Led Zeppelin News

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 14x26 kick, a 10x14 rack tom, 16x16 and 16x18 floor toms, and a 61/2x14 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.

BBC Berkshire has a pictorial slideshow of The Thames Boathouse in Pangbourne, where Jimmy Page lived from 1967 to 1973. Also included is a story about Robert Plant visiting the new owner in 2003.

You can view it here.

Announcing a new career-spanning pictorial autobiography. Featuring a wealth of unseen photos from his own archive, Jimmy Page unveils his first official published work to be presented as a hand-crafted book, in a limited edition of only 2,500 copies worldwide.

For more information, and to register your interest, please click here to submit an email to Genesis Publications. Please include your name and address to receive a complimentary brochure we will be sending in due course.

Registrants will be offered the first chance to pre-order this new edition, ahead of publication and at a preferential rate.

Thank you for your interest. We look forward to writing with further news.

Jimmy Page: "I've seen Genesis books before and I've really got a lot of time for the way they produce their books, they're really quality items. As someone who's always been interested in having a library themselves, I appreciate fine bookbinding and their whole ethic of what they do and what they're trying to do with a whole catalogue of books." (MOJO, Jan 2009)