REDDITCH will celebrate one of its finest later this year with a special party to mark the 75th birthday of music legend John Bonham.
The biennial music event, usually held in September, has been brought forward to May 27 to toast Led Zeppelin drummer Bonham’s 75th birthday.
Bonham was born on May 31, 1948, at 84 Birchfield Road in Headless Cross, the home of local midwife nurse Violet Jones which was commemorated in 2017 with a blue plaque.
The event’s main live music stage will be under the canopies, just yards from the John Bonham Memorial in the Town Centre installed in May 2018 to mark his 70th birthday.
John Bonham is a Redditch legend. Picture by Bruce Alan Bennett / Shutterstock.com
The memorial was unveiled that September by his sister, successful blues singer-songwriter, Deborah Bonham, at the launch of the inaugural John Bonham Celebration festival.
Event Director, Ros Sidaway has been a huge Bonham fan since the late 1970s.
She said: “I love Led Zeppelin because of the variety of music they released, and you could hear a progression in their music between each album, they were more than just a rock band and a lot more innovative than many others.
“We hope the people of Redditch will come together and celebrate John appropriately and this celebration is a great opportunity to show people around the world just how much he means to us.
“During our 2021 celebrations, we had visitors from America and across the world, which we’d had previously but given the Covid restrictions at the time was amazing.”
The event will be in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust, the charity nominated by the Bonham family when the memorial was installed in 2018.
Ros added: “They provide support to teenagers across the West Midlands who are undergoing cancer treatment and also help them with their mental health.
“Cancer is challenging enough for adults to get their heads around let alone teenagers, so this cause is hugely important.”
Tickets will go on sale at the end of February and the event line-up will begin to be released at the end of the month.
Visit www.JohnBonhamAC.com to book tickets or email [email protected] for more information.
