The Cars of Led Zeppelin Legend John Bonham
‘Bonzo’ wasn’t only the world’s best drummer. He also had the best car collection around, and one of the most unique rock-star rides ever.
Drummers and cars go together like tour managers and cocaine, and the ’70s were the start of the real rock ‘n roll extravagance. There are many stories about the excesses of Led Zeppelin, and their drummer, John Bonham, in particular. Our favorite is one to satisfy anyone that has experienced a snooty car salesman.
It’s hard to verify that this is the exact way it played out, but we like to think it’s absolutely true. The story goes that Bonham walked into a Rolls-Royce dealership on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and a salesman turned his nose up at him because of his unkempt and hippy-like appearance.
At least that was the scenario that unfolded until Bonham produced a bag full of cash to show he had Rolls-Royce-money to spend.
Bonham took the car for a test drive, but when he returned he drove it through a plate glass window before telling the salesman to fix the Roller before he returned to pick it up.
A Rolls-Royce is, of course, a luxury car that musicians tend to buy to show the world they made it. Bonham’s love went deeper than that and he loved to drive fast. His collection included a lot of petrol-head gems such as a Jensen Interceptor and a Ferrari 400i. However, he also had a huge soft spot for loud American V8s.
Another Bonham story came about when the musician bought a Pontiac Trans Am while on tour in America. Bonham was doing burnouts and donuts when the police turned up, but he got away without a ticket when the cops recognized him and he turned on the charm.
He also owned an imported 1954 Ford and a right-hand drive AC Cobra 427 in the U.K. In America, he kept a C1 Corvette in a hotel garage while on tour. Legend has it that he would drink several of his favorite beverages and go sit in the Corvette and rev the engine but never drive it. At that point in his career, it was most likely due to insurance reasons because the notoriously um, adventurous band contractually weren’t allowed to drive themselves on tour. It would also explain the stories of the band riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles through hotel lobbies.
The car most associated with John “Bonzo” Bonham is the absurdly over-the-top Andy’s Instant T that was built in San Fransico by the hot-rodding legend Andy “The Rodfather” Brizio. Bonham bought the white Model T with custom paint and a chrome-plated Chevrolet V8 engine and shipped it back to the U.K. before showing it off in Led Zeppelin’s 1976 concert movie The Song Remains the Same.
Bonham was doing burnouts and donuts in his Pontiac Trans Am when the police turned up, but he got away without a ticket when the cops recognized him and he turned on the charm.
Pieces of film weaved into the concert footage featured the band members playing out fantasy sequences. Frontman Robert Plant is a knight rescuing a fair maiden. Guitarist Jimmy Page is a seeker of self-enlightenment that climbs a snow-capped mountain to visit The Hermit. And bassist John Paul Jones is a masked vigilante on horseback in the 1700s. Bonham though, he shuns the high fantasy and spends time at home with his family before driving Andy’s Instant T to Santa Pod Raceway and driving Clive Skilton’s dragster. If that’s not cool enough, Bonham’s down-to-earth fantasy piece is set to him playing the drum-heavy instrumental piece “Moby Dick.”
To us, the speed of Bonham’s crossover triplets matched the speed and danger of a 1970s drag-racing and makes for the finest example of rock ‘n roll crossing with car culture. Sadly, it was a year after recording the footage when Bonham passed away at age 32 on September 25, 1980. It was a tragedy in so many ways. Culturally, it was the end of Led Zeppelin, but it also leaves us wondering what cars Bonham would have gotten into in the 80s and 90s.
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