The band, which reunited for a tribute to the late Ahmet Ertegun last December, is said to have already begun auditioning replacement singers for Plant, who has dragged his feet with regard to a reformed Zep.

Bassist John Paul Jones told BBC Radio although he, guitarist Jimmy Page and drummer Jason Bonham are raring to go, the search is a complicated one.

“We want to do it. It’s sounding great and we want to get on and get out there,” Jones explained.

“It’s got to be right. There’s no point in just finding another Robert. You could get that out of a tribute band, but we don’t want to be our own tribute band.”