Graham Bonnet

Graham Bonnet was born in Skegness, Lincolnshire, in 1947 and entered ‘show business’ at the tender age of eight, when he sang Good Companions at his Cub concert. Two years later, he launched himself on the pop world with his rendering of Paul Anka’s hit, Diana, again at a Cub concert.

In 1967, Graham formed a duo with his cousin Trevor Grunnill, who had been playing (as Tervor Gordon) in Australia with The Bee Gees.  The duo – called The Marbles – had their first hit single in 1968, with the single Only One Woman, which reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart.

That song, and the follow-up single, The Walls Fell Down, were both written by the Bee Gees as a favour to Trevor.

Trevor quit show business and Graham found himself singing on TV adverts, recording occasionally and even playing bass for a while. But it all proved unsuccessful.

He appeared in the 1975 British comedy film, Three for All, as the lead singer of a fictional band called Billy Beethoven, along with several notable UK comedy personalities and his then partner Adrienne Posta.

Bonnet recorded two albums and several singles in the 70s – including his version of Bob Dylan‘s It’s All Over Now Baby Blue (which reached #3 in Australia in November 1977) –  before joining Rainbow to replace Ronnie James Dio.

He sang on their Down to Earth LP, which spawned two hit singles in 1979 and 1980 – Since You Been Gone and All Night Long.  During Bonnet’s time in the band, Rainbow also headlined the inaugural Monsters of Rock festival at Donington Park, Castle Donington.

Upon leaving the band, he recorded Line Up (1981) with fellow Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell. The album mixed catchy pop tunes with hard rock and some old R&B.

Tempted by an offer from guitarist Michael Schenker, Bonnet joined the Michael Schenker Group (MSG) for the Assault Attack album. Bonnet was fired from the group after only a single concert, at Sheffield Polytechnic, when he drunkenly exposed himself on stage.

Bonnet then formed his own band, Alcatrazz, with Gary Shea (bass), Jimmy Waldo (keyboards), Jan Uvena (drums), and Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. The band enjoyed moderate success in the US and major success in Japan.

They released three studio albums – No Parole from Rock N’ Roll, Disturbing the Peace (with guitarist Steve Vai replacing Malmsteen), and Dangerous Games with Danny Johnson on guitar. They also released a live album, Live Sentence, with material from Yngwie Malmsteen’s period in the band.

Alcatrazz disbanded in 1987, and Bonnet returned to his solo career. In 2009, Bonnet reformed Alcatrazz with three new musicians. Bonnet did not consult with his former bandmates Uvena and Waldo, who also re-grouped as a separate version of Alcatrazz in retaliation.

Bonnet’s post-Alcatrazz projects have all been short-lived.