It’s starting to look like classic rock reunion rumors are kryptonite for actual reunions.
For weeks, blogs and music magazines carved out rumors of a possible Led Zeppelin reunion: Will the band go on without Robert Plant? Is Scott Weiland going to stand in? How about Chris Cornell? Everyone was asking questions (this site included), but all the hoopla became moot when Jimmy Page’s manager squashed the gossiping and added the word “never” to the chances of a reunion tour from one of rock’s most successful acts.
In the last couple days the same hysteria both started and ended in record time with breaking news from UK’s Daily Mail about a Faces reunion album and tour with Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, and then-rumored replacement bassist Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Today both Rod Stewart and Flea’s spokespersons have ruled out the rumors and the newest gossip is that Stewart and Wood didn’t really get along when they last tried to reunite.
“There are no plans for a Faces reunion tour this year,” Stewart’s spokesperson told Billboard, while Flea’s spokesperson says they haven’t heard anything about it either. Apparently, these guys don’t read the Internet!
It is possible the viral nature of Internet news puts too much pressure too early on these bands that both rock and have a rocky history. The original article on the “Faces With Flea” reunion has been pulled from Daily Mail’s site, but the damage is done with the dashed hopes of Faces fans written all over Google’s cache.
All that bloggers, journalists and gossipers can do with this new reunion-squashing ability is use it for good. And I‘ll start: Is Creed going to reunite? What if Robert Plant stands in for Scott Stapp?