“He was the kind of guy who liked confrontation, and I would always give it to him”: This is what Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore really thought about Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham

Features
By ( Classic Rock ) published

Friendship or rivalry? A little bit of both

A composite photograph of Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore and Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham
(Image credit: Jorgen Angel/Dick Barnatt/Redferns)

Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple were hard rock’s original Holy Trinity. During the late ’60s and early ’70s, this trio of trailblazing bands did more than any others to lay down the blueprint for what would follow.

Given that all three bands emerged at roughly the same time and played much the same circuit in their early days, it’s no surprise that they crossed paths with each other. Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and John Bonham came from the same part of the UK as Black Sabbath, and members of those two bands even took part in a fabled jam session together.

Deep Purple were slightly outside of that circle, but they still crossed paths with their peers. In a 1995 interview with future Classic Rock writer Neil Jeffries original Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore opened up about his friendship with John Bonham during both bands’ respective ascendancy – and revealed what he really thought about the late Zeppelin drummer.

“I used to be very friendly with Bonzo,” said Blackmore. “We’d be sitting drinking in [famous LA rock’n’roll bar] The Rainbow and he’d be really up and drunk or really depressed. He used to say to me: ‘It must be really hard to stand there and go: ’der-der-derr, der-der, de-derr’ [Smoke On The Water]. ‘Yeah, it’s nearly as difficult as going: ‘duh-der duh-der dum’ [Whole Lotta Love]. At least we don’t copy anybody!’

“He goes: ‘What are you talking about? That’s bullshit! I know exactly where you got “duh-der duh-der dum’ from; you got it from [Hendrix’s] Hey Joe, you just put it to a rhythm.’ And he’s thinking. ‘And Immigrant Song was [another Hendrix song] Little Miss Lover.’ ‘What are you talking about?’ ‘Bom-bobba-didom ba-bom bobbadidom...’ He was not a happy man, but he started it.

“We then went upstairs to the toilet. We’re both there, weeing away, and he says: ‘Rich, did you mean all that?’ I said: ‘No, not really, I was just having a go back at you.’ He says: ‘Oh. I didn’t mean it either. There’s room at the top for everybody.’ So we carried on weeing, then went downstairs and started drinking again.”

Blackmore continued “But he loved it. He was the kind of guy who liked confrontation, and I would always give it to him. But I always remember when he said how we’d taken bits and pieces from people, so I told him where he got his stuff from. It was interesting to see how his mind was going: ‘Pagey, you bastard. Now I know!’”

Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1975, although he rejoined them in 1984 before leaving for a second and final time in 1993. Bonham died in September 1980 following an alcohol binge. His death marked the end of Led Zeppelin’s 12-year run.

Classic Rock
Classic Rock

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