 61, said. "If that's the starting point, this is going to be great.

"I want not just to be able to play it and play it well, I want to be able to give a really good performance."

The silver-haired Page, 63, added: "The fact is that to actually be able to play and make this thing pulse, as it sort of did straight away on the first day we got together, that's really something to look forward to in every respect."

A far cry from the rock'n'roll hellraisers of their 1970s heyday, the softly-spoken musicians sought to play down the hype surrounding their reunion.

They also sidestepped questions about whether the show, a charity tribute to Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun who died last year, was a stepping stone to a full comeback tour.