Administrators sam_webmaster Posted April 15, 2021 Administrators Share Posted April 15, 2021 John Bonham's gong from 1970 is coming up for auction: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26708/lot/172/ John Bonham / Led Zeppelin: a 36 inch Paiste symphonic gong used on stage at the Royal Albert Hall 9th January 1970, a hammered metal gong with original Paiste Chinese logo to the front top and bottom, with large white stencil Zeppelin on the back and various airway stickers including Pan America and Northwest Orient Airlines, the top rim with two suspension holes and attached rope, accompanied by original auction receipt, diameter 36in (91.4cm) Footnotes Provenance: This gong was purchased from a Chelsea auction house in 1982. At that time Led Zeppelin had an office nearby and it was following the untimely death of John Bonham. It has been identified as the one John Bonham used on stage at The Royal Albert Hall in 1970, illustrated in the image taken by a fan as shown in the catalogue. This early concert is one of the first that was professionally filmed and is available to view on the YouTube link below. Legendary drummer Bonham is seen by many as the greatest rock drummer. His style and stage presence are as synonymous as Keith Moon's were for The Who. According to Carmine Appice, drummer with American rock band Vanilla Fudge, it was he who inspired Bonham to incorporate a gong into his drum kit. Led Zeppelin had supported Vanilla Fudge during their first tour of North America in 1968. Appice says, I brought the gong into rock and then Bonzo brought it in with Led Zeppelin, Carl Palmer had gongs, everybody had gongs, it became like a staple. The two China cymbals on a boom stand, I brought that in and even in Spinal Tap, you had a gong and two Chinese cymbals. Only six months later Led Zeppelin were equal billing with Vanilla Fudge showing the speed at how their popularity grew. This gong is an earlier Paiste model as it has the original Chinese symbols for the brands logo. There are also signs of use as it is blackened. John Paul Jones, referring to the practice of setting fire to the gong at a dramatic point in the band's set said, He did that more or less every night. His roadie Mick Hinton had to set it alight. I think he used lighter fuel, and it was quite dangerous... Additionally due to the scale of the percussion piece, it appears that it did not have a dedicated flight case or bag when taken on tour. It was simply labelled with a stencil Zeppelin had airway tickets stuck to it (which are still attached), and put into the plane's hold. https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26708/lot/172/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZ98 Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 I'm considering buying this. Hopefully it comes in a large shipping container, because I'm going to have to live in that box when my wife kicks me out after she finds out how much I spent on a gong 😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hummingbird69 Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 I wan it I wan it I wan it! YOU CANT HAVE IT!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 If I'm a betting man, Dave Grohl, among other wealthy rock stars, will be bidding for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pageluvva Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 Oh this would look so sweet in my guitar room..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pageluvva Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 21 hours ago, SteveZ98 said: I'm considering buying this. Hopefully it comes in a large shipping container, because I'm going to have to live in that box when my wife kicks me out after she finds out how much I spent on a gong 😃 👏😂👏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcarter690 Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 On 4/16/2021 at 8:06 AM, pageluvva said: 👏😂👏 😄🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 According to the Bonhams website, the gong sold for £ 52,750 (US$ 73,276) inc. premium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porgie66 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 9 hours ago, Strider said: According to the Bonhams website, the gong sold for £ 52,750 (US$ 73,276) inc. premium. Yeah, I dipped in up to £25,000, but that was really wishful thinking. 😞 If it sold for £52,000 incl the premium, that's actually not as much as I thought it would fetch. The premium is like 20% or more, and then there's VAT, I believe. I think the last gong of his which was much smaller sold for a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 17 hours ago, porgie66 said: Yeah, I dipped in up to £25,000, but that was really wishful thinking. 😞 If it sold for £52,000 incl the premium, that's actually not as much as I thought it would fetch. The premium is like 20% or more, and then there's VAT, I believe. I think the last gong of his which was much smaller sold for a lot more. The only earlier gong auction I found was back in 2009, when a Bonham gong sold for US $ 64,660…which is £ 45, 772.49. So a bit less than this latest sale. https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/17108/lot/6357/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porgie66 Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 7 hours ago, Strider said: The only earlier gong auction I found was back in 2009, when a Bonham gong sold for US $ 64,660…which is £ 45, 772.49. So a bit less than this latest sale. https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/17108/lot/6357/ Sorry I guess I was way off on that one. I was going based on memory from years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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