Jimmy Page To Tour With Black Crowes; Rumors Abound About Breakup With Plant
Former Led Zeppelin guitar god Jimmy Page and American roots rockers the Black Crowes are teaming up for a four-date mini US tour, fueling rumors of a breakup between former Zep bandmates and recent musical collaborators Page and Robert Plant.
Page and the Crowes, who recently played together in London (see [article id="1425907"]"Jimmy Page Taps The Black Crowes For Charity Gig"[/article]) have two gigs scheduled for New York’s Roseland Ballroom (October 12 and 13) and two more for Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre (October 18 and 19). Page and the Crowes are expected to play renditions of Led Zeppelin and Black Crowes songs, along with some of their favorite blues tunes. Tickets for the New York dates go on sale September 10, with the Los Angeles dates going on sale on September 12.
Page told the latest issue of British metal magazine "Kerrang!" that he has been writing songs with Michael Lee, the drummer in Page and Plant’s backing band. When asked if the songswill turn up on another album with Robert Plant, Page replied "I really don’t know whether we’ll carry on with that.
Rumors of a split have been circulating lately, fueled by other events, such as Plant's recording of a solo track for the Skip Spence tribute album "More Oar," as well as Page’s recent and upcoming Plant-less gigs.Trinifold Management, who handles the duo's affairs, tells MTV News that the duo are still together, saying that rumors of a split are "Not true, not true, not true," and that the music magazine "completely misquoted" Page.Kerrang!" Editor Jason Arnopp, however, told MTV News that Page did in fact make the comment, and that the guitarist "Cast doubt on his future with Plant.Also casting doubt is Page’s upcoming performance at the NetAid concert (see [article id="1426700"]"Bono, Wyclef, Bush, Jewel, Townshend, Page, More To Play NetAid"[/article]). However, the Trinifold representative told MTV that that performancemight include Plant, depending upon whether or not the singer is able to clear up some previously made obligations. Whether Page, with or without Plant, will be playing in New York or London is currently unknown.
Led Zeppelin broke up in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham. Over the years, the Page and Plant had occasionally collaborated and performed together, oftentimes with the other surviving member of Zeppelin, bassist John Paul Jones. The trio appeared together at the 1985 Live Aid concert, the 1988 Atlantic Records birthday celebration and at their 1994 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Page and Plant officially reunited in 1994 (without Jones) when they performed a set of reworked Led Zeppelin songs on "MTV Unplugged," which was followed by an extensive tour. Last year, they released an album of all-new material, "Walking Into Clarksdale.In other Zeppelin news, spurned bass player John Paul Jones is expected to release his very first soloalbum, "Zooma," on September 14.
-- Brian Ives
