How did Bonham go gold?

[SchenkerFan]

I mean, we never talk about them. Hardly anyone ever brings them up. While I enjoy that first album, I've never seen anyone call himself a Bonham fan. How in the hell did they ever sell 500,000 copies?

[Nobodyspecial]

It went gold on the strength of "Wait for you" and people buying the album thinking the rest of it would be as good as that one song, which it wasn't. It was 1989 a lot of questionable albums went gold and platinum.

[mrspeedgene]

ZEPtards is the answer

[DonJuanDeMarco]

I went gold on the strength of "Wait for you" and people buying the album thinking the rest of it would be as good as that one song, which it wasn't. It was 1989 a lot of questionable albums went gold and platinum.

Right on the money. MTV was a VERY powerful thing, and this is all pre-internet.

Tis is not mentioned that often, but I am convinced that records sold more copies back then because people bought the vinyl or the cassette, then again on CD.

Did Columbia House and BMG count towards albums sales too? If it did, that helped too. At one point, I had 3 different "buy 12 CD's for a penny" accounts! I bought all sorts of stuff I only listened to once.

[krisholmes]

I believe it went gold by selling 500,000 in the first five or six months.... and then basically nothing for the next 35 years.

Also, back then even a hated band (Kingdom Come) could go gold.

Nowadays there are more bands than ever (well, ten years ago there were more bands than ever) With more releases, selling less copies... I get the distinct impression that it's harder to go gold now than it was back then.

[Mister Freeze]

Here's the Billboard 200 for the week the Bonham album peaked:
https://www.billboard.com/charts/billbo ... 988-12-16/

You could argue this is the commercial high-point of metal. Just look at the top-10 alone.

You had a lot of fans who went record shopping on a regular basis, who might buy something "big" along with one or two albums from smaller, up-and-coming acts (like Bonham or Bulletboys). It was definitely a "rising tide" era.

This was also leading up to Christmas. This Bonham could've been on a few lists for Santa (along with Gn'R Lies and a ton of other shit).

"Wait For You" was a great single (produced by Bob Ezrin, which I totally forgot) and crossed a few more categories than say, the latest Britny Fox single.

The Bonham name helped with Zeppelin fans who might've been on the fence.

According to Wikipedia, Bonham toured the album hard over two years. I don't remember it that way, but maybe they did. The album spent 29 weeks on the Billboard 200. A nice run and in line with Gold-level acts.

Ironically for The Disregard of Timekeeping, timing was everything.

[CrankerBait]

Enough fans hoping without much basis that it might actually have a little of that Led Zeppelin magic.

[SchenkerFan]

Here's the Billboard 200 for the week the Bonham album peaked:
https://www.billboard.com/charts/billbo ... 988-12-16/

Interesting. Even Hurricane's Over The Edge had been on the charts for 34 weeks and they're definitely D-list.

[FreddyFender]

Some good points but I'd add that baby boomers loomed large over the 80s - their record buying preferences are what pushed AOR and adult contemporary stuff to the top of the charts.... people in their late 20s all the way up to early 40s.

Baby boomers fucking loved Led Zeppelin, so when the Zeppelin clones hit MTV, it wasn't just sixteen year olds buying those records - there were a lot of "old" people buying those records too. Not the majority, but enough to push a pretty mediocre band like Bonham go gold.

My Mom was nearly 40 when Whitesnake's 1987 came out and she LOVED "Is This Love."

[MetalSludgeCEO]

I mean, we never talk about them. Hardly anyone ever brings them up. While I enjoy that first album, I've never seen anyone call himself a Bonham fan. How in the hell did they ever sell 500,000 copies?

Simple answer... he's John Bonham's kid...

The label made that go Gold... and it's that simple.

There are lots of bands who get signed, and if they are the President of the label, or the main A&R guy's signing... all bets are off, that the label will pour money into it.

It's also why Skid Row sold 5M copies on their first record, where Warrant sold 2M... add in the Bon Jovi & Doc McGee factor, and the sales literally doubled.

$tEvil

[El Vampiro Blanco]

All I know is I saw them open for metallica and they got pelted with toilet rolls.
Dutch Metallica fans couldn't give a fuck about Bonhams kid.

[Love_Industry]

All I know is I saw them open for metallica and they got pelted with toilet rolls.
Dutch Metallica fans couldn't give a fuck about Bonhams kid.

Yeah, for European metalheads in 1989 Zeppelin was a half forgotten dinosaur band like Uriah Heep or Bad Company.
Zeppelin didn't tour or release new material (obviously) and they weren't really played on the radio or MTV over here.
The Firm or Plant's solo albums didn't register with the Maiden / Mötley / Metallica type audiences.
The Remasters album in 1990 did raise their profile though but by then it was too late for Bonham.

[daveg]

Here's the Billboard 200 for the week the Bonham album peaked:
https://www.billboard.com/charts/billbo ... 988-12-16/

Interesting. Even Hurricane's Over The Edge had been on the charts for 34 weeks and they're definitely D-list.

If you told me that I could only listen to those 200 albums for the rest of my life, I think I'd be Ok with that.

GnR , Debbie Gibson , Easy E, The Escape Club, Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock, Winger, Public Enemy..
Entire list is awesome, and a little bit of everything



Our entire HS loved the hair metal scene...can't remember 1 person who liked Bonham. Not even that they were disliked, just like they didn't exist.

[kytepunches]

Columbia House Records and Tapes. Everyone got a copy if they wanted it or not.

[BernieTaupson]

All I know is I saw them open for metallica and they got pelted with toilet rolls.

Post of the week.

[MattleyCrue]

I am a Bonham fan. Some great songs!

[Velvis]

That song was huge on radio. Doesn't surprise me it went gold. I think the main audience of that song wasn't the MTV 80s era rock fans. I think it had a lot of regular people buying it from radio play and Zep fans buying it.

The fact that they didn't sell more or become a big band just adds to my theory.

[Bob Sacamano]

I went gold on the strength of "Wait for you" and people buying the album thinking the rest of it would be as good as that one song, which it wasn't. It was 1989 a lot of questionable albums went gold and platinum.

Right on the money. MTV was a VERY powerful thing, and this is all pre-internet.

Tis is not mentioned that often, but I am convinced that records sold more copies back then because people bought the vinyl or the cassette, then again on CD.

Did Columbia House and BMG count towards albums sales too? If it did, that helped too. At one point, I had 3 different "buy 12 CD's for a penny" accounts! I bought all sorts of stuff I only listened to once.

I definitely think records released in 1987-1988 got a huge bump from being bought first on LP/cassette and then later on CD. Even a record like Hysteria or Appetite sold millions in rebuys.

Record club issues do count towards RIAA certifications.

[uwec95]

I loved their debut album, and still do. There's some very good songs on that album.

[Gibsonite]

Saw them open up for The Cult on the Sonic Temple tour. Can't remember a single thing about them other than they opened and closed their set with Wait For You for some reason

[El Vampiro Blanco]

All I know is I saw them open for metallica and they got pelted with toilet rolls.
Dutch Metallica fans couldn't give a fuck about Bonhams kid.

Yeah, for European metalheads in 1989 Zeppelin was a half forgotten dinosaur band like Uriah Heep or Bad Company.
Zeppelin didn't tour or release new material (obviously) and they weren't really played on the radio or MTV over here.
The Firm or Plant's solo albums didn't register with the Maiden / Mötley / Metallica type audiences.
The Remasters album in 1990 did raise their profile though but by then it was too late for Bonham.

Yeah, in my experience Zeppelin was never that big here in Europe (as compared to how they were received in the US).
Deep Purple and Black Sabbath seemed a lot more popular than Zeppelin.
I think that is the case here even today...

[MetalSludgeCEO]

That song was huge on radio. Doesn't surprise me it went gold. I think the main audience of that song wasn't the MTV 80s era rock fans. I think it had a lot of regular people buying it from radio play and Zep fans buying it.

The fact that they didn't sell more or become a big band just adds to my theory.

""""""""""""""""That song was huge on radio. """""""""""""""""

This is falls flat as not every radio station, not every city, state or region is the same as yours.

I have read the same line on here for years, saying how huge a band was in their area while growing up.

In reality, what happens in Texas doesn't always happen in New York, or Florida, or Washington.

Bonham absolutely got a HUGE push from his label and related management, agency, etc... just based on his name alone.

Of course, not as much as what's his gut... but... very much in the same world.

Like Jason, Wolfgang will be left behind as well, in time... just wait... he will always be that spoiled kid from Studio City.

$tEvil

[Velvis]

That song was huge on radio. Doesn't surprise me it went gold. I think the main audience of that song wasn't the MTV 80s era rock fans. I think it had a lot of regular people buying it from radio play and Zep fans buying it.

The fact that they didn't sell more or become a big band just adds to my theory.

""""""""""""""""That song was huge on radio. """""""""""""""""

This is falls flat as not every radio station, not every city, state or region is the same as yours.

I have read the same line on here for years, saying how huge a band was in their area while growing up.

In reality, what happens in Texas doesn't always happen in New York, or Florida, or Washington.

Bonham absolutely got a HUGE push from his label and related management, agency, etc... just based on his name alone.

Of course, not as much as what's his gut... but... very much in the same world.

Like Jason, Wolfgang will be left behind as well, in time... just wait... he will always be that spoiled kid from Studio City.

$tEvil

How does the record label pushing the band because his name is Bonham change anything that I said?

The song in the northeast was huge on radio (Zeppelin themselves were still all over Boston/New England radio during the 80s) and I don't think I ever recall seeing the video more than a handful of times during the headbangers ball/dial mtv hard rock and metal era. Sure, there was likely payola going on to get the airplay. That seems to be a common occurrence during those days for radio, video, and charting regardless of your last name.

The song was a popular radio song for a bit and by my estimation is the reason it went gold. It got airplay, it was a song that had a Zep sound, and was the dead drummer's kid's first band so selling gold really sounds about right to me.

Your explanation is the record company pushed the band because of who his Dad was and somehow (unrelated to airplay) magically they sold 500k records?

The song was a minor hit, the album peaked at gold, and the band disappeared. Not all that uncommon with a signed band regardless of who your Dad was.

Of course, you seem to have to always bring it back to Wolfie. Apparently, he keeps you up at night.

[HoldenSSV]

The second single, Guilty, got some MTV love and is a decent tune.

[alleyrulez]

those two albums were good.

I even liked the third, which they released under the band name Motherland.

I'm a Bonham fan.

[woblinweebles]

How does the record label pushing the band because his name is Bonham change anything that I said?

The song in the northeast was huge on radio (Zeppelin themselves were still all over Boston/New England radio during the 80s) and I don't think I ever recall seeing the video more than a handful of times during the headbangers ball/dial mtv hard rock and metal era. Sure, there was likely payola going on to get the airplay. That seems to be a common occurrence during those days for radio, video, and charting regardless of your last name.

The song was a popular radio song for a bit and by my estimation is the reason it went gold. It got airplay, it was a song that had a Zep sound, and was the dead drummer's kid's first band so selling gold really sounds about right to me.

Your explanation is the record company pushed the band because of who his Dad was and somehow (unrelated to airplay) magically they sold 500k records?

The song was a minor hit, the album peaked at gold, and the band disappeared. Not all that uncommon with a signed band regardless of who your Dad was.

Of course, you seem to have to always bring it back to Wolfie. Apparently, he keeps you up at night.

It was slow at works, so I did a quick search in Billboard and the "Wait for You" video was in regular rotation on MTV from the end of Sept until around Christmas. Most of the weeks it was in Active rotation, which was somewhere between Heavy and Medium, but for a few weeks in November it was in Heavy rotation. The video for "Guilty" only stuck around for three weeks in Medium rotation. On the Album Rock charts, "Wait for You" had an even longer run (22 weeks) from late Sept. to Feb. getting up to # 9 for a few weeks. "Guilty" was on the chart for 7 weeks, but never got higher than #29 for a week. The last single, "Bringing Me Down," only had one week on the Album Rock chart.

Got to see them opening for the Cult in early 90 and Jason had jacked up his arm or wrist, so they had another drummer on stage with them, which was kind of weird.

[GreatWhiteSnake]

Alchemy??

[SchenkerFan]

those two albums were good.

I even liked the third, which they released under the band name Motherland.

I'm a Bonham fan.

I found that Motherland album dirt cheap in a used record store about 15 years ago. It's a solid attempt at going grunge. Rumor is a great song.

Before Bonham, Jason was in Virginia Wolf, a British AOR band that released two masterpieces. So I'd say he's done his fair share of good records. I was never impressed with him as a drummer though, he's pretty standard.

[Love_Industry]

Yeah, in my experience Zeppelin was never that big here in Europe (as compared to how they were received in the US).
Deep Purple and Black Sabbath seemed a lot more popular than Zeppelin.
I think that is the case here even today...

I think Zep was huge in Europe too in the 70s, too young to remember but the tours seem to have been sold out.

Their problem is that they quit at the wrong time. The new generation of metalheads never caught on to them around 84-85 (like Heep or Lizzy) while Purple (and say Alice Cooper) had well timed comebacks that made them seem current.

Still, if Zeppelin booked a tour of Europe tomorrow I think they would sell more tickets than the last Purple and Sabbath tours. Now they have the the legend status and it would be a "must-see" show - first and last time for anyone under 60.

[Velvis]

How does the record label pushing the band because his name is Bonham change anything that I said?

The song in the northeast was huge on radio (Zeppelin themselves were still all over Boston/New England radio during the 80s) and I don't think I ever recall seeing the video more than a handful of times during the headbangers ball/dial mtv hard rock and metal era. Sure, there was likely payola going on to get the airplay. That seems to be a common occurrence during those days for radio, video, and charting regardless of your last name.

The song was a popular radio song for a bit and by my estimation is the reason it went gold. It got airplay, it was a song that had a Zep sound, and was the dead drummer's kid's first band so selling gold really sounds about right to me.

Your explanation is the record company pushed the band because of who his Dad was and somehow (unrelated to airplay) magically they sold 500k records?

The song was a minor hit, the album peaked at gold, and the band disappeared. Not all that uncommon with a signed band regardless of who your Dad was.

Of course, you seem to have to always bring it back to Wolfie. Apparently, he keeps you up at night.

It was slow at works, so I did a quick search in Billboard and the "Wait for You" video was in regular rotation on MTV from the end of Sept until around Christmas. Most of the weeks it was in Active rotation, which was somewhere between Heavy and Medium, but for a few weeks in November it was in Heavy rotation. The video for "Guilty" only stuck around for three weeks in Medium rotation. On the Album Rock charts, "Wait for You" had an even longer run (22 weeks) from late Sept. to Feb. getting up to # 9 for a few weeks. "Guilty" was on the chart for 7 weeks, but never got higher than #29 for a week. The last single, "Bringing Me Down," only had one week on the Album Rock chart.

Got to see them opening for the Cult in early 90 and Jason had jacked up his arm or wrist, so they had another drummer on stage with them, which was kind of weird.

Does regular rotation mean that it was playing next to Madonna and Wham outside of "themed" shows? I didn't spend much time watching MTV outside of Headbanger's Ball.