Page 9 - L&T John Bonham

John Bonham Redditch Heritage

Early Working Life

John left school aged 16 and began working for his father as an apprentice carpenter.
There was no favouritism for the boss’ son – he had to start at the bottom doing menial
tasks around the building site. And the hours came as something as a shock to John –
starting at 7.30am and finishing at 3pm.
But all John could really think about was being in a band and earning money from
playing the drums. The site foreman was not impressed with Bonzo’s social life and late
nights, and he gave John a lot of grief.
At the age of 17, John married his girlfriend, Pat Phillips, who was pregnant with their
son, Jason. Needing to support Pat and his future family, John quit working for his
father’s business. He soon found better paid employment as an assistant at George
Osbourne & Son, a high class tailors and outfitters in Redditch town centre. And not
having to start work until 9.00am meant that John could play with a band at night and
not have to get up so early next morning!

Marriage & Family

On February 19th 1966, aged 17, John married his girlfriend, Pat Phillips, who was
pregnant with their son, Jason. John and Pat met on a night out in 1964 at the Old Hill
Plaza, Birmingham.
Jason was born on 15th July 1966. Following in his father’s footsteps, he has become a
successful drummer in his own right. John & Pat’s daughter, Zoe, was born on 10th June
1975.

The Little Drummer Boy

John’s enthusiasm for drumming was evident when he was still a small child of 5. He ‘d
use household objects (bath salt containers, pots and pans and a round coffee tin)as
percussion instruments and beat them with knives and forks as a substitute for
drumsticks, creating a snare drum like sound.
Aged 10, John received his first piece of true drumming equipment, a snare drum, from
his Mother. His parents knew their young son had a real passion to learn the instrument.
John received his first full drum kit from them aged 15. John later recalled: "It was
almost prehistoric... Most of it was rust."

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