Was John Bonham aware of Neil Peart?

Sticks Of Fury

Senior Member
Does anybody on here know if John Bonham was aware of Neil Peart? Led Zeppelin and Rush were around in the same time period.
 
I'm sure they were aware of eachother; I imagine it would be hard to be a pro rock musician at that time and not having heard of Rush and Led Zeppelin.
 
I'm sure he was "aware", Rush's first album came out in 1974. Bonham died in 1980.
 
Interesting question. Neil was in London for a bit prior to Rush so they might have crossed paths there too.

GJS
 
I'm sure he was "aware", Rush's first album came out in 1974. Bonham died in 1980.

Neil was not on their first album but he was on their second. I saw Rush on tour promoting Fly By Night with the newbie Neil. Seeing Neil on that tour made me a Rush fan for the next few years. Then Richie Hayward caught my ear!

GJS
 
Just outta curiosity, why do you ask?

That was my question too.

Neil already had a reputation in the drum community before John died, so I'm sure Bonham was aware Neil existed, but how much of a fan he was, or if he actually listened to Rush is another thing.

Of all the bands Neil has talked about touring with and opening for, Led Zeppelin is not among them.
 
Whether Bonzo was aware of Neil or not, Neil was certainly aware of Bonzo... with Zep being such a formulative influence on Rush's early sound, there would have been almost no way the name did not come up in Neil's early dealings with Alex and Geddy. However, just judging from the small-kick mod-style Rogers kit that Neil was playing when he met the other guys, Bonzo wasn't nearly as important an influence as Keith Moon in those days.

Rush recorded and toured in the UK in the very late 70's (77-78). During most of 1977 Zeppelin was touring stateside (this was the tour with their huge, record-setting concert at the Pontiac Silverdome, and also the year of the altercation at Day on the Green in Oakland). The tour ended abruptly when Plant's son died, so the band was on hiatus for a bit before recording In Through The Out Door in Sweden and doing Knebworth. By this time Rush was moving away from hard rocking and into prog and synths, which roughly mirrors the experimentation Zeppelin was doing on their later albums.

Did the two bands ever truly cross paths? Unknown, seemingly undocumented, but highly unlikely, given a mountain of circumstantial evidence. It seems likely that if Rush were anywhere near where Zeppelin was playing, at least Geddy and Alex would have tried to attend a show. But such a meeting between arguably two of the most celebrated drummers of the era would scarcely have gone unnoticed this long. Also, I would point to Neil's own testimony in Beyond The Lighted Stage (paraphrased): "When I was a kid, I was a big Who fan, but I never would have dreamed of finding out where they were staying when they came to town and showing up to have them sign an autograph." It also seems unlikely at that point in Bonzo's career that he would have made too much time to go see a band from Canada play on his home turf (where Zeppelin never really hit it as big as they did in America). And it is for certain that the two bands never shared a bill, which is where Neil appears to have made his most lasting drummer-friendships.
 
i don´t recall hearing Neil Peart being mentioned among the greats until Moving Pictures (1984) . not a slight on his earlier works, but a comment on his standing in the music community, as i remember it.

before Moving Pictures, Rush were regarded as Zep rip-offs. again, not a slight, nor agreeing, nor disagreeing.

whether that would make Bonzo inclined to check them out, i don´t know.

has anyone ever asked Neil what his thoughts are on Zep / Bonzo ?
 
i don´t recall hearing Neil Peart being mentioned among the greats until Moving Pictures (1984) . not a slight on his earlier works, but a comment on his standing in the music community, as i remember it.

before Moving Pictures, Rush were regarded as Zep rip-offs. again, not a slight, nor agreeing, nor disagreeing.

whether that would make Bonzo inclined to check them out, i don´t know.

has anyone ever asked Neil what his thoughts are on Zep / Bonzo ?

Moving Pictures was released in 1981...not '84

And while MP is Rush's "swan song" they gaining attention in the US and the UK in 1976 after releasing 2112...
 
John Bonham was very influenced by Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge then) - they shared the same venues and John learned much, especially the Triplets between Hands and Feet.

Rush and Neil Peart were unknown in Europe then and now. 95% of all drummers today in Europe never heard the name of Neil Peart.

Bernhard
 
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Has anyone ever asked Neil what his thoughts are on Zep / Bonzo ?

Neil as a young player was primarily influenced by Keith Moon, Bill Bruford, Phil Collins and Michael Giles of King Crimson.

However, on his 'Anatomy Of A Drum Solo' DVD, Peart namechecks Bonham and mentions Bonham's famous kick/tom triplets.

Alex and Geddy are both quoted on record many times as being big Zep fans...
 
Neil as a young player was primarily influenced by Keith Moon, Bill Bruford, Phil Collins and Michael Giles of King Crimson.

Isn't Phil Collins a contemporary of Peart? On edit - Collins is a year and a half older than Neil.
 
Rush and Neil Peart were unknown in Europe then and now. 95% of all drummers today in Europe never heard the name of Neil Peart.

Bernhard

Depends on what part of Europe.

Rush sells out arenas in the UK, Germany, and Holland, and they tour in Sweeden, Italy and here and there. They are not popular across all parts of Europe, but they have been touring there regularly since the 70's.

Although there is no doubt they are far more well regarded in North America than anywhere else in the world.
 
More than that, Collins recording career started a few years before Peart joined Rush.

Correct: Alex Lifeson mentions Genesis as an influence of his and Geddy's before Neil joined the band, and Neil himself was influenced early on by Phil's playing.
 
Hey, you could always Facebook message Jason Bonham and ask him yourself too!
Get an answer from a reliable source haha!......or we can always debate it for 6 pages hahaha!

It's not like the old days where you had to write to a sponsoring company to get a letter forwarded (maybe) to someone anymore--and that's very cool.
 
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