Rocking the Blues for Hearing Aid Recycling.

Rocking the Blues for Hearing Aid Recycling. We’re so thrilled to have  Deborah Bonham and Peter Bullick of BonhamBullick join our Hall of (Supporting Partners) Fame!

Rocking the Blues for Hearing Aid Recycling!  When Bonham met Bullick and blues, rock and soul magic was made.

Deborah Bonham and Peter Bullick of BonhamBullick supporting Hearing Aid Recycling.

Rocking the Blues for Hearing Aid Recycling. Both Deborah and Pete have impressive and illustrious musical careers on stage.

On stage Deborah has released a string of critically acclaimed albums.  Her 2008 album Duchess received a 5* review on discogs.  It featured a duet with Paul Rodgers of Free and a co-write with Steve Marriott.  As well as special guest appearances from Jason Bonham, Robbie Blunt (Robert Plant) and Dick Parry (Pink Floyd) amongst others.

Deborah spent much of her childhood with her father in a cottage at the back of The Old Hyde Farm.  Her brother John (drummer with Led Zeppelin) and his family lived in the main house.  Deborah was 5 when John joined Led Zeppelin.  Time spent at The Old Hyde sparked her overwhelming desire to write and perform music.  She was just 17 when she and John’s son Jason started playing and recording their own songs at Robert Plant’s house in a nearby village.  It was Robert who advised and encouraged her to send demo tapes to labels.  Which she did, anonymously.  Landing her first deal with major label Carerre Records.  Leading to the release of the critically acclaimed ‘For You and the Moon’.

The Album reached Top 5 in the NME chart as well as being played widely in Europe and featuring as Simon Bates’s Record of the Week and being voted Record of The Year by Music Mart – Germany.

Her long and successful career, to date, has seen many more recordings, broadcasts and appearances around the world leading to the eponymous release BonhamBullick with long time collaborator and all round partner in crime (in all the best ways), Peter Bullick.

Peter Bullick of BonhamBullick, supporting partner of Hearing Aid Recycling.

Born in Belfast, Peter grew up in a musical family.  Often jamming and making music with his elder brother.  Peter says that “Music was drummed into me from a young age”.  He also says that from the very early days he was “drawn to tone more than a lot of notes”.  Asserting that “if you get the tone right, you don’t have to play a lot of notes”.  He credits the wonderful tone he manages to create from “growing up I listened to Paul Kossoff, Peter Green and Johnny Fean (Horslips).  Something Peter shares with all these musical heroes is the love of playing his Les Paul guitar.

On the road with Paul Rodgers.

Peter played his original Les Paul guitar when he was touring with Paul Rodgers as part of the 2017 ‘Free Spirit’ tour.

Rocking the Blues for Hearing Aid Recycling. BonhamBullick – Rock, roll, soul and blues magic.

BonhamBullick have a new album out in 2023 which they will be touring during the year – more on the album (and the tour) later.

It was Peter’s incredible Paul Kossoffesque (we firmly believe it should be an adjective meaning in the Paul Kossoff style!) tone that first alerted and attracted Deborah’s attention to Peter ahead of musical magic being created.

Paddy goes To Holyhead.

Deborah explains in relation to Peter “that’s how we met, I was at a wedding where I knew the groom and Peter knew the bride.”  She goes on to say that “he was playing in a band called ‘Paddy Goes to Holyhead’.  I was at the back of the room and heard this note.  I had never heard anyone play a note like that before”.  As they say ‘the rest is history’ and a happily married partnership followed.

On the road again with Paul Rodgers.

2018 saw Deborah and Peter take to the road as part of Paul Rodgers ‘Stars Align Tour’ which saw Peter, Deborah and the trusty Les Paul original performing 20 dates coast to coast across America.

BonhamBullick – The Album – 2023

Rocking the Blues for Hearing Aid Recycling. 2023 has seen the release of the eponymous album BonhamBullick.  The album opens with the track ‘See You Again’ by Bernard Fuller.  Peter summons Kossoff’s spellbinding style throughout the album but perhaps most impressively in this first song.  The album is described as a series of ‘retellings and interpretations done with respect for the past as well as an eye on the future’.  It’s an incredibly personal album with wide appeal.  The album is incredible and available to buy here!

For the love of Ireland, the land of musical and mythical giants!

We’re so grateful to Deborah and Peter for their support for Hearing Aid Recycling.  In reading  and researching more about this awesome duo we couldn’t help deciding that Ireland and a deep connection to it has helped weave it all together.  Obviously Peter was born and bred in Ireland.  However, Deborah also has strong connections to The Emerald Isle.  Late brother John’s band Led Zeppelin  enjoyed significant connections to Northern Ireland. 

Houses Of Holy

Their first live performance of Stairway to Heaven was at Ulster Hall.  The album sleeve for their 1973 album ‘Houses of Holy’ was shot at the Giant’s Causeway.  Deborah and her elder brother Michael made a pilgrimage there. Deborah comments that “she loved the Giant’s Causeway by the North Atlantic water with the wind blowing” (pictured above).  “It was a real moment for me and my brother”.

Honouring Deborah’s brother John and raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust.

As we’ve already mentioned it isn’t only our Hearing Aid Recycling initiative that has been fortunate enough to benefit from support from this wonderful and talented couple.  2018 saw the installation and unveiling of a memorial to John (Deborah’s brother) in his home town of Redditch.  The bronze memorial shows John playing drums sitting on a base modelled on the Giant’s Causeway.  True to the spirit of John and his love of family life and young people the statue isn’t a stuffy bronze effigy but incorporates a place for people to sit and take a pause, catch their breath and be (hopefully) present in the moment.  Before launching back into their lives.

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.

It was Jimmy Page who brought John into the Led Zeppelin fold.  His powerful and unique drumming style contributing massively to the band’s success.  Fellow bandmate Robert Plant who has been known to collaborate with Deborah and Peter in the studio and occasionally at ‘surprise’ gigs commented at the time of the unveiling of John’s memorial statue that “Bonzo is still the best drummer in the world, and no one could ever get close to him”.

Robert Plant while mourning John commented “Still the best by far”!

BonhamBullick -The Album, The Tour.

There’s sooooooo much more we could write about this fantastic twosome.  Again, their charity work.  Deborah’s continual and tireless campaigning for better welfare for animals and perhaps Peter’s tireless and equally committed (and occasionally documented) love of chillis.  If you’d like to know more about Deborah, Peter and their masterful and magical music please head on over to the Deborah Bonham Website here.

BonhamBullick – Touring The Album.

There’s still 7 chances remaining to see them live (with hopefully more to be announced) this year.  We’ve listed the dates above for ease of access and planning.  You can find booking information here.  Hurry though as they sell out fast.

Please donate your no longer needed hearing aids for recycling.  Here’s how and another reason why!

How to donate your hearing aids?

Hearing Aid Recycling has just passed it’s first birthday.  We’re heading for 800 hearing aids donated with hopefully many, many more to come.  We’re only just getting the message out there that our network of fantastic collection centres exists and it’s growing every day.  It really is so simple to donate your hearing aids.  Either by dropping them off, use our interactive map here to hopefully find somewhere convenient and local to you or post them direct to us, the address details are here.  As always if you have a public facing premises or like Deborah and Peter are happy to lend the support of your public profile then please do get in touch with us here.

Why to donate your hearing aids?

In a nutshell there are hundreds of millions of deaf people without access to hearing aids and we are throwing them away.  However, founder Zoe first spoke to Peter to ask for his and Deborah’s support nearly a year ago.  Sadly at the time of writing the Ukraine war rumbles on.  Hearing Aid Recycling are working with ChildAid who run charity missions to support children in Eastern Europe. 

We’ll help you if we can.

During the first conversation Zoe and Peter had about the Hearing Aid Recycling mission and their partnering with ChildAid Peter pledged his support.  He told Zoe how he remembered growing up in Ireland at the height of the troubles and bombings and how people “literally had their ear drums blown out”.  That he could hardly think what the “super bombs of modern warfare must have done to the people of Ukraine and their hearing”.  Please donate any no longer needed hearing aids so that they can go on to help transform lives around the world through access to better hearing.  If you can’t find a convenient collection centre on our map or list, please don’t hesitate to contact us here and we’ll see what we can do to help you.  Every hearing aid matters.  Each and every one could change a person’s entire life potential and open up many opportunities.

THANK YOU Deborah and Peter for your kindness and support from all of us at Hearing Aid Recycling.