Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie Wood turned down the chance to join Led Zeppelin in the group's early days after dismissing them as a "bunch of farmers".

The guitarist's former manager Peter Grant urged him to join another act, The New Yardbirds, which he was also looking after in the 1960s.

Wood snubbed the offer after being left unimpressed by the band - who went on to become one of the world's greatest rock acts under their new name, Led Zeppelin.

Speaking on his Absolute Radio show, Wood says, "Peter Grant used to manage myself and Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart and Mickey Waller and Nicky Hopkins back in the good old days. He was behind a band that was going to be called The New Yardbirds.

"I had an offer to join, and I said 'I can't join that bunch of farmers'. Anyway, they eventually changed their name and turned out to be Led Zeppelin, and he managed them as well."

