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14 quotes by John Bonham

Led Zeppelin portal John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English 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. Rolling Stone readers named him "best drummer of all time" in 2011.
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Drumming was the only thing I was ever good at.

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My nerves before a gig got worse; I had terrible bad nerves all the time. Once we started... I was fine.

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

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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... →

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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.

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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.

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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... →

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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... →

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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... →

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Not everybody likes or understands a drum solo, so I like to bring in effects and sounds to keep their interest.

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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... →

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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... →

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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... →

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