Drummer Spotlight - Monthly featured drummers that are a continual inspiration to me and my playing

John Bonham - the start of everything

Where to begin.
I don’t believe I would be playing drums today if it weren’t for Bonham.
If someone praises me for my playing, asks how I learned or sometimes just exists near me, I’ll tell them this story.

I was about 17 and not long been playing. I’d moved back to my mum’s house for college. A couple of years before, I’d picked up a Premier Olympic double bass drum kit with stands and hardware new for £500 - using the money from several Birthdays, Christmases and pleading.
I’d sometimes managed to set it up at (my good friend) Caspian’s house. But when I’d moved back home, I had an opportunity to set it up IN MY ROOM. Sure, it had to have pads on it, the cymbals may as well have been made of cardboard (drums actually sounded alright) and of course there was only enough room to setup the one bass drum.
But it was the first time I’d been able to spend any time playing or learning. Everything up to this point had been air drumming or on my leg (not to underestimate the value of that, I actually learned a lot without ever touching drums).

One day my girlfriend and I went into town, we somehow had enough to buy a CD. We had a look around and an album caught my attention. It was How the West Was Won, one of Led Zeppelin’s live albums. I’d listened to a fair amount of Zeppelin by this point. It’s likely that they were my favourite band. But I’d not seen this one before. I got it.

I spent the next few months learning every note, the tempo fluctuations, the mistakes and eventually, the techniques - but I’ll get onto that in a moment.

Inspired by Bonham, I decided I needed to upgrade some of my gear. But I had no money. A Ludwig came up on eBay for £100. I think I was given some money and borrowed some more. We didn’t have the internet so we rang up my friend’s mum and she bought it. It was a white 80s Ludwig Rocker ii shell pack. Certainly not fancy but felt really special to me. I recently gave that kit away to an ex-bandmate, I hope it’s being looked after.
The biggest problem was the horrible pedal supplied with the Premier.
A friend said he had a load of drum gear in his attic that nobody would notice going missing - I think his mum had acquired it from the Status Quo drummer, or something.
He sold me a hi-hat stand, a plastic 1970s Jacques Capelle Bass Drum Pedal and a pair of 1970s 15” Paiste 2002 Sound Edge hats for £5 and a ten bag of weed. It’s safe to say we did not know the value of those hats until many, many years later. Sidenote, I still use those hats to this day! They’ve had a couple of repairs but they’re irreplaceable to me.

Armed with this new gear, I set about learning the famous Bonham bass drum doubles technique. Weeks of sliding my foot, trying to get it right. I remember the moment it clicked. It was like unlocking this whole new world. It’s the technique I continue to use more than any other. It’s a staple of my identity on the drums.

I continued to grow my collection of albums and live shows, learning every note and mistake.

I find it criminally tragic when tribute acts play songs as recorded. The soul is in the live performances.

So yeah, that’s my little story about Bonham and how he influenced my playing. I am who I am because of Bonham. Thank you.