A statue of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham has been unveiled in his hometown of Redditch. The artwork appeared in time to mark what would have been Bonham’s 70th birthday.
The Redditch Advertiser reports that the bronze statue has been erected in Merician Square and was created by British sculptor Mark Richards. The venture was made possible thanks to the fundraising efforts of the John Bonham Memorial Fund, which was founded in 2013.
Posting on Twitter, Richards said: “Delighted that my memorial sculpture to John Bonham was installed over night in Redditch town centre. Thanks to all who helped make this happen.”
Bonham died aged 32 on 25 September, 1980, in guitarist Jimmy Page’s Windsor home following a marathon drinking binge. He’d been rehearsing with the band for an upcoming US tour. Led Zeppelin called it quits soon afterwards.
That said, plans are in place to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the planet-shagging rock behemoth’s formation in 1968. A re-issue of their live album, How The West Was Won, a document of their 1972 shows at the LA Forum and Long Beach Arena in California, was released in March.
Jimmy Page has also hinted that new live album is on the way.
He told Planet Rock [via Music Week]: “I can’t give the game away, but there’s a recording that’s another multi-track that we’ll release.
“It’s so different to all the other things that are out there. It’s another view compared to How The West Was Won or The Song Remains The Same. I’m looking forward to people hearing that.”
Speaking about the forthcoming Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin book, scheduled for an October release, he said: “I'm really pleased that we're all doing it collectively because there are so many other people doing books. There's about ten that I know of that are coming, which is pretty ridiculous! It will be really good to have an authoritative book, where the band are actually contributing to it rather than being ripped off.”
The John Bonham statue follows on the heels of the David Bowie sculpture that was revealed in Aylesbury earlier this year.
Photo: John Bonham Memorial Fund
