The rumours that first began in October 2002 look to be solidifying into something like fact, with increasing confidence that three quarters of the legendary rock outfit will play London’s O2 Arena this November.

Certainly there will be a Zeppelin ‘best of’ compilaton, to be called Mothership, released on November 11. Several ticket-sellers have already begun advertising ticket and accommodation packages for between £250 and £350. Veteran concert promoter Harvey Goldsmith has gone on record to deny that the tickets being sold were for a real event, but tellingly his statement was that ‘some’ of the dates announced were fabrications.

The quintessential hedonistic rock band split in 1980, after the alcohol-related death of drummer John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham. Since then they have played two one-off dates, Live Aid in 1985 with Chic drummer Tony Thompson and Phil Collins sitting in for the much missed Bonzo, and then in 1988, at an Atlantic Records event with Bonham’s son Jason sitting in for his father.

Frontman Robert Plant also united for a project with guitarist, producer, and eminence noir Jimmy Page for a project developing from an MTV Unplugged session, where they revisited a number of Zeppelin classics with a Middle-Eastern orchestra. Reputedly, it was the failure to include bassist and multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones in these sessions that caused the rift that is considered to have been the main obstacle to the band’s reformation.

NME.com reports a conversation with Robert Plant this week in which the still golden-haired rock god describes a successful meeting between the three surviving band members, with Jason Bonham looking set to appear again on the drumstool. Full confirmation is still forthcoming, but it looks increasingly certain that the most eagerly-awaited revival of any band short of the Beatles is finally going to happen this year.

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