I've wanted to be a drummer since I was about five years old. I used to play on a bath salt container with wires on the bottom, and on a round coffee tin with a loose wire fixed to it to give a snare drum effect. Plus there were always my Mum's pots and pans. When I was ten, my Mum bought me a snare drum. My Dad bought me my first full drum kit when I was 15. It was almost prehistoric. Most of it was rust.

Not everybody likes or understands a drum solo, so I like to bring in effects and sounds to keep their interest.

People who don't take care of their drums really annoy me.

My nerves before a gig got worse; I had terrible bad nerves all the time. Once we started... I was fine.

I have no qualm about the quality of the contemporary repertory.

My names John Bonham, I'm a drummer and I'm potty about cars.

I dare not drink before a gig because I'll get tired and blow it. So I have to sit drinking tea in a caravan.