Old Mill House — Where John Bonham Died

John Bonham died on 25 September 1980 at Jimmy Page's home, Old Mill House on Mill Lane in the village of Clewer near Windsor, Berkshire. Bonham had been drinking heavily for the preceding day — consuming reportedly the equivalent of around forty measures of vodka — and was helped to bed in the early hours of the morning by members of the band's road crew. He was found dead in his room later that day, having asphyxiated on his own vomit while unconscious. He was 32 years old. On 4 October 1980 the remaining members of Led Zeppelin announced that they were disbanding, stating that they could not continue without him.

John Bonham was the greatest rock drummer of his generation by near-universal consensus — a musician of titanic physical power and rhythmic authority whose playing was simultaneously the most recognisable and the least replicable of any major rock performer. The opening drum figure of 'When the Levee Breaks,' recorded at Headley Grange with a microphone placed at the bottom of the stairwell to capture the natural reverb of the house, is among the most sampled pieces of music in the history of recorded sound. His playing on 'Moby Dick,' 'Good Times Bad Times,' 'Immigrant Song,' and 'Kashmir' defined what a rock drummer could do with a standard kit amplified to full volume. He had been drumming since he was five years old.

Old Mill House in Clewer is a private residence in the Thames Valley village adjacent to Windsor. There is no public marker. Bonham is buried at Rushock Parish Church near Droitwich in Worcestershire, close to his family home at Old Hyde Farm. His grave has become a pilgrimage site for Led Zeppelin fans. Windsor is accessible from London Paddington by train in approximately 30 minutes. Clewer is a short distance from Windsor town centre on the western edge of the town.