Yngwie Malmsteen‘s former band Alcatrazz’s lead singer Graham Bonnet recently spoke about the moment that brought the end of the guitarist in the group. He stated that he had a growing ego, which made things difficult for his bandmates.
Although Yngwie Malmsteen is now known as one of the most prominent guitar players globally, he was an unknown guitarist back when Alcatrazz hired him to perform in one studio album. Over time, his ego inflated, and this uncontrollable sensation caused the band to fire him.
Steve Vai replaced him, and Malmsteen moved on to establish his well-known solo career. The guitarist’s solo career was more prosperous than his time with Alcatrazz. He released twenty-two studio albums and four live albums as a solo musician.
In an interview, his former bandmate and lead singer of Alcatrazz recently talked about Malmsteen. He revealed that the guitarist had a big ego, making him do unthinkable and dangerous things. He told the incident in which the guitarist lost his total control due to his over-the-top ego.
Graham Bonnet stated that he accidentally tripped and unplugged Malmsteen’s cord one day, unawarely. The guitarist strangled him when he returned to the bus, choking him and almost crushing his throat. He was saved by a crew member who pulled Malmsteen off of him, and the band fired the guitar player that night.
Here is what Bonnet said about Malmsteen’s ego:
“His attitude changed a lot as we played on. The ego was impossible to fight. It was just too much. One night he got hold of my neck and tried to strangle me, which is a great story. I went off stage while he was doing his guitar solo. I tripped over his cord to his end, and I didn’t know I had pulled it out. I’m back at the bus, talking to the bus driver, and suddenly Yngwie comes running out, saying, ‘You f*cking c*nt.’
He got to hold on me and pressed right into my throat with both of his hands, trying to throttle me and ruin any voice in there. One of our crew ran over and grabbed him by the neck, putting his head under his arms. ‘You f*cking touch him again, and you’re dead.’”
You can watch the interview below.
