Led Zeppelin reunion

I read recently that the surviving members of Led Zeppelin - Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones - will come together next month at the O2 arena in London for a tribute concert to remember Atlantic Records' founder, Ahmet Ertegun.

I read that this one-off reunion will be the group's first in 19 years and they will be joined by Jason Bonham, the son of John Bonham whose death in 1980 precipitated the disband of the group.

Good for Led Zeppelin.

Unfortunately, for their hordes of fans around the world, it will be a concert that we cannot attend. Already, it is said that an estimated 20 million people have registered for the tickets on the Led Zeppelin website and the tickets will be allocated by public ballot.

I have been a fan of Led Zep ever since I first heard Whole Lotta Love over the Radio RAAF Butterworth in 1970. I was stunned. It was the first time that I had heard such music - an abstract middle section and Plant's trademark howl. It was quite unlike anything I had heard before.

I became a fan long before most of my schoolmates had ever heard of Led Zeppelin or been exposed to blues-tinged hard rock and heavy metal. And to show you how mad I was about Led Zep, here is a picture of their vinyl records and CDs in my collection. Crazy, eh?

There's another CD which I have not included in the picture: Page and Plant's Walking Into Clarksdale. Without Jones and Bonham, it's just not the same...