Beast: John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin

That John Bonham was an inventive and powerful drummer, with a surprisingly wide range of influences, including the great jazz and big band drummers, devoted husband, father, accomplished builder, breeder of pedigree cattle, Abba fan (yes, really) and car enthusiast are amongst his good points. But he was also an angry, violent drunk, trasher of hotel rooms, abuser of women and was needlessly aggressive and confrontational to people who dared praise or compliment him, which won him few friends; the latter bad behaviour tending to obscure his better qualities, hence the "Beast" nickname. So what made him such a Jekyll and Hyde personality ?In this well researched and written book, Bonham comes across as an uncomplicated man, with simple tastes, for whom family and home were of paramount importance, so, whilst the slave driving touring itineraries of Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant brought both him and the other members of the band great wealth, you have to wonder if it brought Bonham much happiness, as the long periods away from his family made him desperately homesick, which allied to a fear of flying, led to him drown his sorrows in drink and drugs, which brought of the worst in him and may account for the fact that Zeppelin seldom performed outside Europe and America. By the end of their career, his drinking was bordering on full blown alcoholism and he was seriously out of shape, though his enormous strength still allowed him to deliver in performance; the European gigs from Zeppelin's final tour, being amongst the best and most focused they had played since the early days. However, the prospect of another lengthy US tour led him to indulge in an alcoholic bender that was of truly epic proportions, with the inevitable sad result. He was just 28 years old when he died.

Great book.

Couldn't put this book down,a great read for any fans of early heavy rock. Great insite to what really went on at gigs

A great book for fans

Great book

Very disappointed. Old stories rewritten under a different banner. At one point I thought I had starting reading Hammer of The Gods by Stephen Davis.If you want to know about John Bonham then buy John Bonham by Mick Bonham

I am a huge Zeppelin fan since the 1970's. This was so revealing and so intense. I had no idea what hardship these musicians endured. It all looks so fabulous and exciting in the days of old rock and roll. You will never again see the amount of dedication, commitment and endurance this band gave to entertain and follow their musical dreams. Fabulous read.

As a fan of Led Zeppelin,it was a very informative of truly the greatest rock drummer of all time.

Uma aquisição obrigatória para os fãs do Led Zeppelin. Detalhada sem ser cansativa, narra os preâmbulos e primórdios da formação da banda, mas centrada no Bonzo, desde que ele batucava nas panelas da mãe aos 5 anos. Tenho várias biografias da banda, mas encontrei detalhes históricos omitidos nas demais. Por exemplo: o que tem a ver o martelo dos deuses (citado na Immigrant Song e título de uma das melhores biografias da banda) com a origem do LZ? Quem ler saberá...

OK but "thunder"is better written

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