Graham Bonnet recently shared a shocking story about his time working with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. He revealed a violent confrontation that ended their professional relationship. The revelation came during an interview on Border City Rock Talk.
When asked to compare Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen in terms of personality and guitar skills, Bonnet provided candid insights into both musicians’ characters. He also shared details about a disturbing incident with Malmsteen.
“Well, those two guys. Both Steve and Yngwie. I would say of the two of them, I’d say Steve is more relaxed and more professional,” Bonnet said. “Yngwie was a kid when he joined the band. He was 18 or 19 years old. So, he’s very much up for himself. His ego got bigger and bigger. He was incredible. People used to watch him on stage and he knew he could take over the whole stage without me being there.”
Bonnet then recounted the incident that led to Malmsteen’s departure from the band. He described a physical altercation that occurred after an accidental mishap during a performance.
“But we had a bit of an argument and eventually we had to had to fire him. He actually went for my throat one night and tried to strangle me,” Bonnet continued. “Well, what happened was he was doing his guitar solo one night and I went off stage and accidentally, I didn’t know this, I pulled his cord out of the amp, you know, I didn’t know this. So, he’s doing his solo. Then it’s gone.”
The situation escalated when Malmsteen confronted Bonnet after the show. This led to the violent encounter that ultimately ended their working relationship.
“And I was off stage and he came running out to the bus where I was talking to the driver and he got so mad at me. He just shout at me. He said, ‘You f*cking,’ you know, and grabbed me by the throat pushing his thumbs into my throat here, trying to strangle me basically,” Bonnet explained. “And I was choking. I said, ‘What you what are you doing?’ You know, and then he said, ‘You pulled my cord out of my arm.’ You know, I said, ‘No.’ And he’s still doing it.”
A crew member intervened to protect Bonnet from further harm. The confrontation was stopped by this intervention.
“And one of our crew just got hold of him and put his head under his arm and said, ‘You touch Graham again, I’ll f*cking kill you,'” Bonnet recalled. “And that night was the end of his career with us anyway. And he went on to better things. I mean, come on. Don’t try and strangle the bloody singer for Christ sake, you know. The guy who gave you a damn job.”
This incident marked the end of what had initially been a promising collaboration between two talented musicians in the heavy metal scene.
ZRockR reported that Bonnet and Malmsteen had first joined forces in Alcatrazz. Their 1983 debut album No Parole from Rock ‘n’ Roll became known for its heavy metal sound and helped introduce Malmsteen’s guitar work to a wider audience. The collaboration had shown great promise. Bonnet was initially thrilled to have the then-unknown Swedish guitarist in his band.
Ear of Newt documented that Bonnet had once recalled Malmsteen was “shit hot” and as good as Eddie Van Halen. However, tensions grew as Malmsteen’s fame and ego increased. The singer was overjoyed to have landed Malmsteen in his band. The guitarist would soon quit to form his own band, Rising Force.
Arrow Lords of Metal noted that Bonnet has said that by the time of the strangling incident “Yngwie had to go.” The band decided to fire him on the tour bus because “you can’t strangle the singer.” The violent confrontation became a defining moment that sealed Malmsteen’s departure from the group.
After Malmsteen’s exit in 1984, MusicRadar revealed that Alcatrazz brought in Steve Vai. He played on their second album Disturbing the Peace, marking a new musical chapter for the band while Malmsteen moved on to launch his own Rising Force project. Despite the violent end to their professional relationship, both musicians continued to achieve success in their respective careers.
