“Yngwie had no stage etiquette. He’d walk in front of me going widdle-widdle-widdle over a verse of a song. It was very rude!”: How legendary rock singer Graham Bonnet was upstaged – and almost strangled – by guitar hero Yngwie Malmsteen

In the early ’80s, Yngwie Malmsteen was one of the hottest guitar players in the world. But one famous rock singer found the Swedish shredder a little too hot to handle.

Malmsteen was still a relative unknown when he joined the band Alcatrazz in 1983. He was just 19 at the time – a young prodigy who worshipped Ritchie Blackmore and played at twice the speed.

The rest of the Alcatrazz line-up, which came together in Los Angeles, was comprised of seasoned musicians.

Clive Burr had been the drummer in Iron Maiden. Bassist Gary Shea and keyboard player Jimmy Waldo had played in the band New England, whose debut album had been co-produced by Paul Stanley of Kiss. And the really big name in Alcatrazz was English singer Graham Bonnet.

Bonnet had briefly starred in Rainbow and The Michael Schenker Group and had also scored a solo hit in the UK with the song Night Games.

By contrast, Malmsteen had played in the band Steeler, fronted by singer Ron Keel. Steeler was a club-level act that had made just one self-titled album before splitting.

By the time Alcatrazz recorded their debut album No Parole From Rock N’ Roll, Clive Burr had left the group, replaced by former Alice Cooper drummer Jan Uvena.

No Parole From Rock N’ Roll was well received by critics. Standout tracks such as Island In The Sun and Hiroshima Mon Amour were co-written by Bonnet and Malmsteen – and suggested a powerful chemistry between them.

But when Alcatrazz started touring, Bonnet soon realised that he and Malmsteen were not meant to be together.

In an interview with Planet Rock magazine, Bonnet recalled: “Yngwie had no stage etiquette. He’d walk in front of me going widdle-widdle-widdle over a verse of a song. It was very rude.”

Matters came to a head at a US show after Malmsteen accused Bonnet of pulling out the cord of his guitar during a solo. Bonnet insisted that he tripped over the cord by accident.

Bonnet also claimed that after that show, in the heat of the moment, Malmsteen was drunk and attacked him.

“Yngwie grabbed me backstage and started throttling me,” Bonnet said. “One of our crew stepped in and got hold of Yngwie’s head under his arm and said, ‘Are you gonna leave it alone now? Otherwise I’m gonna break your neck.’

“So Yngwie stopped and said, ‘Sorry man, sorry!’ But later that night we fired him.”

Malmsteen would go on to develop his own career as a guitar hero, and Bonnet found a replacement in an emerging genius-superstar, Steve Vai, who had previously played for Frank Zappa.

However, after one album with Alcatrazz, 1985’s Disturbing The Peace, Vai went on to bigger things with David Lee Roth.

And with that, the writing was on the wall for Alcatrazz.

“When Steve left,” Bonnet said, “I knew this band was going down the shitter.”

Alcatrazz mustered one more album, Dangerous Games, featuring guitarist Danny Johnson, before splitting in 1987.

Bonnet later made his peace with Malmsteen.

“Yngwie was pretty crazy as a young man,” Bonnet said. “He’s not that guy anymore.”

Bonnet was also a changed man. As he put it very simply: “I quit drinking a long time ago.”