Spinal Tap A to Zed

Bond, Peter "James" (1949-1977): Tap’s third drummer, the curly-haired Bond replaced Eric "Stumpy Joe" Childs in 1974 shortly before the release of "The Sun Never Sweats." David remembers the drummer as "the ultimate professional" and a "snappy dresser." (IST) Three years after he joined the band, while performing at the Isle of Lucy Blues-Jazz (alternately Jazz-Blues) Festival with Buddahead, Bond spontaneously combusted in what many audience members believed was part of the show. (AOL) (At the time, the other members of Tap were regrouping at Nigel’s castle in Lichtenstein after the Megaphone disaster.) Nigel: "He just was like a flash of green light, and that was it. Nothing was left. Well, there was a little green globule on his drum seat. It was a small stain, actually." Bond’s charred drumsticks were retrieved by manager Ian Faith as mementos. (EW) Nigel, who has always been close to the band’s drummers, says Bond’s death was particularly traumatic because "he owed me money." (IST) Bond was succeeded by Mick Shrimpton, who would himself later spontaneously combust. See also Spontaneous Combustion.