I'm a few days late posting on this - the actual anniversary of Bonham's death was Sunday, September 25. Saturday night into Sunday morning, I had the pleasure of blasting the 4/27/69 Fillmore West shows on Brett's uncle Kent's stereo while drinking wine around a campfire. On Sunday, I worked at Sears and paid my respects by playing the August 4, 1979 Knebworth show at high volume.
For me though, the day is less about celebrating what the man produced than it is about wondering just what might have been. The 1980 American tour had just been announced and tickets were going on sale. 1981 contained the promises of a new album, about which Bonham and Page had both been quoted as saying that they wanted to be a hard-hitting return to form after what some regarded as a lackluster effort on In Through the Out Door. I've often speculated that a harder Zeppelin album could have influenced the whole direction of the 1980s (think less cheesy keyboard/synthesizer effects). An underdeveloped song called alternately "Fire" or "Say You're Gonna Leave Me" can be found on bootleg copies of some of the band's last work, and it provides a tantalizing glimpse at what we could have realistically expected from a ninth Zeppelin studio release.
Dave Lewis has an excellent piece on http://tblweb.com/ - go to the Dave Lewis Diary link on the left hand side and read the 25th September post. Here is a passage:
"All that optimism and hope would evaporate over the next few hours.
The first call came just after 7pm. Carolyn from Newcastle, one of the initial Tight But Loose subscribers told me the shocking news she'd just heard. John Bonham had been found dead at Jimmy Page's Windsor home. I refused to believe it. ''How can it be?'' I explained ''They are in Bray rehearsing''.
I said I'd make some calls. I was in my bedroom so I turned on the radio and waited for the 7.30 news on Radio One. Surely if it was true it would be a lead item. It wasn't and for a few seconds I hung on to the hope it was all a mistake. Then it happened:''This news just in. Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham has been found dead....''
I just couldn't believe it. I rushed down to my Mum and Dad in a state of shock. My brother John came over to calm me down - the phone was constantly ringing from other fans and even a couple of radio stations in America wanting confirmation. John ushered me out to get a drink in a pub across town where I met up with my fellow Bedford Earls Court vets Dec and Tom also both shocked and stunned. I spent the night at Dec's finally going to sleep around 4am.
In the morning in a daze I walked the two miles home stopping in a newspaper shop (further irony - the shop is a stones throw from the house where years later I would move to). There in all the papers was the devastating news in cold hard print. The Daily Mail had a picture of Bonzo on stage at Earls Court on the front ....
I sat on a nearby bench and cried.
The next 48 hours passed in a blur. I stayed at my brothers on Friday. I was too upset to go to work until Monday. I did somehow manage to turn out for soccer on Sunday morning. I couldn't let my teammates down and got through it (we won 10-1 but it mattered little).
My world had turned upside down. Zeppelin had been so much a part of it for so long and it was gone. There was no way it could continue without Bonzo. I did not consider them carrying on from the moment I heard the news. The was grief from all quarters. Obviously for John's family, the group and their entourage.
Selfishly I guess also for myself - matters were further compounded on a personal level as I was undergoing the aftermath and fall out of an intense love affair that had dominated the last few months. The lady concerned reappeared that weekend worried after the catastrophic news knowing I'd be upset. It gave me false hope we might rekindle the affair. That was definitely not on her agenda. More misery.
I rang Unity at Swan Song on Monday. She was very supportive and informed me they all felt the magazine should go out as soon as possible. I wrote a new editorial which was one of the most painful things I've ever written.
I did think about going to the funeral but decided against it. It was just all too much.
The press reaction was another difficult factor to deal with. I had several calls to give quotes out. There was a terrible story in the Evening Standard siting Page's occult interest as the reason for their bad karma. They ran a picture of tour manager Rex King captioned as Bonzo which showed their ignorance of it all. (That trend still continues today: anyone else notice the pic on page 57 of this month's Classic Rock piece - it states the high jinks pic of Plant with a guy with his trousers down is Bonzo - it's actually record exec Phil Carson)
Overall the press coverage in the music weeklies was somewhat muted. There were no big four page tributes or special supplements. I think it gave them the opportunity to brush Zep under the carpet and concentrate on the new wave acts they were now all championing.
Looking back there was little sharing of grief with other fans. This was of course pre Internet days and even though I was in contact with a lot of fans, I think we all found it hard to take in. I also initally found it difficult to play any Zep at first. It was all too painful but eventually there was solace in the music. That above everything still remained."
Here's to the greatest drummer of them all - John Henry Bonham.
No comments:
Post a Comment