Led Zeppelin News

As first reported at Led-Zeppelin.org on Oct. 15. 2009…

Legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has launched a new set of stamps in the U.K. featuring classic album covers from the last 40 years.

British postal service Royal Mail went through thousands of pieces of artwork to draw up a short list of 10 for the set, released today.

They include Led Zeppelin IV, the classic 1971 album that contained Stairway To Heaven and which sold 32 million copies.

Page, who helped design the artwork for IV, said: “Almost 40 years after the album came out, nobody knows the old man who featured on the cover, nor the artist who painted him, that sort of sums up what we wanted to achieve with the album cover, which has remained both anonymous and enigmatic at the same time.”

The stamps depict the covers of albums from the past 40 years including Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, The Division Bell by Pink Floyd and Parklife by Blur.

The other albums featured are: A Rush Of Blood To The Head - Coldplay; Power, Corruption And Lies - New Order; Let It Bleed - The Rolling Stones; London Calling - The Clash; Screamadelica - Primal Scream; The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars - David Bowie.

Tomorrow night, January 8, 2010, Jason Bonham will pay tribute to his father, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham at the Guitar Center’s Grand Finals at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, CA.

The events start at 7PM and will include a performance by Bezerk, a project presented by Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee and whose members include Chad Smith, Matt Sorum, Jose Pasillas, Abe Cunningham, DJ Aero, Sully Erna, Jay Weinberg and BANG!

Stephen Perkins will be hosting the Drum Off ‘09, the search for the top undiscovered in the galaxy.

Also, there will be an exclusive collaborative performance by Danny Carey and Brann Dailor.

Tickets are on sale now at livenation.com for $10.

On December 10, 2007, Led Zeppelin reunited at London’s 02 arena as part of the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund benefit. News of the highly anticipated reunion caused absolute fan hysteria and a media frenzy. Jason Bonham proudly took the stage in honor of his father, John, paying tribute by debuting a revamped Ludwig Vistalite kit, akin to the amber Vistalites made famous by Bonzo in the classic Zeppelin performance film, The Song Remains The Same. The new kit sported some badass upgrades that Bonham and Ludwig were so stoked about that the company decided to offer the setup in a limited run of one hundred. We were lucky enough to get our hands on one before they were all snatched up.

The most obvious modifications Bonham made to the drums are the black powder-coated hardware and the yellow shells. Black and yellow naturally form a vivid combo, but the powder coating adds another dimension of contrast that makes the drums really pop. Although all the hoops and Imperial lugs are black powder-coated, per Jason’s request, the swivel nuts and tension rods are black nickel-plated. The front head of the massive 26″ kick displays the image of the ill-fated Hindenburg that graces the cover of Led Zeppelin’s debut album. Whether intentional or not, to me the depiction of an album cover, rather than John Bonham’s symbol of three interlocking circles, represents Led Zeppelin as a whole—and that’s befitting considering the event for which the kit was made.

The sizes of Jason Bonham’s Vistalites remain true to Ludwig’s “Zep Set” configuration: a 14×26 kick, a 10×14 rack tom, 16×16 and 16×18 floor toms, and a 61/2×14 Supra-Phonic LM402 snare. The acrylic shells are the standard 1/4″ thickness, with reinforced seams, and are outfitted with classic blue/olive badges.

List price: $5,348

To listen to sound files of this kit in action, click here.

For more information, go to ludwig-drums.com.