Claire Tole-Moir
Head of Department
Rock & Pop
Lot 172
John Bonham / Led Zeppelin: a 36 inch Paiste symphonic gong used on stage at the Royal Albert Hall 9th January 1970,
5 May 2021, 11:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £52,750 inc. premium
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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://youtu.be/r9-42mu1D9Y