Citing an anonymous source, UK tabloid The Mirror recently reported that Robert Plant had turned down an $800 million offer from Richard Branson to reunite Led Zeppelin for a 35-show, three-city tour.

“Jimmy [Page], John [Paul Jones], and Jason [Bonham] signed up immediately,” the source told The Mirror. “It was a no-brainer for them but Robert asked for 48 hours to think about it. When he said no and ripped up the paperwork he had been given, there was an enormous sense of shock. There is no way they can go ahead without him.” The Mirror went on to add that Branson even offered to give the band one of his airplanes and rebrand it “The Starship.”



Turns out none of this actually happened: While it is true that Plant has put the kibosh on further Led Zeppelin performances since the band’s one-off reunion in 2007, the scenario laid out by The Mirror was entirely fabricated. A spokesman for Plant issued a one-word response (via Blabbermouth), simply stating, “rubbish.” The Mirror, meanwhile, has removed the story from its website.

Update: In a new post on Virgin’s website, Richard Branson confirmed the story was fake. “As much as I love the band, there is absolutely no truth to the story,” Branson wrote. He also relayed a conversation he had with Plant in which the Led Zeppelin frontman reaffirmed his intention to move forward with his current projects rather than reunite the legendary band.

Instead, Plant is currently out on the road supporting his new solo album, lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar, while bandmate Jimmy Page recently appeared on Letterman to promote Zeppelin’s latest batch of reissues.

Below, watch footage from Zeppelin’s lone reunion show in 2007.