Phil Collins’ Brutal Memories of Led Zeppelin’s “Dark, Sulphurous” Reunion for Live Aid
In 1985, the Live Aid concert was a seismic event in the world of music. It was a fundraiser designed to alleviate the suffering caused by the Ethiopian famine, but it also became a cultural milestone, drawing together the greatest musical talents of the era for a show that would be remembered for generations.
Among the headlining acts was Led Zeppelin, one of the most legendary rock bands in history.
The reunion of the band’s surviving members — Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and drummer Phil Collins — was a spectacle in itself, but in retrospect, Phil Collins’ memories of that performance are nothing short of brutal.
The reunion of Led Zeppelin, after years of inactivity since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, had a lot of anticipation surrounding it.
Fans of the band had longed for the band to play again, but this performance, which took place at Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium in front of an audience of over 90,000 people, was not the grand return many had hoped for.
While the set was powerful and filled with all the legendary songs that made Led Zeppelin famous, it was not without its flaws — and Collins, who found himself part of the legendary lineup, had some rather blunt reflections on the performance.
The Setup: A Reunion with High Expectations
Live Aid had been put together quickly, and its schedule was packed with legendary acts like Queen, David Bowie, and U2.
The pressure was on, and the reunion of Led Zeppelin was one of the most talked-about moments leading up to the show.
The band hadn’t performed together in five years, and with Bonham’s tragic passing in 1980, it seemed impossible that they would ever play again.
But in a move that surprised many, the surviving members decided to reunite for the benefit concert.
Phil Collins, who was already an established solo artist and the drummer for Genesis, had been tapped to take Bonham’s place on the drums.
In a 2008 interview, Collins gave his candid, often unflattering recollections of the band’s performance that day.
He didn’t mince words when describing what went wrong and why the whole event felt “dark” and “sulphurous.”
The Struggles of the Performance
Collins was blunt in his assessment of the Live Aid performance.
He recalled the chaos and confusion leading up to the band’s set, which only added to the tension.
In an interview, Collins mentioned the internal strife among the members, the rustiness of the band after years apart, and the pressure of the moment.
“If you watch the video, you can see Jimmy [Page] dribbling onstage, Robert [Plant] not hitting the notes, and me miming, playing the air,” Collins said.
For many, watching Led Zeppelin perform at Live Aid was a moment of nostalgia and hope. For Collins, however, it was a far less glamorous experience. The problems were numerous: Page was visibly out of sync with the band, Plant struggled with his vocals, and the overall performance was marred by the fact that the band had not rehearsed nearly enough.
One of the most iconic moments during the performance was when Jimmy Page struggled with his guitar work, playing more sloppily than usual. He was visibly frustrated, and the performance seemed to be slipping out of their control. Collins, on the other hand, was doing his best to fill in for Bonham, but the absence of the band’s original chemistry was evident.
The Reality of Drumming in Bonham’s Shadow
The issue of replacing John Bonham’s powerful drumming loomed large in the performance. Bonham was one of the most influential rock drummers of all time, and his presence had defined the band’s sound. Collins, who had his own style and was known for his work with Genesis and as a solo artist, found himself in an unenviable position. He had to replicate Bonham’s hard-hitting style, but it was clear that Collins was no Bonham.
In a 2008 interview, Collins admitted to feeling somewhat like an outsider during the Live Aid performance. “It was a difficult position for me to be in,” he said. “John Bonham was irreplaceable, and I was just filling in for one day. It was a lot of pressure, and to be honest, I didn’t feel the magic that the band once had.”
While Collins gave it his all and filled in as best he could, it was evident that the band lacked the fluidity they once had. The sound felt stilted and uncoordinated, with the chemistry that had made Led Zeppelin such a groundbreaking band nowhere to be found. The band’s sound was thinner without Bonham’s driving rhythm, and there were moments when it felt like they were going through the motions rather than putting on a truly inspired performance.
The Atmosphere: “Dark” and “Sulphurous”
Collins’ descriptions of the atmosphere surrounding Led Zeppelin’s reunion performance are particularly harsh. In his recollections, he referred to the entire experience as “dark” and “sulphurous.” The word “sulphurous” brings to mind a sense of something foul, even toxic — an apt description given the tense and uncomfortable energy that seemed to permeate the band’s performance. While the crowd was undoubtedly excited to see the band reunite, the members themselves were far from comfortable.
There were underlying tensions in the band, particularly between Plant and Page, who had a strained relationship in the years following Bonham’s death. Plant, whose voice had changed over the years and who was often uncomfortable with the idea of a reunion, struggled to deliver the soaring vocals that had once defined the band’s sound. Page, despite being one of the greatest guitarists of all time, appeared disoriented, struggling to keep up with the pace of the performance.
For Collins, who was known for his professionalism and calm demeanor, the whole thing felt far from the rock ‘n’ roll spectacle it was meant to be. There was no sense of unity among the band members, and the magic of Led Zeppelin’s prime was nowhere to be found. The performance felt more like an obligation than a celebration.
The Aftermath: A Missed Opportunity
In the years following Live Aid, Collins would reflect on the missed opportunity that the Led Zeppelin reunion represented. Though the band would go on to play a handful of other reunion shows — including a more celebrated 2007 performance in London — the 1985 set would forever be remembered as a less-than-ideal reunion.
While Live Aid was a historic event and the performance did manage to bring the surviving members of Led Zeppelin back together, it was clear that the band was never meant to perform without Bonham. The band’s legacy was built on their perfect synergy and incredible musical chemistry, and when that chemistry was disrupted, the results were less than magical.
For Collins, the experience was a harsh reality check about the difficulty of stepping into a legendary band’s shoes. “It wasn’t the dream I had hoped for,” he would later admit. “It wasn’t the triumph it could have been. It was just a dark, sulphurous moment in the band’s history.”
Despite the underwhelming performance, Live Aid remains a monumental moment in rock history. It gave fans a taste of what might have been, even if it wasn’t quite the full-throttle reunion everyone had imagined. But for Collins, the memory of that performance remains one of bittersweet regret — a moment when the magic of Led Zeppelin was gone, and the reality of their fractured unity took center stage.
Leave a Reply