John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonhamwas an English drummer, musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast bass-drumming, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove. He is considered one of the greatest rock drummers...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth31 May 1948
ukulele gigs nerves
My nerves before a gig got worse; I had terrible bad nerves all the time. Once we started... I was fine.
soul sound feels
I don't consider that I'm particularly influenced by anyone or anything. But when I started playing, I was influenced by early soul. It was just that feel, that sound.
night hands long
I remember in the early days when we played six nights a week for a month and I was doing my long drum solo every night. My hands were covered in blisters.
school nuts determined
Most of it was nuts, but I was determined to be a drummer as soon as I left school.
children abuse steps
Mistreating your drum set is just one step below child abuse
dad coffee years
I've wanted to be a drummer since I was about five years old. I used to play on a bath salt container with wires on the bottom, and on a round coffee tin with a loose wire fixed to it to give a snare drum effect. Plus there were always my Mum's pots and pans. When I was ten, my Mum bought me a snare drum. My Dad bought me my first full drum kit when I was 15. It was almost prehistoric. Most of it was rust.
people care annoying
People who don't take care of their drums really annoy me.
ems brushes hard
Brushes..? Nah. Hit 'em as hard as you can.
silly writing lessons
I never had any lessons. When I first started playing I used to read music. I was very interested in music. But when I started playing in groups I did a silly thing and dropped it. It's great if you can write things down.
moon world keith
I'm the Best Keith Moon-type drummer in the world.
guitar play important
I've always been obsessed with drums. They fascinate me. Any other instrument - nothing. I play acoustic guitar a bit. But it's always been drums first and foremost. I don't reckon on this Jack-of-all-trades thing. I thing that felling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts.
drinking tired blow
I dare not drink before a gig because I'll get tired and blow it. So I have to sit drinking tea in a caravan.
fear looks lad
There were times when I blundered and got the dreaded look from the lads. But that was a good sign. It showed I'd attempted something I'd not tried before.
likes sound solo
Not everybody likes or understands a drum solo, so I like to bring in effects and sounds to keep their interest.