When Led Zeppelin announced their Celebration Day reunion show in 2007, it seemed that everyone from Stephen Fry to Paul McCartney and Sigur Rós came out of the closet to declare their unconditional love for the band.
Apart from the obvious, what made this monumental get-together so special was that it wasn’t pulled together by the lure of filthy lucre or some condescending, world-saving crusade. The reasons were twofold. First and foremost, it was as a nod of respect to Atlantic’s founding father Ahmet Ertegün (monies raised went to a school foundation set up by his wife). Secondly, and equally as importantly, it was a chance for Zep’s surviving members to show a new generation of music fans what the fuss was all about. As Robert Plant declared: “We need to play one last great show.”
