"I Nearly Lost My Mind!"

4:49 PM GMT 08/11/2012

One of the hardest hitting drummers of his generation, Matt Helders was one of the lucky 18,000 souls that packed London's O2 Arena on that fateful December night five years ago. He interrupts his current US sojourn with his band, the Arctic Monkeys, to take the time to reminisce about the Zep show documented in Celebration Day.

When did you first hear Led Zeppelin?

I must have heard Led Zeppelin a long time before realising who it was or actually getting into them properly. I remember my friend Joe Green playing me How The West Was Won, the live album [featuring performances from 1972, released in 2003]. It was when I first started playing drums so it was obviously an amazing thing to hear. I listened to [John Bonham's] full 20-minute Moby Dick solo and was blown away.

How did you feel when they announced they were playing the O2?

I was very excited to hear about the O2 show and knew I had to go! From what they said, it was a one-time only thing and wasn't going to happen again.

How did you get to the O2, who did you go with and what were you thinking of on the way there?

We were on tour at the time with The Rascals so a couple of those guys came and me, Nick [O'Malley, Arctic Monkeys' bassist] and Jamie [Cook, guitarist] went and a few others. We were all buzzing on the way there in the car, didn't really know what to expect but knew it was going to be special!

How did you feel when the lights went down?

I had butterflies. And when they started with the video footage as their backdrop I was getting very excited! Then unnoticed, the band came on stage and as soon as the video screen stopped, they started with Good Times Bad Times and I nearly lost my mind!

What were the highlights of the set?

The start was really hard to follow in terms of my reaction but from what I remember Dazed And Confused was a bit of a moment for me.

How did you view Jason Bonham's performance?

I thought it was incredible and he more than did it justice. It was perfect that it was him and he definitely pulled it off. He's an amazing player.

What is your enduring memory of the show?

It has to be the opening of the set. It blew me away. The adrenaline was incredible when they started the first stabs of Good Times Bad Times

What did the entire Zep experience teach you?

It's never too late to blow people's minds!

2007 REMEMBERED! Read Roy Harper and U2's The Edge on their memories of Zep's O2 triumph exclusively in this month's issue of the magazine available at all good retailers and here.

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 4:49 PM GMT 08/11/2012