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Led Zep set for glorious return

10/12/2007

All-conquering rock'n'roll stars Led Zeppelin are set to play together for the first time since 1988 as their reunion concert approaches.

The aged rockers are due to kick off their two-hour set at 21:00 GMT at London's O2 Arena in front of 20,000 die-hard fans.

More than one million people applied for the ballot to get tickets for the one-off gig, with passes not released until 36 hours before the show to cut down on touts.

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones have only performed together twice – at Live Aid in 1985 and a benefit concert three years later – since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980.

Bonham's 41-year-old son Jason is on drums for tonight's gig, making him around 20 years younger than his temporary bandmates.

The concert, a tribute to late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, had originally been scheduled for November but was put back by several weeks after guitarist Page broke his finger.

Amid a spate of classic bands reforming, including Genesis and the Police, Led Zeppelin's one-off reunion has sparked rumours they could announce a new tour.

The band dominated the 1970s, releasing eight studio albums over ten years and selling more than 300 million records in the process.