Did Phil Collins RUIN the "Led Zeppelin Reunion" at Live Aid 1985?

[@DancingwithGhosts]

**Unfortunately, KZbin finally found a piece of my video that they wanted to copyright strike, which is weird because it normally tells you right away when you upload it so you can go in and fix the copyright issue. Anyway, the portion of the video where I actually showed the members of Zeppelin getting interviewed and acting smug had to be edited out. My apologies I would have loved to have kept that in. It still exists on KZbin though under "Led Zeppelin Live Aid Interview".

[@1111Paiste]

Good video and summary on what happened there at Live Aid with Collins and LZ. Here's the link of the MTV interview (below). Collins was right, the interview of Allen Hunter with Page or Plant didn't age well. Jones did talk more that what Collins remembers. But Collins' story from his book seems pretty spot on to how the events unfolded that day. kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6napaNqe6dkoa8

[@ericjencson9489]

Jimmy Page was drunk off his ass. That was the problem.

[@KevinStimelsky]

@ericjencson9489 not drunk High on heroine! Townshend and Page were full blown heroine addicts. Townshend got clean in late 82,83 Page sometime in 85

[@Joolzratbag]

he was a total embarrassing mess in this, it may even have been heroin, alcohol plus who knows what else.

[@Flying-V-Shredder]

When wasn't he?

[@Cityzen1-p1n]

@@KevinStimelsky Learn how to spell numpty!

[@thecawdsquad875]

Probably heroin. He was drooling at one point.

[@reubenrozeyt5716]

Phil Collins drumming wasn't the problem. Robert's almost black out drunk ,voice croaked like a frog Jimmy was stoned off his t¡ts, his playing is even worse live. The mixing was terrible Let's just say it was a good year to be a Queen fan

[@loftlegacy]

“Deh-doh”👨🏻🎤🎹

[@reubenrozeyt5716]

@loftlegacy 🤣

[@pleun315]

Led Zeppelin.was.allready done.....nothing left of the old dynamique

[@anodeboy]

It was monitor problems, clear Bell he couldn't hear himself. Don't forget they didn't have earpieces back then.

[@pleun315]

@anodeboy yeah..... Okidoki

[@jimsteele2072]

I think Robert Plant's hairstyle ruined the reunion.

[@DancingwithGhosts]

😂

[@FirebrandVOCALS]

lol

[@davidmacleod9313]

Lol

[@Piwork69]

His mid-80’s music was just as cringey.

[@MarcusHoover-y6h]

You made my day🤣

[@RubesGoodBrainCoffee]

If I might share this here: There is a KZbin channel dedicated to Led Zeppelin which painstakingly documents how Led Zeppelin's subpar performance was NOT Phil Collins' fault. As much as Jimmy Page and the Zeppelin fans might want to blame everything on Collins, anyone with the slightest objectively should know better.

[@markleggett3944]

Robert Plant was having voice problems, Jimmy Page was completely drunk or drugged out and was attempting to play songs with a out of tune guitar. They must not have done much in the way of practice and they brought Phil Collins in with no run through or any clue what he was to expect (2 drummers). It was a train wreck. Those 2 guys in Zeppelin were too egotistical to admit that they were the problem, so they blame Phil Collins.

[@Madmetalmaniac42069]

@@markleggett3944 And to be clear - Phil Collins did NOT want two drummers. He felt it was going to confuse it, but Jimmy apparently insisted on it. Hence the mess.

[@johngunne3327]

​@@markleggett3944let's not forget Phil would've been totally fucking jetlagged as well. Crossing the Atlantic on Concorde and having been up early on the Saturday morning to get to Wembley Stadium beforehand to do his set there before leaving. Poor sod didn't have a chance to rest or anything. Pathetic that Page constantly blames him for the shambles when he was off his head, drunk/high in front of everyone.

[@D-Fens_1632]

I think I know that guy you're talking about, he'll do a ten 45 minute videos on the recording of In Through the Out Door or something, and equally detailed videos about specific live shows. Forget his handle. He sounds kind of Hispanic maybe, maybe a South American accent? Anyway, sometimes it's overkill but he has some fantastic deep dives into all things Zeppelin, wish I could recommend the name. He just did one about what Out Door might have looked like if they'd included some Coda tracks.

[@johngunne3327]

@@D-Fens_1632 you're talking about this guy. Jose/JCM. youtube.com/@jcm-ledzeppelin-stories?si=dde6u-KTtviZuTRv

[@anthonycraig1458]

Funny how Phil Collins had played a set with Eric Clapton just before Led Zeppelin and it was faultless with both drummers. In fact Clapton's performance was quite rightly regarded as one of the best of the day. The band were on form having been touring at the time. Meanwhile Led Zep weren't touring and somehow Phil gets the blame...

[@TurfShifter]

Plant's voice was shot and Page was off his tits on booze and drugs. Yeah blame the drummer if you want but those 2 killed that performance without anyone else's help.

[@justinparkerthewildwolf6394]

It was shit house

[@pleun315]

You are right....😂

[@FloweredUp-n4t]

No. Plant's voice, Page's terrible guitar sound and obvious intoxication coupled with under rehearsal and a tired sound crew ruined Led Zeppelin's performance at Live Aid.

[@Jonhobbs64]

Lol! Yes, that was the year everyone was using a flanger with a phaser! It "sucked" the tone right out of the system 😂

[@mattmckeon1688]

Not to mention there were two drummers for that set, and Phil wasn't even playing a full drum part, trying to fit in with Tony Thompson. There's more than enough blame to go around for that shoddy set, most of all Jimmy and Robert.

[@markcheetah4960]

Both Collins and Plant mentioned faulty monitors. I've done my share of gigs and monitors are absolutely CRUCIAL to getting a cohesive band to sound nice & tight.

[@jessejames2680]

The problem was egos drugs and booze and the fact they ain't played in years.... Not Phil Collins.. I don't even like Zeppelin anymore grew out of that many years ago..

[@markcheetah4960]

@@jessejames2680 I totally agree

[@mancuniancandidatem]

Plant and Page only needed themselves to ruin this performance. Phil was the least of their worries.

[@Paneeks1960]

I sat to the left of the stage at JFK Stadium for the whole show. I can honestly say that Zeppelin's performance sounded so much better at JFK than it did on video tape a few days later. I will also say that some of the bands/artists were mixed much better than others. Overall it was one of the best all day/night into the next day events that I ever went to. We also got to see some of the Wembley Stadium acts in between the Philly sets. All for $50. Those were the days~ Rob/Boston

[@CKT1138]

Wait, there are people who genuinely think PHIL ruined the Zed Zeppelin reunion? You can see clearly in the footage that Phil is actually trying to do things correctly despite limited rehearsal, and that he's visibly irritated at Jimmy, who is clearly wasted. Robert Plant is trying but he is not properly warmed up for the material. It's definitely not Phil's fault, not by a long shot.

[@teijaflink2226]

Seems like he really tried but the two of them where mest up at that time and not well prepared.

[@CKT1138]

@teijaflink2226 nobody was prepared it was fairly impromptu iirc

[@trelard]

I was surprised too. I watched Live Aid live on TV in the UK. That performance was ruined by Plant and Page. Then to have 2 drummers onstage? Moronic behavior.

[@cc352]

Page was at his worst during these few years in the early '80s. Saw him in '83 at the ARMS concert at MSG. Before Live Aid, he did a few sets during the July 4th celebrations with the Beach Boys and those were terrible gigs for him. If you check out some of the videos floating around of those concerts even some members of the Beach Boys were looking at him and wondering, dude, wtf are you doing?

[@JoeGarchar1960]

Phil is no John Bonham. The problem was and is that this was not a Led Zeppelin reunion without John Bonham.

[@sydhamelin1265]

As a drummer myself, my 2 go-to drummers a Budgie from Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Phil, from the PG era Genesis. The drumming on Lamb Lies Down is possibly the most creative, best produced drums, for album oriented rock, or rock in general, including sub-genres. Phil gets so much shit, because he leaned so heavily into pop and was really good at it. It's like people took his street cred card card because 'One More Night' was estrogen driven than Barbara Streisand's entire catalog. But I contend that you judge the man by his peaks, not his valleys. And I even say that you give him his due. I don't care for his soft pop stuff, but he clearly had the ability to write those #1 ballads, and still write heavy hitting pop songs like 'In the Air Tonight', or, to me, a banger like 'Take Me Home'. And you cannot take his street cred card - this guy hammered out Apocalypse in 9/8, on the screaming 20+ minute 'Supper's Ready', where he turns the drums into total chaos, that he somehow manages to control around Bank's 4/4 keys solo. Brilliance.

[@eightiesmusic1984]

Kevin Wilkinson China Crisis. Dean Castronovo Bad English.

[@thor7564]

All true there. Phil is still doing some pretty good drumming on 'a trick of the tail', 'wind and wuthering' and '…then there were three', especially on 'down and out'.

[@richradka]

agree with you! his terrible 80s stuff solo and with Genesis have totally ruined his reputation as a drummer but until late 70s, his Genesis drumming was right up with with Bruford and other heavy/prog drummers. But you reap what you sow, and his pop stuff and its impact on the 80s was truly horrific

[@morgellon7877]

Nah, Robert Plant had an amazing range and delivery in the original Led Zeppelin days. That wasn't studio trickery; if you listen to their live performances from then and contrast it with the Live Aid travesty it's astounding just how bad he sounded at the latter, considering what a terrific vocalist he was and is when he's on top of his game. Page was clearly too intoxicated to play well, and I think Plant was probably coked-out or something.

[@markcheetah4960]

Plant was great in the early days, but it didn't take long for his voice to deteriorate. Even back in 1973 when "The Song Remains The Same" live album came out, he was singing a LOT lower, almost "talking" sometimes. "Black Dog" and "Rock & Roll" are two prime examples. I refer to those cuts as the "Elvis" versions. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy. I have the DVD set that came out in 2003 and the live rendition of "Communication Breakdown" (a VERY hard song to sing), Plant kicks ass on it! But it's a very old video... I'm pretty sure it was filmed in B&W.

[@rogertrujillo7423]

Tell me you were born after the year 2000 without telling me you were born after the year 2000

[@rayroofy]

Collins did the right thing by not getting in the way. The whole set was chaotic. Don't drink and drive. Don't drink and play guitar either, especially on a big reunion night. Collins is a pro. Song writer, drummer, and vocalist. Listen to that tone on "Jesus he knows me". 👏👏

[@arnesaknussemm2427]

No, this was not Page’s greatest moment and the attempt to shift the blame was disgusting.

[@matsujarvinen]

Yeah.Everything related to Led Zeppelin is golden,if you ask Pagey.And if it´s not,he will blame somebody else.

[@drdrew3]

I saw Jimmy Page at the 1983 ARMS Concert with Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Page’s set was an incoherent mess at that show a full 2 years before Live Aid. His drinking led to incredibly sloppy playing such that you couldn’t even recognize some songs. He physically needed help navigating the stage. At that same time Phil Collins was doing the work of 3 people between his explosive solo career, Genesis and a myriad of studio and touring gigs. Zeppelin didn’t rehearse meaningful and failed the audition. Even Bonham himself couldn’t have saved that disaster

[@debonaire_nerd]

Not entirely. The whole band were off that day. Page's guitar work was among the worst, if not THE worst, I have ever seen from him while Plant looked as though he was one crawl away from rehab. As for JPJ, he impossibly looked less enthusiastic than Plant. As horrendous as the drumming section was that day, it was only around 30% of the problem.

[@DancingwithGhosts]

i donno, honestly the video quality was so bad you could barely decipher what anything sounded like but compared to some of the other crap I have reviewed I thought it was just "ok".. not a disastrous train wreck like it was made out to be

[@markleggett3944]

It was crazy to have 2 drummers when Phil Collins wasn't even aware of the 2nd drummer and had no run through to try and work out things with the other drummer. Robert Plant's voice was not in good shape and Jimmy was stumbling around the stage playing like some kid in high school with an out of tune guitar.

[@davidwade3950]

The guitar tone was so weak ; much more of a problem than the drums

[@dez1989]

I couldn't give 30% of the problem to the drums. That's quite harsh. I'd give it 10%. If that much! John Paul was and is straight. Always on and a true musician, like Phil. So the entire blame goes to Jimmy and Robert. They BOTH sucked eggs, yet they tried to pass the blame to anyone but themselves.

[@fireatwill7707]

I’ve heard JP play considerably worse in other live recordings. I’m not saying it was good, because it was sloppy and cringey but I’ve heard him play worse.

[@John-et9yl]

I saw LZ for the first and only time at the first Knebworth concert in 1979 and can honestly say l was completely underwhelmed except for the the laser show during Page's solo. Page and Plant let JPJ down at Live Aid imo.

[@kahnlives]

Ya, by 79 Zeppelin were probably past their prime. I believe they never fully recovered from their previous tour that was a drug war on stage. It seems all the parties had caught up to the Legends

[@craig8542]

JPJ never gets mentioned. PAY MORE ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING ZEPPELIN ACHIEVED

[@PaulFormentos]

OK, it was Jones fault, feel better?

[@mikeformby86]

I saw Genesis with Phil Collins in January, 1984 in Denver, CO during their Mama tour and to this day it still stands out as probably the tightest band out of the dozens I've seen. I was amazed how much every note sounded like the album. It was fantastic.

[@thomasleblanc4228]

Feb 1983 Mama tour in Memphis. Brilliant show!

[@narm_greyrunner]

We did a charity concert for Africa, which was the style at the time.

[@DancingwithGhosts]

lol

[@chupacabra3331]

I know, everybody was trying to save Africa and as soon as the 80s ended we just said fuck em, you’re on your own. Anyways, aside from some of the artists who went in with good intentions, it was a money grab from the top. A lot of people became rich or more rich by using these benefit concert scams. Put one water well in a village but most people are dying of AIDS or getting eaten by lions. At least they’ll die hydrated.

[@HexNottingham]

I read that in the voice of Grandpa Abe Simpson

[@chaseme65]

Boy there are a lot of people here talking out their ass about Led Zeppelin’s quality…both at Live Aid and before. Live Aid’s issues were about rehearsal…mainly. Plant’s voice was rusty, Page was drunk but this was more about being out of sync than clumsy…and that’s rehearsal. As for Zep’s talent live, ridiculous comments. Playing a live version with one guitar when the studio versions had multiple layers is going to make the live version a real challenge for anyone to play. Page is amazing. And this idiot host is wrong about Plant being able to hit notes during his Zep years. He has a unique voice and sang amazingly. JPJ is amazing no matter what. Incredible musician. In the end this was mainly about rehearsal.

[@rumoursduo]

Watching it live at the time, it was obvious that Page was way past his prime. Even Neil Peart couldn't have saved that performance! Best just to forget it.

[@ademyers2741]

Rest assured, if there's ever a Led Zep biopic, the final scene won't be that shambolic Live Aid set

[@beauzer36]

It should be.

[@vicariousjohnson9823]

If ever…kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZrdqn-MYrSSmcU

[@ademyers2741]

@@vicariousjohnson9823 OMG!

[@harrybehemoth2751]

It's weird that Phil waited til he was in his 60's to become an alcoholic.

[@DancingwithGhosts]

yeah... that definitely was weird, and he went fucking hard too... like there was this inner-demon in him the whole time that he was suppressing throughout his career and then BAM all his organs are shutting down because he was boozing so much.. shit that itself would make a good video topic

[@MrTheBaron]

If it wasn't the divorce he had with his 3rd wife at the time, it was him losing the ability to drum that hit him the hardest

[@trk1973]

When you see his wife at the time Orianne Cevey, it’s then easy to understand why

[@GenesisFan01]

@@trk1973 she looked much better without the plastic surgery. Now she just looks like those Hollyweird women who have their faces botoxed to death.

[@chupacabra3331]

Holy shit man, just googled her, she’s a real destroyer. She probably smacked him around, called him a pussy and pissed on his face while he was sleeping. Christ.

[@whiskeywolfgang]

One thing I'll always love about Phil Collins is how down to earth he was as a celebrity. He just played the biggest concert in the world, in two continents on the same day, and he knows he's going to be ragged on for the poor reunion. And at the end of it all, the only thing going through his mind is "poor interviewer, he's probably nervous because of the huge audience watching him fumble live. Let me try to help him out."

[@themoon9442]

Just 2 small points... 1:13 Raise money, not awareness. 2:32 Geldof was not an actor. He was the singer and songwriter in Irish post-punk band The Boomtown Rats. They had been a huge deal in Ireland and the UK, scoring 2 enormous #1 singles in 1978 and 1979 - the first punk or post punk band to get a #1 single in the UK charts. He did play 'Pink' in the movie of 'The Wall', but if you've seen the movie, you'll know that there wasn't much acting involved.

[@4Mr.Crowley2]

Exactly. Thank you - the level of the snark seems ridiculous. Band Aid and Live Aid raised many, many, many millions for the famine crisis - and like all massive works of charity it didn’t achieve everything everyone set out to do however it drew a huge amount of political and public attention to the horrors endured by the people in Ethiopia who were governed by ruthless leaders - Live Aid wasn’t just some limp condescending gesture. Dude seems to think Live Aid was another Woodstock, which is entirely wrong. Woodstock was always a money-making venture. The not-actor Geldof’s punk band, The Boomtown Rats, were and still are greatly valued by the Irish together with brilliant new wave/punk Irish bands like The Undertones (whose “Teenage Kicks” is absolutely legendary as the only rock single ever played twice-in-a-row by legendary bbc DJ John Peel), and of course U2 - all of these bands share long histories together.

[@Robyn-by6qt]

And big in Australia.

[@supergrogg]

Gelfof stared and ACTED in the feture movie The Wall..and other things, as well as being the frontman for The Boom Town Rats.

[@themoon9442]

@@supergrogg I guess you read the first line of my comment and decided to reply without reading the rest. Let me help you out by showing you what you were replying to. Here's the complete OP... "Just 2 small points... 1:13 Raise money, not awareness. 2:32 Geldof was not an actor. He was the singer and songwriter in Irish post-punk band The Boomtown Rats. They had been a huge deal in Ireland and the UK, scoring 2 enormous #1 singles in 1978 and 1979 - the first punk or post punk band to get a #1 single in the UK charts. He did play 'Pink' in the movie of 'The Wall', but if you've seen the movie, you'll know that there wasn't much acting involved." End quote. You'll also notice that the OP hasn't been edited. Happy now?

[@boogiewoogie9770]

I don't think he would even class himself as an actor. ​@@supergrogg

[@Jirass]

They really needed to rehearse. I love Phil's work on Plant's first two solo albums but he was stretched to thin on this day. Robert's voice was shot. Jimmy was in a bad mood. And Jonesy was embarrassed, I am sure. I love listening to old LZ bootlegs but this is one performance that makes me cringe.

[@satchice9102]

You described Bob Geldoff as an "actor". He was really just the lead singer and songwriter of ''The Boomtown Rats', who also did a little bit of acting (Pink in the 'The Wall').

[@jeffreywillstewart]

'Just'? I loved the Boomtown Rats. "I Don't Like Mondays" is a classic.

[@tpbrcombo]

No. There, I saved you seventeen minutes.

[@drdrew3]

Hearing the detailed explanation directly from Phil Collin’s point of view was worth the listen. The behind the scenes story has been muddied over time. Know we know how it really unraveled

[@darrenjreynolds22]

Live aid was and still is the biggest music event the world had ever seen......collins had agreed to perform not only at Wembley but then to get on to Concorde and fly to Philadelphia.......Robert plant couldn't sing for shit and jimmy page was visibly dribbling.......they were a laughing stock.......fucking dreadful......Nothing to do with Phil Collins

[@rhetoric2k]

What I will never get about this reunion is that they had the opportunity to use Jason Bonham for Live Aid and didn't. Who would've been a better replacement than Jason Bonham? They could've all at least practiced together. What they asked Phil Collins to do was not fair to him and I wish for his sake, that he had said no. He deserved better.

[@MatthewMaloney-fj4zz]

Save your sympathy for Phil. Phil was desperate to be involved in everything back in the '80s and never seemed to turn anything down, even if it was a really bad idea, which this obviously was. See also Buster.

[@leokimvideo]

The problem was Robert & Jimmy, add to that a hot day, alcohol, lack of rehearsal, and really poor sound on stage. Plant was having trouble hearing the performance. Led Zeps return was the massive disappointment of Live Aid. As history tells Queen ruled Live Aid

[@MatthewMaloney-fj4zz]

As Paul Gambaccini has said, Queen took Live Aid more seriously and professionally than any other act on the bill that day.

[@JoeGarchar1960]

Queen was touring at that time. You lack understanding of how things work.

[@KrisNicholsonPianist]

Phil Collins was the one SAVING the reunion. Robert Plant was on something, Jimmy Page was on something. If it wasn't for Phil the whole thing would've been the downfall of Led Zeppelin.

[@chrisorsten]

If you watch the performance, halfway through the first song "Rock And Roll", the camera is on Phil. You see him rech over to his mixing board for his drum mics, and he kills the master out to the main board. Then after you can see he is barely drumming. You can confirm this because His drum fill at the end of "Rock and Roll" you cannot even hear.

[@christianzafiroglu6705]

Phil Collins didn’t ruin Live Aid. Heroin ruined Jimmy Page A hoarse voice ruined Robert Plant Resentment ruined Jonesy Lack of rehearsal ruined Tony Thompson and Phil Collins. And bless Phil Collins for trying to rescue that poor interviewer. God, Paget and Percy could be arrogant when together.

[@idahomike4254]

Great video! One thing, though. At 2:53, David Gilmour was not an original member of Pink Floyd. New subscriber, BTW. Cheers!

[@kevinconley5076]

Random fun fact: The metal bands Ill Nino and A Killlers Confession perform with 2 drunmers. The band Ned's Atomic Dustbin has 2 bass players.

[@IWatchestheWatchmen]

The Melvins used to tour with two drummers. There is an Arnold Schwarzenegger gimmick band called Arnocorps with two bass players.

[@lassebongo126]

King Crimson had two drummers, two bass players and two guitarists during the 90's. When I saw them in 2016, they had three drummers. They sounded great!

[@DSPsWifesBF]

Fucking Ill Niño lol

[@djlehara]

NAD was awesome

[@dilansmithee503]

"You never go two drummers unless you are King Crimson!"

[@FarmerSlideJoeBob]

Fact XD

[@DragonflyII]

Or Butthole Surfers

[@tylerjsmithers8385]

Or unless you're the Doobie Brothers

[@chicagotransitauthority3161]

Or Allman Brothers

[@AdrianLay-c5i]

Or Gary Glitter

[@scottclark3139]

Definitely not. The band were chronically under rehearsed. See the Queen rehearsals for how to do it properly. And the differing results speak for themselves

[@markcheetah4960]

Man, this is a great video. Thank you SO much for posting this behind the scenes info which SHOULD be better known. You're 100% on point with everything you said between video clips. Awesome vid! It's interesting and NEVER boring or slow like some of the Rock documentaries you see these days. I'm glad this popped up in my feed... you've got a new subscriber!

[@farlow126]

The only Live performance I have ever seen where Plant’s voice was as powerful as it is on the albums is a KZbin video I saw when they were performing in what looked like a high school gym. He sounded AMAZING!

[@dez1989]

Yes, VERY early in their carriers. He didn't take care of his voice.

[@cruzmizzl]

Collins- though messing up one note on 'Against All Odds', was the best 1 man/1 instrument performance of the entire Live Aid.

[@jasonleonard4000]

I just found your channel and it is AWESOME! I subscribed yesterday and now I'm binging the videos. I also love Phil and Genesis, so you're great in my book! Thanks for the entertainment

[@eddiebrown687]

Jimmy Page was amazing in the studio....he was a complete joke live. Everyone needs to stop this hero BS and just tell it like it is. Him and Plant both let all the adoration go to their heads. JPJ and JB were the 2 that held the Zep sound together.

[@damianpimpinella977]

Listen to a bootleg of Vienna 1973 and tell me he was a joke live

[@nathanmitchell295]

I think Page really buys into his own aura of being the “greatest guitarist of all time” which has always been a fallacy to me.

[@damianpimpinella977]

@ Some people think he’s the greatest, some don’t. Where’s the fallacy

[@nathanmitchell295]

@@damianpimpinella977 because of that exact reason, it’s completely subjective, and I don’t believe such a title exists but there are those who insist on ranking guitarists and musicians as if they are athletes.

[@devingreco4166]

You are the joke.

[@messi8921]

I’d say Page and Tony Thompson ruined it

[@waynealvarez6519]

Gimme a break it wasn’t Phil’s fault. Sound engineer and Jimmy and some of Roberts fault. And that’s it

[@TheCrazyMoparDude68]

The reason the Robert, Jimmy, and John were acting that way is because they never wanted a ruin, nor did they ever say this was the beginning of a reunion. They made the decision after Bonham died to not go on with the band, they always said that replacing him wouldn’t be an option. And after all the years since they broke up, they have only gotten together twice, the other being with Bonham son on the drums. They have turned down guaranteed tens of millions of dollars to reunite, but they have always refused. So there was never going to be a reunion tour. As for the performance, the whole thing was pretty bad since no one involved really put in much of an effort. And that includes Collins. It was more like some jam session and not an actual performance. As for Jimmy being drunk, the man played some of his best live stuff while drunk and high on drugs. I think he just wasn’t into the whole thing and Robert was having issues with his voice. When you sing like Robert does, if you are off just a bit it will show. As for John Paul Jones, I don’t think he is capable of performing poorly, he is just an amazingly talent performer and will always give his best. And Collins, or should I say the drumming, wasn’t very good and was off beat several times. Now was that because of Collins, or simply because there were 2 drummers, hard to say since you don’t see what they are doing all of the time and can only hear it. The main thing is that you cannot ruin something that didn’t actually exist, and this was never a Led Zeppelin ruin because not all of the original band members were there. As a Led Zeppelin fan, I am grateful that they never sold out and reunited with another drummer to record or go on tour.

[@drdrew3]

What a contradictory and incoherent mess of a comment. Delete that and try again

[@davidcurry8440]

* Phil was over committed in the 80’s * Zeppelin didn’t practice enough * Jimmy’s guitar was setup for The Firm * Jimmy had ongoing dependency problems

[@davekennedy6315]

Another SUPERB video! I LOVE your enthusiasm mate!

[@DancingwithGhosts]

Thanks a ton!

[@edmanley3681]

No, no one ruined it. I was there and loved it. Who cares if it was flawed. The point was it was LZ, it was the first time performing after the break-up, and for those of us who grew up listening to them, it mattered.

[@anodeboy]

I shared a bear with Robert Plant a couple months after this. In Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and let me tell you we talked about live aid and what happened with the monitors. Then I couldn't get a word in edgewise. He answered by saying those bloody monitor cabinets😮. The rest of the conversation was great and lasted 20 or so minutes and this was after a performance with The Honeydrippers. So he was very pleasant to have a beer with and as far as Led Zeppelin's performance, it was totally thrown off by the monitor cabinets out of whack just saying, I heard it from the horse's mouth

[@joestahl9102]

Plant and page were both in bad shape was happy in 94 when page and plant both sounded like the legends they are

[@boblang6120]

JPJ is a class act. Jimmy has finally grown up in his old age. Robert just wants to forget Zeppelin

[@visotoo3129]

To me, just seeing Phil Collins playing with Led Zeppelin makes it a +1

[@guanoguy4800]

Plus 1 what???

[@visotoo3129]

​@@guanoguy4800+1 denotes something that you are in favor of. Referring to the title of the video, I'm saying Phil Collins playing with Led Zeppelin was something I was in favor of

[@drummerKev]

Umm yes. Robert Plant would always hit the high notes when playing for Led Zeppelin. I know, because I saw them eleven times live. Jimmy Page and JPJ and John Bonham were also absolutely incredible every time! I also saw Genesis fourteen times including when Peter Gabriel was their front man. But, when Phil Collins & Chester Thompson played together for Three Sides Live, that was the best Genesis concert I ever saw. Side stage lower balcony hanging right over Phil Collins while he and Chester played the In the Cage medley, my jaw was on the floor. Most amazing performance by Genesis of all time! This was before they were selling out stadiums.

[@hoobeydoobey1267]

I was in my 20s at the time. It was a big deal. My immediate thought was, how is money going to help Africa? How are they going to distribute money to buy food? All I see is foolishness and corruption will happen. A few years ago I was reminded of this concert and looked it up online. Sure enough. The money and food went to war lords and funded more starvation. It's an Ecc 10:2 thing.

[@jonesjeff42]

Led Zeppelin being pompous 'quelle surprise'

[@ChrisLawton66]

14:55 this is where you shouldn't editorialize. There are literally dozens of recordings of them liive in the 70s with Robert hitting those high notes. Why would you make statements like that without actually knowing for certain? It doesn't take much time to do the research.

[@CHARLESLAUTH-fi3jf]

Was there. In person it did sound fine. We all knew that this was something that wasn't going to be well-practiced. People were so excited for the surviving members of Zep just to be onstage together again. They could have stood there, said nothing and farted and the audience would have applauded. Have always heard Page's opinion on the show; thanks for providing Phil's voice.

[@jakepepper2279]

It always amazes me that Jimmy Page blamed the poor Zeppelin mini reunion performance on Phil Collins. I watched Live Aid when it was happening, and Page struggled on his guitar. He was unprepared and rusty. Robert Plant's vocals suggested he had a very bad cold that night. Collins did very well considering. He definitely wasn't the problem.

[@tilleulenspiegel-kanal6626]

Led Zeppelin are not the Rolling Stones. That's why you have to expect that something will always go wrong.

[@PaulFormentos]

Yeah The Stones never had issues with Speedway gigs.....

[@redhen334]

Good timing with this video, Drumeo is a few days away from releasing their Phil Collins drumming documentary. He was a crazily amazing drummer in his day and hopefully more people will see that.

[@DancingwithGhosts]

oh i had no idea of this, thanks for the heads up

[@witchywoman5582]

Tony Thompson didn't require a secondary drummer ( ever). Plant and Page fully responsible for any fouls committed 😎✌️

[@trelard]

I can say without a doubt that Led Zeppelin ruined the Led Zeppelin Reunion. Yes, at that point, Collins was all over the place at the time on TV, radio, and print, and people were getting bored of seeing him, but he wasn't to blame for that performance. Overall though, I still have fond memories of that day.

[@NicholasSadlier]

Big respect to Phil Collins - a case of a top professional tainted with guilt by association. I know what I think about the two protagonists of this situation but I'll keep it polite by not commenting.

[@MatthewMaloney-fj4zz]

Phil Collins was a fantastic drummer in his prime, one of England's best ever, but he has to take his share of the blame for the Live Aid Led Zep fiasco. He should have known full well that to fly over there with no rehearsal with the rest of the band, playing with another drummer he'd never played with before, was a really stupid idea. There's a reason why Queen stole Live Aid with their Wembley set and became legends on that day - they REHEARSED!

[@quinnrollen]

Phil Collins was not the reason why it all flubbed so bad. Page just needed someone to blame for lack of rehearsals.

[@matthewashman1406]

Ummm go listern to bootleg shows from 69-72 . Robert did hit tge high notes. 73 onwards his vocal chords damaged he has to re think how he sang.

[@paulockenden4278]

No They ruined it themselves ,Collins was the only musician on stage that day. The others were both responsible for the farce that ensued but blaming Collins was the easy out

[@D-Fens_1632]

Hell no. He couldn't save it, but that doesn't mean he should take the fall.

[@iCrilleSwe]

Never ever forget Midge Ure, he was an important part of Live aid!!

[@TDM1165]

Infamously bad. I mean, yes there’s been worse but when plant hoarsely bellows it’s been a long time since I rock n rolled, the temptation to reply no shit is overwhelming! Page looks like he doesn’t need a stairway to reach heaven, he’s so out of his mind on smack he’s virtually there. And the camera operators seem to have forgotten John Paul jones was in the band. Internally they were horrified which is why after yet another shambolic mini set in 1988 at an Atlantic records do, when they did that one off show in 2007 in London they made sure they rehearsed the living shit out of it, and in fairness whatever you think of zeppelin they demonstrably knocked it out of the park. Anyway I remember staying up to watch the rest of the Philadelphia segment of Live Aid when London had ended in 85, I would’ve been 19, and recall thinking the whole American side of it just didn’t have the vibe of Wembley, and Bob Dylan’s weird closing set was to come, when he went off script and started saying basically shouldn’t all this money be going to farmers in America! Like, Jesus Bob, the concert was for children literally starving to death, and hes talking about farming subsidies. The answer my friend isn’t blowing in the wind apparently 😂

[@DancingwithGhosts]

that's interesting you got to see it happen in real time at 19, shit i wasn't even born yet.. I watched the entire performance and i've seen SOOO much worse (i had to watch several rex viper concerts ffs)

[@StatutoryRock]

I know everyone is saying Page and Plant were screwed up and ruined it. But man if you are asking "who should we have sit in with Led Zeppelin?" Collins is not who would be any of my top choices. Just so stylistically different. Especially with the pool of drummers there that day. Then to decide we are gonna do a 2 drummer thing? It was a bad idea.

[@JaymzZeppelin]

Live Aid was huge. Unlike anything we had seen as far as raising awareness to the poverty and famine of the third world. This guy calling it one of the "various benefit concerts" and downplaying the huge impact it had is sickeningly ignorant.

[@arnesaknussemm2427]

Plant comes in a few bars early after the solo in Stairway. Not Phil’s fault at all.

[@CrimsonKing_85]

I don't mean to critique, but the first half of the video was great, but I wasn't feeling the interview stuff. I get why you did it, but I love when you cut in and add your opinion. Nothing but love.

[@DancingwithGhosts]

thank you for the constructive criticism... I knowingly took a chance on this video but having the interview stuff in there for long periods of time just to see how people would react. I see a lot of big youtubers do lazy stuff like that and I wanted to see how it would do for me, plus, I did think it was neat having the commentary come from the man himself.

[@CrimsonKing_85]

​@@DancingwithGhosts I totally get the algorithm. I'll be on the live chat tomorrow donating if you stream 💕

[@mrmaxaxl]

Nah. The other way around for me. The interviews were great!

[@franciscolopez3229]

Put this issue to rest. No ones to blame to whatever had happened. Given the booze effect, they never had the chance to practice. What stuck in mind in this event is Queens performance and the trip of Phil Collins from London to the U.S. to play another stint of Live Aid flying via Concord on the same day.

[@jeffreyg607]

No, 3/4 of LZ ruined their performance at Live Aid. I was down front at the LONDON show, having flown over from the USA :) My guys OWNED THAT DAY!! Met all my heroes 😊

[@BBSC123]

I was watching them on mtv in 85. I agree with Phil i was just excited to see zep reunited. I never judged their performance. I never once thought something was wrong because PC was drumming. I was glad Phil was there.

[@RunOfTheHind]

It was the 80s, so obviously Page smothered his tone with flange/chorus. 'Tis why I'm glad Hendrix died in '70.

[@tonymills4971]

Great commentary from Phil, he wasnt the problem at this show. Having a guitarist who was obviously off his face and out of tune is never going to go well.

[@andrewbclinton]

fun fact - the famine in Ethiopia was caused by a communist revolution, a lot of the Live aid aid went to the guy that caused the famine in the first place. Che Guevara was also involved in the communist uprising, you see his face all the time on music fans T-shirts

[@moonlightbay4814]

Che Guevara was killed in Colombia in 1967. The Ethiopian revolution was in 1974. The Ethiopian famine was in 1984. Live Aid was in the summer on 1985. Maybe I misunderstood. Were you making a joke by saying that he was involved in Mengistu's revolution because he was on t-shirts?

[@PaulGTerry]

got any more info on that?

[@SenserAwe]

@@PaulGTerry The Marxist Derg ousted the leader of Ethiopia Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, as with all communist countries that have ever existed there is a honeymoon period until all the stolen money runs out and everyone starves, it happened in Cuba, the USSR, China, Cambodia, Venezuela,,,everywhere. It was "revealed" later that Live aid and Oxfam funds were distributed to Derg operatives. It seems obvious to me that any "aid" will always go to helping whoever is in control of that area,like how all that aid went to helping Hamas in Palestine. Che Guevara the guy you see all the time on T-shirts at music festivals was leading the fighting on the ground all across Africa and South America, he wrote about his time in Africa in his book "The motor cycle diarys", he described the blacks as "lazy, smelly, unable to follow orders and come the revolution he will do nothing for them". Its a bit ironic Mike Tyson has a tattoo of the racist Guevara. I was in a band, we played a lot of festivals and supported Rage against the machine where you would see loads of people wearing Guevara T-shirts, it used to drive me mad, I would end up shouting at a lot of them. Che was in charge of banning my music, and all western music from Cuba, he was also in charge of creating the gulags in Cuba where all sorts of people were sent to be shot "against the wall" including homosexuals.

[@Lige]

Che died in 1967.

[@SenserAwe]

@@Lige yep, he died a coward pleading for his life.He went on a world tour in 1964 spreading violent communist revolution around the world

[@alexpaulyoungthemuso3937]

Most simple answer is no Phil did his best to help out his friends and the quality of their performance comes down to all of them It was not his fault

[@jakethepitador2558]

All I know is I have to get Phil's book. Just that one excerpt from his memoir alone was awesome!

[@Teddy31976]

I remember watching that and Phil was on point. He doesn't drink and was the only good thing about that moment.

[@DancingwithGhosts]

well... at that TIME he didn't really drink, 20 years later though he would become a bad alcoholic

[@bigdaddydk6460]

Led Zeppelin ignited my flame for rock and roll 22 years ago. Phil Collins’s Tarzan soundtrack was my childhood. This video was so fucking interesting to me and I really appreciate you for making it. Thank you bro!

[@DancingwithGhosts]

thank you so much!

[@FarmerSlideJoeBob]

And Josh has uploaded a video tonight, oh laaawd. Realrap here: The first live aid and the one in the 2000s were good shows to watch. And I kinda like the first one cos of Sade.

[@DancingwithGhosts]

yeah it's crazy to think she's an "80's artist", her music sounds so timeless

[@TDM1165]

@@DancingwithGhosts sade is amazing. I remember buying the 7 inch single vinyl of smooth operator, I’ve the 12 inch of the immortal progressive no ordinary love, she’s massively underrated

[@FarmerSlideJoeBob]

@@DancingwithGhosts You got m heart with those words and yes her music is damn timeless :)

[@FarmerSlideJoeBob]

@@TDM1165 fully agreed on this!

[@colinmitchell9128]

Simple answer: No. They didn't need any help to make a mess of it they did it all on their own.

[@ogopogo6236]

I blame Trump.

[@Runicen]

Thank you. Think the proof is in the pudding. Plant has had a solid solo career (fitting with Phil's "alchemy" comments), but Page has barely done anything outside of Zeppelin and what he has done tended to fall apart or just go dark. Just ask David Coverdale trying to get a reissue of Coverdale-Page out...

[@morrisanderson3180]

you’re not wrong.

[@johndefenderfer5946]

I'll preface this by saying that I am not a huge fan of Led Zeppelin, but I admire much of their work. With saying that, they probably should've skipped Live Aid and the drama, the inebriation and the major Primadona attitudes that went with it.

[@jcapone0101]

Phil is a good dude.. ran into him twice this past year at Daytona Hard Rock. Always friendly.

[@artemusmusic]

It was so many things but Tony Thompson didn't help. The man was already an in demand drummer in the 80s, he didn't need to be flashy to get a future Zep gig if he wanted it. But he was trying to audition which got in the way of just sounding tight

[@bohs1984]

Led Zeppelin was ALWAYS a hit-or-miss band, even in the glory years. To expect them to come up on stage and nail it with no rehearsal was a bit of a bridge too far. Hell, Phil was probably the ONLY one up there who actually practiced for the gig. It certainly didn't help that Jimmy was WAY out of tune and couldn't even bother to properly tune his guitar for the gig.

[@EdA1]

Interesting take on all of this and that’s the first time I’m hearing that Phil Collins interview if it’s actually him and not AI? I was at the live aid show and of course in a live situation It sounded much better than it ended up sounding on the television broadcast. I do have to bring up one major sticking point I have with what you said. I saw Zeppelin five times from 1972 to 1977. By 1973 Roberts roadworn vocals he could no longer hit the highs. Believe me in 1972 without any studio trickery as you called it he hit the highs all day long. More importantly than that in 1969 and 1970 Robert Plant would blow your head off with his vocals live. If you’ve never taken the time to listen to the hundreds of bootlegs out there of the live shows from those early days and hear Robert do everything that he did in the studio and more, then honestly, you have no business commenting on whether Robert was actually able to sing like you heard in the studio. What you’re hearing on those first four albums is real deal without embellishing, and Robert pulled it all off effortlessly back in the early days until he blew out his voice and could never quite get there again. Go put on Paris 1969 communication breakdown and tell me that Roberts not able to hit the highs lol.

[@ashtraydekay6624]

Man, i havent watched the video yet, but i know all about this.... It wasnt Phils fault...it was that damned second drummer they hired, like THAT guy thought he was going to be in the band....and just kept screwing up everything, edit i am only 5 mins in, and damn,i didnt know it was such a soap opera, and he had committed to like a handful of things.....Geeze

[@DancingwithGhosts]

oh yeah, he definitely over-booked himself.. but drummers are the biggest whores in any band.. most drummers are in several projects at any given time.

[@RonG40]

Plant lost his range between 72 and 73, with any amount of consistency. Page was hit or miss even at his peak, and clearly wasn't up to the task. The blame lies squarely on their chemically altered shoulders. At the time, Collins threw some shots at Tony Thompson, trying to, if not blame him outright, suggest that his tempo was off. In a interview, Thompson said "with all due respect to Mr. Collins", but he was at the rehearsals. At the end of the day, Bonzo himself could have rose from the grave, and it wouldn't have saved Page and Plant's performance. Here's the thing though: At the time, I saw it live on TV, and my brother was actually there. I watched the performance in horror, and he and his friends came home thinking they saw the second coming. I imagine if it wasn't televised, it wouldn't have been the legendary horror show it became known for. Phil Collins is an amazing drummer, but should have sat that one out, if only not to get scapegoated. But then, he was the definition of ubiquitous at the time.

[@DancingwithGhosts]

you know... i've gone through a lot of concerts and this is a universal truth: It always sounds better live when you're there in person compared to watching a shitty performance on DVD/KZbin/Whatever

[@gktde9874]

Phil Collins was the original drummer of Brand X. Jimmy Page in 1000 years could never play Brand X music. It was NEVER Phil 's fault!