Beast
John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin
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Narrated by:
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Matthew Wolf
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Chris Abell
About this listen
The first full-length narrative biography of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, considered by many to be one of the greatest drummers in rock history, and a genuine wild man of epic (and sadly fatal) proportions.
Beast: John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin is the first-ever biography of the iconic John Bonham, considered by many to be one of the greatest (if not the greatest) rock drummer of all time. Bonham first learned to play the drums at the age of five and, despite never taking formal lessons, began drumming for local bands immediately upon graduating from secondary school. By the late 1960s, Bonham was looking for a more solid gig in order to provide his growing family with a more regular income. Meanwhile, following the dissolution of the popular blues rock band The Yardbirds, lead guitarist Jimmy Page sought the company of new bandmates to help him record an album and tour Scandinavia as the New Yardbirds. A few months later, Bonham was recruited to join the band who would eventually become known as Led Zeppelin - and before the year was out, Bonham and his three bandmates would become the richest rock band in the world.
In their first year, Led Zeppelin released two albums and completed four US and four UK concert tours. As their popularity exploded, they moved from ballrooms and smaller clubs to larger auditoriums and eventually started selling out full arenas. Throughout the 1970s, Led Zeppelin reached new heights of commercial and critical success, making them one of the most influential groups of the era, both in musical style and in their approach toward the workings of the entertainment industry. They added extravagant lasers, light shows, and mirror balls to their performances; wore flamboyant and often glittering outfits; traveled in a private jet airliner and rented out entire sections of hotels; and soon become the subject of frequently repeated stories of debauchery and destruction while on tour. In 1977, the group performed what would be their final live appearance in the US, following months of rising fervor and rioting from their fandom. And in September of 1980, Bonham - plagued by alcoholism, anxiety, and the after-effects of years of excess - was found dead by his bandmates.
To this day, Bonham is posthumously described as one of the most important, well-known, and influential drummers in rock, topping best-of lists describing him as an inimitable, all-time great. As Adam Budofsky, managing editor of Modern Drummer, explained, "If the king of rock 'n' roll was Elvis Presley, then the king of rock drumming was certainly John Bonham."
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 C. M. Kushins (P)2021 Hachette BooksListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"C.M. Kushins gives us a wild, behind-the-scenes look at one of the greatest rock bands ever, and brings John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham back to life in this well-written rock classic." (Peter Leonard, best-selling author of Voices of the Dead)
What listeners say about Beast
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fraser McKain
- 20-03-22
Enjoyable and Informative
Great book and review of John Bonham and Led Zeppelin, thanks guys, excellent work.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark Les
- 10-10-22
Great read for a Zep lover, and a local lad
As someone who has grown up in Studley and Redditch, and been around bands since a teenager i couldn't escape the influence of Led Zeppelin, and been proud of the local heritage. This was a great read. well worth a listen
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Geraint W.
- 26-07-22
thoroughly enjoyable listen
Nicely written and narrated, I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book. Listening to it brought a lot of my memories of adventures with Led Zep as the soundtrack.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- steve barber
- 22-12-22
Superb Biography
Excellent biography. I enjoyed every minute. I have followed Zeppelin since their beginnings. And have seen them several times. I have lived in the area Rob and John Bonham lived and grew up in so a lot of the places were familiar to me. Still a very sad loss to me and I listen to the band daily.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- T B Fuller
- 05-01-23
A must for Bonham fans
stories of the rock drummers life peppered with interesting technical nuggets of kit and set up
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 20-06-24
All of it
The best book I have ever listened to. A must for any led zep fan. It puts you right there in the heart of the band and let’s you experience the highs and lows of johns life. I listened to it 3 times in the first week !
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bob Shoesmith
- 08-03-22
A long wait
As a massive fan of Bonzo I’ve been waiting to get my teeth into this book for ages. While it is detailed & interesting, the narration is professionally managed by Matthew Wolf & Chris Abell but is pretty monotone and the instance on doing all of the quotes in a flat, cod Birmingham-ish accent which occasionally wavers between the Midlands & Liverpool, often making every one of the people quoted start sounding like the same impression of Ringo Starr which which was possibly bearable for a chapter or two but after several chapters REALLY starts to grate. A great book & insight into JHB, fan or not will like the story. Reading Dave Grohl’s fantastic intro for him (I’m sure he would have obliged) & the flat cod Brum quotes took the edge off for me
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mrs Mac626
- 12-04-22
loved it and inspired to hit drums harder
loved the book and musically inspired to hit the Drums harder and make big noise.
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- Sveinbjorn, Iceland
- 28-04-24
Love the band and love the book
Plain and simple, brilliant, exiting, funny and said. But very good. And very crazy and unbelievable, in a good way
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Debra
- 02-04-24
Great insight to Led Zep focusing on Bonzo
Great history of the band and the people behind it. All the wild stories plus real depth about how each album was made. Also went into all of the personal and their journeys and families. And of course especially Bonzo.
If you love Zep but don’t know much about their story this is a great place to start.
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