THE ZEP STILL FLIES HIGH IN READERS’ SKIES

Call them dinosaurs. Buy them a hearing aid. Say you’ll blow up your radio if you hear “Stairway to Heaven” one more time on KMET-FM.

Defunct, but not forgotten, Led Zeppelin still rules with Pop Eye readers, who overwhelmingly voted the original heavy-metal magicians as the band they’d most like to see stage a reunion concert. In the just-tabulated results of last month’s reader poll, Zeppelin won 12% of the vote, easily outdistancing the competition. (Several respondents, noting that former Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page now plays with ex-Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers, suggested a duel reunion, with the Firm serving as an opening act for both Zeppelin and Bad Company.)

Other heavy vote-getters included the Yardbirds (another band that once featured Page), the Young Rascals, the Doobie Brothers, Credence Clearwater Revival, Pink Floyd, the Buffalo Springfield, the Runaways, Love and (we kid you not) the Archies. Other pop fanatics cast votes for such unlikely choices as the Buddy Miles Express, Japan, Procol Harum and Gary Puckett & the Union Gap.

Not every reader advocated a get-together on musical merit alone.

John Dauss of Oceanside impishly suggested an all-time deceased band, with Elvis, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Mama Cass serving as lead vocalists.

Barbara Bryson of Los Angeles voted for a trio of groups--Crabby Appleton, Matthews’ Southern Comfort and the Joy of Cooking, “just because of their names.”

Joshua Phillips of Pasadena was one of several readers lobbying for the Buzzcocks, saying: “I think they should get back together because (1) they’re all still alive and (2) they’ve got nothing better to do.”

Another reader, Les Burrden of Rosemead, had an even more novel suggestion: “Instead of getting groups back together, I request that the Rolling Stones break up.”

And of course we had several readers recommending revivals of bands we didn’t realize had even split up, with votes going to Duran Duran, the Police and (geez, those Dead Heads are so spacey) the Grateful Dead.

Here are the winners, with additional comments:

1--Led Zeppelin: “Despite total ignorance of the media for the past 17 years,” wrote Rick Gold of Palm Springs, “the collective genius known as Led Zeppelin will never be outdone.”

2--The Doobie Brothers: “If I could see only one concert in my lifetime,” wrote Nita Long of Pinon Hills, “it would be to see the Doobie Brothers, reunited again, just one more time (preferably at the Universal Amphitheatre, but I’m not picky).”

3--The Yardbirds: Larry Fiske at UC San Diego noted that “Keith Relf would have to be filled in for since he’s not alive anymore. One possible replacement could be Eric Burdon.”

4--Pink Floyd: Saquib Rasheed, a 20-year-old from Pasadena, said he has “patented himself” as the band’s “No. 1 fan,” noting that his license plate reads: “IAMPINK.” He explained: “Between January, 1985, and today, I have spent over $2,000 on Pink Floyd material, and have accumulated over 145 Pink Floyd records from 14 different foreign countries.”

5--The Runaways: Nick Gonzales of Baldwin Park noted, “The reunion would probably take place at a bowling alley somewhere, but with a lineup that included Joan Jett, Lita Ford and Cherie Curie . . . I’d lace up the three-tone shoes.”

6--The Archies: “It’s high time to bring back a group that revolutionized and has forever changed the course of rock history,” said D. Debbs, a cartoonist from Vista, who also proposed a reunion of Josie & the Pussycats.

7--The Strawberry Alarm Clock: “It would be totally rad to hear ‘Incense & Peppermints’ live,” said Deborah A. Richard of L.A.

8--The Sir Douglas Quintet: One fan, David Crosley of Redondo Beach, noted, “The fact that these guys played out of tune (and time) here and there only adds to their charm.”

9--The Velvet Underground: “Their whole era was before I was born,” wrote in Lesley Keagle, age 15, of Upland. “But I still want to know what all this talk about the ‘legendary Velvet Underground’ means.”

10--(tie) Styx: Tammy James of Cypress blames the breakup on Tommy Shaw, saying, “As far as I’m concerned, Dennis De Young should get the group going again--without Tommy. Styx survived before his arrival; they can survive again.”

10--The Partridge Family: David Rasmussen of Woodland Hills noted, “Then maybe we won’t have to put up with Shirley Jones on Ralphs’ commercials.”