39 years ago today - on Dec. 4, 1980 -  Led Zeppelin made the difficult decision to break up, two months after the death of drummer John Bonham. 

 

The band was supposed to begin an extensive tour in the fall of 1980 when Bonham passed away.  The tour was canceled and rumors swirled about whether the band would continue on with a new drummer. 

 

However, the surviving members ultimately decided that it was not right to continue with someone else playing drums. 

 

"We wish it to be known, that the loss of our dear friend and the deep respect we have for his family, together with the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were."
 

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones have occasionally worked and recorded together, but reunions of all three have been few and far between.

 

They took part at Live Aid in 1985, with Phil Collins and the Power Station's Tony Thompson on drums.

 

In 1988, they played Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert with Jason Bonham (John’s son) banging the drums.

 

The band also reunited in  2007 at London's 02 Arena.

 

Below you can hear (amazing quality) audio from their final concert with John Bonham on drums – from 7/7/1980 in Berlin, Germany

 

 

 

Set List:

 

01 - The Train Kept a Rollin' (00:00)

02 - Nobody's Fault But Mine (03:14)

03 - Black Dog (09:43)

04 - In the Evening (15:55)

05 - The Rain Song (25:10)

06 - Hot Dog (33:48)

07 - All My Love (37:41)

08 - Trampled Underfoot (44:22)

09 - Since I've Been Loving You (56:47)

10 - White Summer/Black Mountain Side (1:07:46)

11 - Kashmir (1:25:17)

12 - Stairway To Heaven (1:36:10)

13 - Rock And Roll (1:52:38)

14 - Whole Lotta Love (1:57:06)

15 - The Radio Report (2:15:32)