Paul McCartney has worked with a host of icons throughout his career. Whether this be his three bandmates in The Beatles or the likes of Stevie Wonder and Kanye West, the Liverpudlian has continued to show his musical mettle by pushing himself into new areas.
In addition to being one of the most influential musicians of all time in his own right, these collaborations have given McCartney first-hand knowledge of the artistic capacities of many others, making him one of the best placed to discuss them. One man Macca has consistently effused about over the years is the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.
Bonham passed away aged 32 in 1980, but in his 12 years in the limelight with Led Zeppelin, he established a tremendous legacy. Fusing the jazz panache of early heroes like Gene Krupa with thunderous natural power, he was the basis of everything the quartet did. His dexterity allowed them to forge their pulsating sonics, which were more all-encompassing than anything rock had ever seen.
Notably, Bonham and McCartney worked together on a handful of occasions. They occurred when the former Beatles man was heading up Wings. The first was on the first version of 1975’s ‘Beware My Love’. The rest came later as part of McCartney’s Rockestra supergroup for two songs on Wings’ final studio album, 1979’s Back to the Egg. Bonham featured on the tracks ‘Rockestra Theme’ and ‘So Glad To See You Here’, but the former would only be performed once live.
McCartney was such great friends with Bonham and so aware of his elemental talent that during a 2014 fan Q&A, he was asked what it was like to work with the Led Zeppelin man. It was “fantastic”, McCartney affirmed before labelling Bonham a “ballsy drummer”.
He added: “It was fantastic! He was always on my top five drummer list. (He was) a great friend and ballsy drummer!”
Elsewhere, McCartney labelled Bonham as his second favourite sticksman of all time when appearing on The Howard Stern Show in 2020: “I’d go Ringo [Starr] top, he’s something else. Second, I’d go Bonzo [Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham]. And third, [the Who’s] Keith Moon. That’s mine. I’m going from that generation. Those are pretty good drummers, those boys”.
Whilst John Bonham wasn’t around to hear this praise for Paul McCartney, it certainly would have been well received. He saw The Beatles live when he was 14, and according to his sister, Deborah Bonham, it changed his life forever. She told Rock Talk in 2022: “John and Michael, as I was growing up, they went to see The Beatles. Mom took them to see The Beatles when I think John was 14. Michael was 12. They went to see The Beatles and she had somehow managed to get front row seats. But they couldn’t hear anything. It was just girls screaming like mad.”
Deborah added: “I think that was when John had decided, ‘Yeah, I want to do that.’ And he did, he ended up playing with Paul McCartney many, many years later”.
