Robert Plant and Deborah Bonham, John’s sister, live together
The singer of Led Zeppelin Robert Plant took the stage for an impromptu performance at a Blackpool festival alongside the younger sister of his late bandmate drummer John Bonham.
Singer Deborah Bonham (1962), was performing with his band, Bonham-Bullick, at the UK Blues, Rhythm & Rock Festival at Blackpool Winter Gardens when he noticed Robert Plant in the audience.
The singer of “Stairway to Heaven” was invited on stage by the sister of his former bandmate amidst thunderous applause from the audience. Also joining Deborah and Plant was Suzi Dianthe singer of Plant’s new group Saving Grace.
Together, the trio performed some Led Zeppelin songs among which “Ramble Hon”, “The Lemon Song” and a medley.
“It’s not every day you see something like this,” said one festival-goer. “Deborah he wasn’t performing in the main hall, but word got around. There was a performance in progress on the main stage but silence fell in the room as word spread that Robert Plant was in attendance. Everyone flocked to the concert and they were there together.”
“He was very self-deprecating – continued the spectator, speaking of Plant – very funny, with great interaction with the audience. A modest man, absolutely brilliant”.
Fragments of the performance have spread online.
It is not the first time that the paths of the two have crossed, indeed at the beginning of Deborah Bonham’s artistic career there was the singer of Led Zeppelin who in his cottage took care of the first demo recordings of the then 17 year old Deborah who then she got a recording contract that led her to release her debut “For You and the Moon”. The album reached the top 5 in the NME chart, upon its release (1985) it was album of the week on BBC Radio 1, also collecting sales in the rest of Europe.
Deborah’s career has continued and now has 5 solo albums and one with the band Bonham-Bullick Band.
Deborah Bonham has performed live in America and Europe with her nephew Jason (John’s son who participated in the reunions of his father’s group), Slash, Terry Reid; she toured with-among others-Van Halen, Humble Pie, Donovan, Lonnie Donegan, Foreigner and Paul Rodgers. She took to the stage at the Glastonbury Festival and that of House of Blues (the chain of clubs founded by the “Blues Brothers” Dan Aykroyd and other artists including Aerosmith and James Belushi)
