Still buzzing from Led Zeppelin’s reunion show in London last week, drummer Jason Bonham says he’s the wrong person to ask about any touring plans for the British rock legends.
“I’m still the new guy, and I wouldn’t know,” said Bonham, who filled in for his late father, John Bonham. “Is it gonna be again? Don’t be greedy ... If they do it again, of course I would love to. But that’s up to them. Only time will tell.”
Led Zeppelin tour rumors have persisted in recent weeks, with plenty of chatter about a series of stadium shows. But nothing has yet been confirmed, and singer Robert Plant has already begun scheduling late-spring shows with Alison Krauss.
Bonham said his discussions with Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones following the Dec. 10 show at the O2 area centered on “thanks for the best Christmas present I could ask for.”
He said the experience “still ... kinda feels surreal, like it never really happened in some way.” But he felt that the show, part of a tribute to the late Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, provided some vindication after what he felt was a sub-par performance with Led Zeppelin at the Atlantic Records’ 40th anniversary concert in 1988 in New York.
“I had to work at it, really prove that I could do it and not just say, ’Hey, I’m John Bonham’s son. I should be doing it,”’ he explained. “I put a lot of work into it ... listening to all the different live versions I had. You’ve got to earn this, ’cause there’s a million drummers out there that would love to cut your throat right now and take over.
“I’m amazed. I pulled it off,” he added. “So it’s very special for me, just ... everything. If you’d have wanted a moment for everyone to get it right at one point, that was it.”
Bonham returns to his regular drum chair in Foreigner at the end of the month for a couple of shows in Florida — where he and his family reside — including a New Year’s Eve date with the B-52’s in Orlando.