Earlier this week, a new video interview with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page conducted by the Academy of Achievement circulated on social media. In it, the guitarist hinted at some special plans in the works on the horizon to commemorate the iconic British rock band’s 50th anniversary in 2018. As Page states in the interview, “There’ll be Led Zeppelin product coming out, for sure, that people haven’t heard,” before adding that, “next year will be the 50th year, so there’s all manner of surprises coming out.”
Today, the band has issued confirmation of the first of the Led Zeppelin 50th anniversary surprises Page teased in the interview: an illustrated book that features creative input from each of the surviving members of the band (Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones). The book was announced via a post on the band’s social media accounts:
As the post reads, “Led Zeppelin are pleased to announce that Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones are collaborating with Reel Art Press to publish the official illustrated book celebrating 50 years since the formation of the group. Coming 2018.” As of now, not further information about the project has been made available. The social media post directs fans who want to know more about the project to the Reel Art Press website, which displays the same image as the post on its home page and offers the option to subscribe for further updates.
While the surprises fans truly want to see–new music and, in an ideal world, a live reunion–are still a mystery, he fact that Page, Plant, and Jones are collaborating on anything appears to be a step in a positive direction from where the members’ relationship has stood in recent years. Here’s hoping this is just the beginning of a big year of LZ50.
Watch Jimmy Page’s full video interview with the Academy of Achievement below via the Academy of Achievement YouTube page:
[h/t – Rolling Stone]
[Cover photo via AP Photo/NY Post]