A drum skin used by John Bonham during Led Zeppelin’s five performances at Earls Court in London in 1975 sold at auction for £32,000 on September 17.

The hand-painted drum skin far exceeded its £3,000 to £5,000 estimate after it attracted a number of deep-pocketed bidders. LedZepNews understands the drum skin attracted international interest. The identity of the buyer is unknown.

Bonham’s drum skin was sold by the UK’s Omega Auctions. Auctioneer Paul Fairweather who runs the business told LedZepNews: “The incredible price for the drum skin is a clear indication of how the market for Led Zep memorabilia (and vinyl!) is stronger than it has ever been.”

“We have had numerous fully signed LPs in recent years and all have sold for between £10 and £15k,” he continued. “Definitely a great time to dig out your prized Led Zep memorabilia and see what it is worth!”

The drum skin’s seller, former chocolate reviewer (yes, really) Simon Michalak, went public as the owner of the item in a letter of provenance published in the auction listing.

“In 1987 I was working for the Showstars Crewing Company at Edwin Shirley Trucking in West Ham, and we were involved in clearing a number of shipping containers and storage units,” he wrote. “The order was to take everything out and ‘burn it’, which we did with numerous items, including Alice Cooper’s guillotine and disappearing cabinet! However, when we found the Led Zeppelin flight cases and one was full of drum skins, I asked if I could ‘take all of these home’ as I was playing drums at the time.”

“Permission granted, skins taken home – including this one. It was only this year (2024) that I turned the skin 180 degrees and realised that it was indeed the 1975 Song Remains The Same skin. As any Bonham enthusiasts will know, only plain white front heads were used both before and after these shows. The skin also shows the marks made by microphones hitting it during the shows.”

Michalak wrote in a post on Led Zeppelin’s official forum on September 15 that he had decided to sell the drum skin because “it’s far too important an object to be left in a corner gathering dust” and “I need a new kitchen”.

Two gongs used by Bonham on stage have sold at auction in recent years. One gong owned by Bonham’s mother and sister sold for $64,000 in 2009 while a gong used in Led Zeppelin’s January 9, 1970 Royal Albert Hall performance sold for £52,750 in 2021.