Pre - Led Zeppelin Bands

John played drums with The Senators several times in 1964, plus occasional backing vocals.
The band released a track written by Terry Child called 'She's a Mod' on an LP called 'Brum Beat' which was a successful compilation featuring Birmingham bands.
The Senators had a residency at The Navigation Inn in Coventry.

Band Members:
Bobby Child - Vocals
Terry Beale - Guitar and Vocals.
John Bonham - Drums

John's first real group, which he joined when he was 16 years old. Noted for their stage clothes, which included purple jackets with velvet lapels and a gold lame jacketed singer.

Band Members:
No Information.

John sat in on several occasions. The regular line-up was:

Band Members:
Pat Wayne - Vocals
Dario Capaldi - Sax
Mal Edwards - Bass
Brian Finch - Sax
Jeff Roberts - Lead Guitar
Brian Sharpe - Drums

In 1965 John played with The Nicky James Movement. At various times other group members included Roy Wood and Bev Bevan, who went on to form 'The Move', and Mike Pinder, later to become one of The Moody Blues.
Nicky James also played with Denny Laine and the Diplomats.

Band Members:
Roy Wood
Bev Bevan
Mike Pinder
John Bonham - Drums

The group underwent several changes of line-up, and at various times included the Wolverhampton born Dave Holland on bass, who went on to play with Miles Davis. Noddy (Neville) Holder, of Slade fame, featured on guitar and vocals in a later incarnation of the group.
In 1964, around the time that John Bonham played, the members included:

Band Members:
Steve Brett - Vocals and Guitar
Rick Dene - Bass
Gary James - Drums
Robert Nelson - Lead Guitar
Dave Holland - Bass

With Danny King on vocals, this group included Trevor Burton on guitar until 1966, when he left to become a member of hit makers 'The Move'

In 1966, aged 17, John joined Way Of Life, staying for a total of 18 months. He took a break from the band and returned for a short time in 1967.

Band Members:
John Bonham - sang lead vocals on 'Hey Joe' - (See interview with Reg Jones)
Mike Hopkins - Lead Guitar
Tony Clarkson - Bass
John Bonham - Drums
Reg Jones - Vocals
Chris Jones - Guitar (the Jones brothers are uncles to Ace Kefford of 'The Move')

Later line-ups included Danny King on bass and vocals and then Dave Pegg (of Fairport Convention fame) on bass. See also the interview with Dave Pegg.
The band sometimes featured two drummers: Bonham and Bugsy Eastwood (later to join Dave Pegg and John Kill in The Exceptions).
Way of Life once played support to The Kinks at The Plaza in Handsworth, Birmingham.

In 1967 John played with Robert Plant in The Crawling King Snakes, gigging around the West Midlands between his two stints with A Way Of Life.

Band Members:
Ian 'Inky' Watts - Lead Guitar
Bruce 'Maverick' Oakes - Bass
Johnny Pasternak - Guitar
Nigel Knowles - Drums prior to Bonham

The first Band of Joy was a semi-pro. band, formed in 1966 and notable for the band having painted face, and a bass player who often dived off the stage into the audience.

A regular early version of the band was Vernon Prarrera on guitar, Robert Plant on vocals, Pete 'Plug' Robinson on drums, Mick Reeves on bass and Chris Brown on organ. Pete Robinson was later to be a member of Bronco.

At various times, Lyddon Laney and John Trickett also played in Band of Joy.

Robert Plant regularly drove the band van to gigs.

In 1967 when John Trickett left the original band, John Bonham took over the drum seat, and as a pro. band they had regular residencies at the Middle Earth and Marquee clubs in London.

Robert Plant: "In came this fantastic guitarist Kevyn, and we hit it off well. We had a good bass player and John Bonham came in on drums.

"It was debatable whether he'd join because it was a long way to go and pick him up, and we didn't know whether we would have the petrol money to get over to Redditch and back! We always laugh about that.
It turned out to be a really good group. It was a combination of what we wrote ourselves, which wasn't incredible, and re-arrangements of things like 'She Has Funny Cars' and 'Plastic Fantastic Lover'."

A set of recordings were laid down at Regent Sound Studios in London in 1967. Robert Plant donated 'Adriatic Sea View' from this session, to a Kidderminster College fund-raising tape project in 1989, later to be released on CD.

Songs recorded at the session were:
Adriatic Sea View (later released on the MAS Records label);
For What it's Worth (now available on Sixty Six to Timbuktu);
Hey Joe (now available on Sixty-Six to Timbuktu);
Memory Lane. (Memory Lane was the first song written by Plant and Bonham and is about a street called Dagger Lane in West Bromwich.)

The live set included:
Hey Joe
Sweet Mary
For What it's Worth
If I Were a Carpenter
Hang on to a Dream

Band of Joy averaged £60 - £70 per night for performances.

Robert Plant and John Bonham planned a re-union, a benefit gig for the family of Vernon Prarrera, which did not materialise due to Led Zeppelin commitments and family problems. Some charity gigs did take place in pubs in Kidderminster and Birmingham with Plant, Gammond and Lockey playing in honour of members of a band called Possessed who died in a road accident. Plans to record never came to fruition.

In 1968 a gig supporting Tim Rose led to Bonham being approached by Tim Rose to join his touring band. He accepted.

Band of Joy split up, and Robert Plant worked with, and recorded on track 'Operator' with blues godfather Alexis Korner and pianist Steve Miller.

Band Members:
Due to musical differences (trad.) Robert Plant was ousted by the manager (actually the father of Chris Brown) and formed a new Band of Joy:
Robert Plant - Vocals
Kevyn Gammond - Guitar
Paul Lockey - Bass
John Bonham - Drums

John toured in the UK with Tim Rose. He joined the band in June 1968. There are no recordings of Bonzo with Tim Rose.

Band Members:
Tim Rose - Guitar and vocals
Steve Dolan - Bass
John Bonham - Drums