According to a report from The Mirror, Robert Plant literally tore up a contract to reunite the band worth almost $800 million, saying the timing just wasn’t right for a reunion tour.
Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones apparently signed on immediately, and Jason Bonham, the son of late drummer John Bonham, was set to step in for his father. Plant, according to a source, met with concert promoters to discuss the deal and ripped the contract in two.
The deal was bankrolled by Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin brand fame. He had offered the band over three quarters of a billion dollars just to reunite for a few dozen shows. The contract was reportedly for 35 shows in three cities: London, Berlin, and an unnamed location in New Jersey. Each of the three remaining original members would have earned somewhere over $200 million each just for performing, while another $100 million in merchandising profits was to be shared between the group members.
Branson was also said to be planning to supply the group with their own private jet for the tour. The mogul was prepared to take one of his Vigin Airline’s jets and rebrand it “The Starship.” Branson even planned to sell the jet's back rows to fans for more than $150,000 each.
Meanwhile, The Guardian is quoting Plant's publicist as saying that the bit about him ripping up the contract "is rubbish."
-Spencer