John Bonham Quotes

United Kingdom, Musician
May 31, 1948 – September, 25, 1980.

John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer for the British rock band Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast bass drumming, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove. He is regarded by many as the greatest and most influential rock drummer in history. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 1 in their list of the "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time".

Also known as Songwriter, Drummer

With Zeppelin, I tried to play something different every night in my solos. I'd play for 20 minutes but the longest ever was 30 minutes. It's a long time, but whenI was playing it seemed to fly by.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- Time
- Different
- Long
If we'd have said we were not upset, they would have thought we were so rich it meant nothing to us, and if we say we're upset about it, they'll say money is all we care about.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- Money

People who don't take care of their drums really annoy me.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- People
Drumming was the only thing I was ever good at.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- Good
We had offers to go everywhere and we could have done them. But what would have been the point? We were tired. We had worked hard and needed a break before we got stale. We spent six months at home and writing songs.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- Writing
- Done
- Home
I hate it when people slag us off. We had done three tours during 1970 and we finished off feeling we had just about had enough. We had done so much in that short space of time, we were drained.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- People
- Time
- Done
My nerves before a gig got worse; I had terrible bad nerves all the time. Once we started... I was fine.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- Time
- Bad
Not everybody likes or understands a drum solo, so I like to bring in effects and sounds to keep their interest.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin

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.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- Long
- Remember
- Night
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.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- Tired
- Blow
- Drinking
We once did six tours of America in 15 months.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- America
Sometimes you'd come up against a brick wall... or sometimes you go into a fill and you'd know halfway through it was going to be disastrous.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- Up
- Wall
There was absolutely no intention of splitting up. We had so many great ideas to use on the new album. John Paul Jones was incredible, coming to the studio each day with new instruments to play.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- Up
- Great
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.

John Bonham Led Zeppelin
- Good