John Bonham, known as the thunderous backbone of Led Zeppelin’s sound, tragically passed away on September 25, 1980. His death marked the end of Led Zeppelin as an active band.
On the day before his death, Bonham had reportedly consumed around 40 shots of vodka during rehearsals for Led Zeppelin’s upcoming North American tour, which had been announced just two weeks prior and was set to begin within the month.
After being put to bed just after midnight at guitarist Jimmy Page’s house in Windsor, south England, Bonham was found dead the following afternoon by sound engineer Benji LeFevre and bassist John Paul Jones.
The loss of Bonham, a drummer whose style and power were integral to the band’s sound, was a profound blow to the music world and marked the end of an era for Led Zeppelin.
“It was like, ‘Let’s go up and look at Bonzo, see how he is,’” Jones said.
“We tried to wake him up … it was terrible. Then I had to tell the other two … I had to break the news to Jimmy and Robert [Plant].”
When police arrived at Jimmy Page’s residence after John Bonham’s death, they found no evidence of suspicious circumstances and concluded it was a tragic accident.
Later, the coroner’s inquiry confirmed that Bonham’s death was accidental, attributing it to “consumption of alcohol.”
