There’s a saying: “Never meet your heroes.” For the Bonham family, that phrase played out in two separate instances, with both experiences involving members of the iconic Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham’s family.
The first incident dates back to the ’70s in Hollywood, California, and the second one occurred on August 18, 1984, in Derbyshire, England.
In a recent interview with KSHE 95, Jason Bonham, the son of John Bonham, reflected on both events.
The chat was focused on his involvement in the Best of All Worlds Tour, which features Van Halen’s “Van Hagar” era material, thanks to the participation of Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony.
But amid the discussion, Jason opened up about his personal memories related to Van Halen and a particularly awkward meeting with Alex Van Halen.
“It’s been 10 years since I’ve been playing with Sammy and Mike, and it’s 40 years since I first saw Mike play at Donington,” Jason shared .
“My wife and I were at Donington, Monsters of Rock: AC/DC, Van Halen. They were like ‘monsters of throwing bottles everywhere when they played.’”
He continued, “I met Alex Van Halen that day, and Leonard Haze from Y&T introduced me to him. I was starstruck, thinking, ‘Oh my God, it’s Alex Van Halen!’ But when Leonard introduced me, Alex just goes, ‘So what?'”
Years later, after becoming close friends with Michael Anthony, Jason mentioned this cold reception and got an unexpected explanation.
“I asked Mikey, ‘Why was Alex such a dick that day?’ and Mike explained, ‘Well, we heard your dad was in the Rainbow, and we were playing Gazzarri’s next door.
We all ran around to the Rainbow to say hi, and Alex jumped out to introduce himself. But your dad swung at him instead!’ Maybe that’s why Alex held a grudge all those years.”
John Bonham’s fiery reputation had, apparently, left a lasting impression, impacting both Jason’s introduction to Alex and a long-standing tension between their two families.