 A North American tour , the band 's first since 1977 , was scheduled to commence on 17 October 1980 . On 24 September , Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios . During the journey , Bonham asked to stop for breakfast , where he downed four quadruple vodkas ( between 16 and 24 oz . ) , with a ham roll . After taking a bite of the ham roll he said to his assistant , " breakfast " . He continued to drink heavily after arriving at the studio . The rehearsals were halted late that evening and the band retired to Page 's house — the Old Mill House in <unk> , Windsor . After midnight , Bonham , who had fallen asleep , was taken to bed and placed on his side . At 1 : 45 pm the next day , Benji LeFevre ( Led Zeppelin 's new tour manager ) and John Paul Jones found Bonham dead . The cause of death was asphyxiation from vomit ; an autopsy found no other drugs in his body . Bonham was cremated on 10 October 1980 , and his ashes were buried in the graveyard of St Michael 's Church in <unk> near Droitwich , Worcestershire . A verdict of accidental death was returned at an inquest held on 27 October . 
