Deborah Bonham Backstage

Deborah Bonham plays "BACKSTAGE" at the Green Hotel in Kinross on Fri 8th & Sat 9th April 2011. Jerry Shirley will be on Drums who was the Drummer with HUMBLE PIE and Special Guest Steve Rodgers who is Paul Rodgers Son.

Deborah is currently recording tracks for her much anticipated new album with Producer NICK TAUBER, best known for his work with THIN LIZZY and MARILLION. She has also been writing with JOHN HOGG, a member of MOKE, who tasted chart success in the USA and toured the UK, Europe and the US with The Black Crowes.

The Bonham family tree is firmly rooted in musical tradition. First was John Bonham, the esteemed drummer for Led Zeppelin, who was followed by his son Jason, a skilled skinsman in his own right, who performed with Zeppelin at their much-hailed O2 show.

Add to that list Deborah Bonham - sister of John, aunt of Jason .Born in Worcestershire, Deborah was only five when John joined Led Zeppelin, and this powerful introduction sparked in her the overwhelming desire to write and perform.

The success of the first trip to the USA with her band lead to further tours, shows in Los Angeles House of Blues with guests Slash and Terry Reid, Dallas Fort Worth, Houston, New York and Chicago House of Blues. Whilst in LA, Deborah performed live on LA's Rockline Radio to three million listeners throughout North America and Canada.

Back in the UK and Europe, Deborah has toured and performed with Van Halen, Alannah Myles, Tim Rose, Uli Jon Roth, Paul Weller, Humble Pie, Donovan, Lonnie Donegan, Jools Holland, Ann Peebles, Foreigner and Paul Rodgers. She’s also played festivals from Glastonbury to Donnington, and twice at Fairport Conventions Cropredy Festival.

2004's CD ‘The Old Hyde’, which featured Mick Fleetwood, The Pretenders' Robbie McIntosh, Robbie Blunt and Dougie Boyle of Robert Plant's band, and Jason Bonham. Reviewers were certainly impressed with the album, ‘Classic Rock’ leading the plaudits:“…the album has balls…a classy set of bluesy hard rock”. The influential All Music Guide judged that it was "…one of the best blues-rock albums of the early 21st Century…not a bummer in sight"

Finally, Deborah has reached a period in her life where she feels comfortable. Her love and respect for John are undying, but she believes she has paid her dues and is now respected in the music industry for her own talents. "You have to remember that Led Zeppelin/John were and are even more so now so revered. It’s been difficult because people judge you for being associated with that name. I had a very big decision to make all those years ago: do I renounce that name and invent myself as somebody else or do I actually stick it out?" Deborah stuck it out partly in recognition of the inspiration she drew from John: "I was so very proud of my brother, why on earth would I renounce him, he was the one that gave me the inspiration to sing. He was my big brother and I loved him so much. My decision was to make him proud – nothing else really mattered – my duty is to do the best I possibly can to uphold the name which I feel I’ve done and am doing as Jason is. So it’s not so much having to prove anything anymore. I feel quite comfortable in my skin with that".

Indeed, at a recent show in Malta opening for Robert Plant, the Zeppelin front man was quick to acknowledge Deborah’s talents, as Deborah told journalist Stephen Gullette: "Robert came and hugged me… He said "My God, I can’t believe what you’re doing".

2008's CD ‘Duchess’ (Warners/Rhino) - 'stands as her finest work to date'. She rips through 13 original compositions backed by her forceful working band - former Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley, bassist Ian Rowley, keyboardist Gerard Louis, and guitarist Peter Bullick. Each song showcases her soulful singing and her effortless, sensitive approach to a gamut of styles, from blues and soul to hard rock and English folk. The album also includes guest drummer Jason Bonham and a duet with Paul Rodgers, the former frontman for Free and Bad Co.

Reviews of ‘Duchess’ have been glowing, Blues Matters! describing Deborah as "a blues mama par excellence" and Blues Review listed her as one of the New Women of Blues. Modern Guitars magazine called ‘Duchess’ "A celebration of soul, strength and family…the album stands as her finest work."