The John Bonham Story

THE JOHN BONHAM STORY (320kbs-m4a/136mb/60mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 9th November 2021

Another chance to hear the Sony Award-winning programme in which lifelong Led Zeppelin fan Dave Grohl celebrates a man who the Encyclopaedia Britannica describes as 'the perfect model for all hard rock drummers that have followed'.

This was a man whose destiny was forged by his ferocious drumming style and an insatiable appetite for living life to the full. On 25 September 1980, John Henry 'Bonzo' Bonham died at the age of 32, following an all-day drinking binge.

Dave Grohl explores Bonham's extraordinary life, his legendary playing with Led Zeppelin, and his tragic and untimely death.

Beginning in Redditch, we hear of Bonham's boyhood obsession with rhythm, beating his mother's pots and pans into submission, before moving into his early drumming education with bands across the West Midlands.
From 1968 onwards, we piece together the moment Bonham's time as a session drummer ended with an invitation to join The New Yardbirds, led by Jimmy Page.

This is the electrifying story of a rock'n'roll legend told with wit, pace and a genuine love for the subject by a fellow drummer and Zeppelin fan.

With touching tales of Bonham's focus on family and friends, as well as the infamous rock and roll excess, the programme also shows how Led Zeppelin changed the course of rock history.

And it's all set to a rich soundtrack of music.

The John Bonham Story features new interview material from all three remaining Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones along with Carmine Appice, Paul Rodgers, Lulu and Bonham's sister Deborah and son Jason.