(Credits: Far Out / Led Zeppelin)
Thu 4 December 2025 15:30, UK
The minute that John Bonham passed away, any hope of Led Zeppelin continuing on ended immediately.
The idea of anyone filling his shoes was unthinkable, and given how “well” their Live Aid performance went, it’s not like Jimmy Page was exactly eager to get the show on the road with the wrong guy all over again. But it’s not like there weren’t superfans out there that could play the music inside and out whenever the time called for it.
When you look at the world of drumming since Bonham’s passing, the greatest of all time are normally the ones following in his footsteps. There are certainly other aspirational drum heroes out there, but when looking at the likes of Keith Moon drumming for The Who, Bonham did the same thing with much more ferocity. He was a goddamn animal behind the kit whenever he performed, but that kind of power could certainly be matched by people who had the right idea behind them.
Phil Collins may not have been the right guy for the job to play with the band on such short notice, but the biggest names in the prog-rock world could have stepped up to the plate. Although Neil Peart would probably have never gone for it, his clinically precise approach to drumming would have been enough for Page to never look behind the kit again to wonder where the hell he was.
And if you’re talking about Zeppelin acolytes, there’s no getting around Dave Grohl’s fandom. Zeppelin may as well have been second parents to him growing up, and when listening to the power that he put into both Nirvana and Foo Fighters songs, he was clearly taking a page out of Bonham’s playbook whenever he started making his own classics. But for any reunion, it was important to keep it in the family with Jason Bonham.
Although Jason had followed in his old man’s footsteps by becoming a drummer himself, there’s a certain energy in the way he plays that’s a bit too reminiscent of dear ol’ Dad. He was an unabashed fan of what his father did with Led Zeppelin, and even when the remaining members of Zeppelin got together for a one-off gig, even John Paul Jones had to admit that Jason had what it took to do right by his father.
Compared to every other drummer that they performed with, Jonesy was convinced that Jason had most of the songs memorised before he started playing, saying, “It worked beautifully. Jason knows every part of every song better than us, so he is totally within the spirit of things.” And since Page was going to be the one to please, he even admitted that the band fell right into place, adding, “Right from the first number, it was absolutely terrific.”
But there’s probably something about that family dynamic that is in Jason’s favour. It’s not like he was born to be one of the main successors to his father by any stretch, but even if every drummer has a completely different feel when they sit behind the kit, there’s a certain energy in the way that Jason plays that makes him feel like the perfect person you would want behind the kit playing tunes like ‘Rock and Roll’.
Most of us would admit that the days of Bonzo playing some of the most intricate fills of all time are a thing of the past, but Jason is proof that there was still some magic to be found in those riffs. It would have been unthinkable to properly replace Bonham for an entire tour, but for a one-off performance to celebrate their legacy, most artists couldn’t have wished for a better way to go out on a high note.
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