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What was John Bonham’s opinion on Keith Moon
John Bonham and Keith Moon were two of the most influential drummers of their generation. Their careers were short compared to those of their peers who lived longer, but they were long enough to change the course of drumming forever. They had the chance to meet each other and see each other play live, but did Bonham like Moon’s playing?
What was John Bonham’s opinion on Keith Moon
John Bonham admired Keith Moon even before Led Zeppelin existed and as his brother Mick Bonham recalled, he even looked up to him when it came to fashion in the early days. “Fancy suits and ties were cast aside in favor of bright clothes and a more flamboyant look. Loud clothes to match loud music… The Rolling Stones and the Who were now belting out a kind of music that kicked off a whole new ball game. Indeed, John had been so impressed when he saw the Who’s drummer, a young Keith Moon, for the first time on TV, that he began to experiment with fashion,” he said in an interview featured on the C.M. Kushins book “Beast: John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin”.
He admired Moon so much that he once even hid from the drummer so he wouldn’t be seen carrying the band’s equipment. That funny story was told by Robert Plant. “One time we (Band of Joy – which Bonham and Plant were part of) were playing at the Speakeasy club in London, which was a really amazing place.”
He continued:
“(…) So we’ve got the opportunity to play at the Speakeasy and we were starting to get a name. Even though we couldn’t come into the pop world because it wouldn’t have been cool. So we set up at the speak, the night just about to start. We were unloading the van and we realized that John Bonham had the van, the Band of Joy van and backed it up to some railings in Dudley to make sure nobody could nick the gear. So we drove to Wigmore street in West End.”
“We get out of the van to unload the stuff. (But we) realize that we left the door handle in the railings back in Dudley. So it won’t come out, you can’t get in there. There was a guy working on the road, I said ‘lend us that shovel!’ So Bonzo got hold of the shovel and starts pressing the door of the back of the van and down. This is true (laughs). Down the street coming towards us, towards a zebra crossing is a Rolls Royce and it’s Keith Moon.”
Robert Plant continued:
“So Bonzo throws his shovel to me. Because drummers are not to be seen (breaking in) into the group van. Then Moonie had a microphone back inside the car and he would get to a zebra crossing and when somebody was walking across he would shout at him through the radiator grill and they would drop their shopping. So there was this great moment where I’ve got the shovel, Moonie shouting at some lady with some shopping and Bonzo is hiding,” Robert Plant said in an interview with BBC Radio 6 on “The First Time” with Matt Everitt in 2017 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
They were good friends and even went to see a Bob Marley show together
As the years passed, Moon and Bonham became really good friends. It was The Who‘s drummer who inspired Led Zeppelin’s name. When he heard that Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page would play together in The Yardbirds, he joked that the band would go down like a “lead balloon”, an idiom used to describe something that ends in disaster. John and Keith were also known for being hellraisers when it came to partying and pranks. They had the chance to hang out a lot, especially in the 70s.
They both made cameo appearances as ghoulish band members in the movie “Son of Dracula” (1974). The film was produced by Ringo Starr and also had Harry Nilson and other famous artists. In the next year, as reported in the “Beast”, they also went to a Bob Marley show together in L.A.
“He went to the Roxy to see Bob Marley with Ringo Starr and Keith Moon. When staying at the Beverly Wilshire, he lay around and watched the Marx Brothers and Monty Python. ‘Bonzo was a huge adult with the emotions of a six-year-old child and an artistic license to indulge in any sort of infantile or destructive behavior that amused him,’ Danny Goldberg said.
John Bonham and Keith Moon died at the same age
In 1977, one year before his death, Keith Moon played on stage with Led Zeppelin at The Forum in L.A. He joined the band during “Moby Dick”, “Whole Lotta Love” and “Rock and Roll”. One year later, Moon tragically passed away at the age of 32, leaving John shocked and heartbroken. In 1980, under similar circumstances and after years of excessive drinking, John Bonham would also die at the same age.
