Led Zeppelin explains absence from iconic Black Sabbath gig

Led Zeppelin star, Robert Plant just made a shocking confession of turning down the opportunity to play at Back To The Beginning.

The iconic 76-year-old rocker gave an interview to Mojo where he revealed guitarist Tony Iommi had invited him to attend Black Sabbath's farewell concert, that also marked the legendary Ozzy Osbourne's final performance before his death on July 22.

“I said, Tony, I’d love to come, but I can’t come,” Plant recalled, adding, “I just can’t. I’m not saying that I’d rather hang out with Peter Gabriel or Youssou N’Dour, but I don’t know anything about what’s going on in that world now, at all. I don’t decry it, I’ve got nothing against it. It’s just I found these other places that are so rich.”

Additionally, the Stairway To Heaven talent also talked about his perspective on gigging, which may have played a part in his informed decision to not attend a show as large as Back to the Beginning.

“For me, because I’ve been from a very questionable Live Aid to the O2, to Obama and the White House and all those things, I was beatified. I felt the tug of doing this — Saving Grace needed just to move on up in glory, as Mavis [Staples] would say. We’ve got to be very careful now that we make sure it stays closer to Bert Jansch than Axl Rose,” the artist explained.

"The gigs are small enough so that if nobody wants to go, it’s not the end of the world. And so, by having that laissez-faire, easy-going, whatever it’s called — suicidal! — attitude, instead of doing the football stadium with some old mates, there it was: we were free. We could mess about,” Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin concluded.

It is also pertinent to mention that as Black Sabbath marked their farewell with Back To The Beginning, many contemporary as well as legendary artists were invited to perform including, Mastodon, Slayer, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Rival Sons, Anthrax, Halestorm, Pantera, Tool, Gojira, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Yungblud and more.