Whe John Bonham proved he was a better drummer than Phil Collins: “You cheeky b*stard”
Some genuinely breathtaking rock drummers emerged from the 1960s’ “British Invasion” period, with Ginger Baker, John Bonham, Mitch Mitchell and Keith Moon leading the charge. Of these names, Bonham and Moon were considered among the prime percussion progenitors of the imminent heavy metal genre thanks to their explosive power and captivating live presence.
When Phil Collins made his first significant moves as a percussionist in 1970, he idolised Moon and Bonham for their innovative work with The Who and Led Zeppelin, respectively. Collins brought the influence of these fellow British drummers to the Genesis catalogue throughout the 1970s as the band evolved from Peter Gabriel’s quirky prog-rock years towards his own, more pop-oriented reign.
In 1978, following Moon’s tragic death, Collins was prepared to leave Genesis to fill the drummer’s spot in The Who. He allegedly wrote a letter to Pete Townshend, but by the time it arrived, the position had been filled by Kenney Jones.
Bonham met a fate similar to Moon’s in 1980, leading to the disbandment of Led Zeppelin. When Robert Plant returned to the stage as a solo artist in the 1980s, he invited Collins to join him as a keen admirer of Bonham and Led Zeppelin. “He came on tour with me and basically said, ‘Robert, the guy that sat behind you for all those years was my hero. Anything I can do to help you to get back into fighting shape again, I’m here,'” Plant remembered Collins saying in a 2023 interview with Vulture.
In the mid-1960s, Collins saw Bonham perform with Tim Rose at London’s Marquee Club and became an immediate convert. “I had never seen anything like it,” Collins recalled on BBC Radio 6 in 2016. “He had the best bass drum of anybody I’ve ever seen, and I became a convert there and then. So I started to follow him wherever he was going to be playing in a band. Next time I saw him was with Led Zeppelin.”
Like any successful drummer, Collins challenged himself to surpass his idol’s virtuosity, leading to a friendly rivalry of sorts following his rise to prominence. During a live performance several years ago, Jason Bonham remembered when Melody Maker ranked Collins one place ahead of his father in a 1979 “drummer vote”. As one can imagine, this didn’t sit particularly well with the Led Zeppelin drummer.
In response to the vote, Bonham turned to his son. “[Bonham] made his 13-year-old son play one of these Genesis songs at home,” Jason said, referring to himself. “After I did it, he went, ‘I don’t see what the big deal is… My 13-year-old son can play that song.'”
As far as Bonham was concerned, once Jason could handle Collins’ most difficult Genesis song, he was back on the podium. “That was my dad’s mentality,” Jason said. “I had to play it until I got it right, and then he was like, ‘Yeah, no big deal'”
In Bonham’s eyes, the two best British rock drummers were himself and Ginger Baker. Of course, the endlessly humble Cream legend had something to say about that. “John Bonham once made a statement that there were only two drummers in British rock ‘n’ roll: himself and Ginger Baker,” Baker wrote in his memoir, Hellraiser: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Drummer. “My reaction to this was: ‘You cheeky little bastard!”
The exchange captures the competitive spirit that defined many of rock’s greatest musicians during that era. Drummers, in particular, were constantly pushing each other to new heights, whether through technical innovation, power, or sheer individuality behind the kit. Collins, Bonham and Baker each represented different approaches to the instrument, from Collins’ precision and musicality to Bonham’s raw force and Baker’s jazz-inflected complexity.
These contrasts helped shape the evolution of rock drumming, ensuring it never became stagnant. Rivalries, whether playful or serious, often acted as a driving force, encouraging artists to refine their skills and defend their reputations.
At the same time, there was an underlying respect that bound them together, even when egos came into play. In retrospect, moments like these highlight how the personalities behind the music were just as influential as the sounds they created, contributing to a legacy that continues to inspire generations of drummers long after the original battles for supremacy had faded.
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