The 1971 Led Zeppelin that changed Phil Collins’ perspective on drumming forever
Phil Collins will always be a drummer in his heart of hearts rather than a frontman, even if his days of stepping on stage behind a drum kit are now planted in the history books.
It’s a love affair that has been burning bright for almost as long as he could walk and talk. Growing up, it was always the drumming that he listened to in a song on the radio, and when he got older, his eyes were fixated on the drum kit whenever he watched a band perform live.
As a result of his obsession, Collins was already well aware that John Bonham was a generational talent long before he arrived on the radar of the masses with Led Zeppelin. Although Bonham first established himself on the scene in the Midlands, where he met Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, and the two played together in Band of Joy, Collins was one of his earliest fans in the capital.
While Band of Joy didn’t record an album, it was a vital experience for the duo that elevated Bonham’s status in the eyes of the musical establishment. The high point of their short-lived career came when they were invited to tour with the prominent American musician Tim Rose on tour, who decided that Bonham needed to play in his band.
During his brief tenure with Rose, Collins set eyes on Bonham for the first time. As much as it was Rose’s name that was on the ticket, by the end of the evening, Collins had a new musical hero, and he was called John Bonham.
Although Bonham was not able to express himself as freely in his stand-in role with Rose as he later did with Led Zeppelin, Collins knew that he’d just witnessed greatness, once sharing, “Now, when I was growing up – obviously, growing up as a drummer – there were quite a few drummers that caught my fancy over the years. Ringo to Charlie Watts to Ginger Baker to Keith Moon”.
“One of the finest, I think, drummers I’ve ever heard, and the first drummer I ever gave a standing ovation to was John Bonham.”
Phil Collins
In another interview with BBC 6 Music, Collins recalled that famous night which turned him on to Bonham: “He had the best bass drum of anybody I’ve ever seen. I became a convert there. So I started to follow him wherever he was doing rude to be playing in a band. The early Led Zeppelin was something to behold because nobody was doing that.”
While Led Zeppelin largely got off to a flying start due to the immense reputation amassed by Jimmy Page in The Yardbirds, Collins was following their every step exclusively for Bonham. Now, his idol had a platform to prove to everyone else that he was among the best in the world.
Just when Collins believed that Bonham couldn’t walk on water any further, Led Zeppelin released ‘When The Levee Breaks’ in 1971, and took the hero-worshipping to even greater heights.
Remarkably, Bonham recorded his part for ‘When The Levee Breaks‘ in a stairwell to create a unique sound. While this unique approach made it impossible for Led Zeppelin to recreate the magic at live shows, as far as studio recordings are concerned, ‘When The Levee Breaks’ proved Bonham was in his own league.
When selecting the track as one of his favourites for an iTunes compilation, Collins explained how it changed how he defined drumming as an art form, admitting, “It puts it all into perspective, groove, sound, attitude, it’s probably one of the best drum recordings ever made in pop music.”
Hearing ‘When The Levee Breaks’ was a seminal life moment, which was much more crucial than simply having a new favourite song. Instead, it represented the peak of what drumming could be, and a benchmark that he spent his career attempting to chase down.
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