Led Zeppelin's Jason Bonham 'hoped for reunion'

Jason Bonham has said that he is disappointed Led Zeppelin did not capitalise on the success of their one-off reunion concert by regrouping for a new studio album.

The drummer sat in for his late father John when the three living members of the legendary hard rock band held a tribute gig in honour of music executive Ahmet Ertegün at London's O2 Arena in 2007.

When singer Robert Plant reportedly refused to pursue plans for a possible tour, guitarist Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Bonham began auditioning possible replacements, including current American Idol judge Steven Tyler. Failing to find the proper frontman after several months, Page and Jones are thought to have lost interest.

While he expressed hope that a future collaboration would come about as he toured his 'Led Zeppelin Experience' tribute act last fall, Bonham has now admitted that the chance may have been squandered.

"I was very much under the illusion hat we were going to write an album and we were going to put together a new project, whether it be under the banner of Led Zeppelin, which I doubted, but it was going to be a new project that would feature Jimmy and John Paul and myself," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quotes him as saying.

"In early 2008, it kind of came to a halt, which was a hard thing for me to get over for a while. You know, I had just played the concert of my life. Playing with them was a great point, one of the greatest points of my life."

Bonham further revealed that he takes great enjoyment in replicating many of his father's most iconic drum solos during his Led Zeppelin tribute concerts, which he claimed have received Plant's explicit blessing.

He explained: "I actually called Robert and spoke to him about it. Robert told me not to be concerned and then we went on an interview together and a DJ tried to throw me under the bus saying, 'Hey, what did you think about Jason doing a Led Zeppelin tour without any of you guys'?

"Robert turned around and went on the defensive for me and said, 'Well, Jason can do whatever he wants, when he wants'. He said, 'Jason plays these songs like nobody else...' That was a big step for me when Robert came in there and said, 'You know what? This is Jason representing his family and his father. Just let him be'."

Earlier this year, Planted commented that reuniting with Led Zeppelin almost 30 years after their break-up was "something magnificent".

Watch amateur footage of Led Zeppelin performing 'Stairway To Heaven' at the 2007 Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert below: