Led Zeppelin awarded in person; Page, Plant and Jones accept GQ's top honor in London

All three original surviving members of Led Zeppelin made a surprise appearance in London Tuesday when the bandmates shared a podium to receive GQ's Men of the Year award for 2008.

"The U.K.'s most celebrated awards ceremony," held at London's Royal Opera House, marked the first public appearance together by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones since they performed a one-off concert last December, also in London, with Jason Bonham filling in for his late father on drums. That exclusive performance, which reunited the group's surviving members for their first full show since 1980, is the reason the Led Zeppelin members earned GQ's Outstanding Achievement award.

Page and Jones were on hand in June when another magazine, Mojo, honored Led Zeppelin with an award as voted on by readers to recognize the live show. Plant, however, was touring the United States when his Led Zeppelin bandmates picked up the Mojo award in person.

It is also Plant who was absent earlier this year while Page, Jones and Bonham were jamming on new material in England.

Surely, much could be made of Plant's photo op with Page and Jones at the GQ Men of the Year award ceremony in London on Sept. 2. For now, all that can be discerned from this rare appearance by all three original surviving members of Led Zeppelin is that they are, for now, willing to look back and appreciate their long and storied past.

Many fans are quick to call this month Zeptember, and rightly so, as the coming weeks are to include several reminders of Led Zeppelin's magic. Namely:

• At Knebworth Field House, the site of the band's final U.K. concerts in 1979, a fan-initiated memorabilia exhibition celebrating Led Zeppelin closes today with a scheduled personal appearance by Zacron, the artist behind the group's third album.
• Page is slated to walk the red carpet of the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 5, for the world premiere of "It Might Get Loud," a movie joining him with fellow guitar superstars The Edge and Jack White.
• This Sunday, Sept. 7, marks the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's first live performance. Fans in Denmark who were present for that historic moment in 1968 will relive it 40 years to the day when a Led Zeppelin tribute band recreates the group's famous music.
• This month, author Frank Reddon of Enzepplopedia fame is to release the first book of a series recounting Led Zeppelin's early years in detail, as told by numerous voices including some previously untapped primary sources who witnessed the group's power firsthand.
• Led Zeppelin has been nominated for a Vodafone live music award in the category of best live return, again for the O2 Arena concert. Winners are to be announced at the third annual ceremony, to be held Sept. 18 in London.