Yngwie Malmsteen revealed details about turning down an offer to join UFO in a recent interview with Eddie Trunk.
“I remember one night we played in Orange County, and Phil Mogg, of UFO came there. I love that band, it was great. So, he was all like, ‘Hey, I’m putting UFO back together. I’ve gotta get a great guitar player, so come to my house tomorrow.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll be there,'” Malmsteen recalled.
“The next morning, I get a phone call from somebody. I don’t know who it was. Some manager or something, from what became Alcatraz,” he explained. “It wasn’t called Alcatraz [yet]. And that was the same day I was gonna see Phil. And so, they come and pick me up, and they bring me to this rehearsal room. And I started asking these guys, like, ‘What are your songs like’, and all that stuff. ‘Well, we don’t have any songs yet.'”
“I said, ‘What’s your direction?’ ‘We don’t have a direction yet… But you got the gig!’ I said, ‘Well, let me think about it. I gotta go see somebody,'” Malmsteen shared.
“I went to Phil Mogg’s house, and he was super cool, but he didn’t really have his stuff together that much as the other camp did,” Malmsteen continued. “So, I called them from Phil’s house and said, ‘Okay, I’ll do your thing, but couple of conditions: I write the songs, and we get a new drummer.'”
“So we started [auditioning] drummers, and we had all these drummers, hundreds of drummers, and really good ones too. Ended up with the guy from Alice Cooper [Jannaro ‘Jan’ Uvena], but that’s how that happened,” he added.
“I mean, it would have been awesome to be in UFO too, but that would mean I would have to do a lot of their classics and stuff like that — which is good, but I was more into the fresh start thing,” he concluded.
The decision became a pivotal moment in Malmsteen’s career trajectory.
Louder Sound documented Malmsteen’s rising momentum during this period. He had completed his U.S. debut with Steeler and gained significant industry attention.
His decision to join Graham Bonnet’s project led to the formation of Alcatrazz. Ultimate Guitar reported that the project evolved from a collaborative effort into Malmsteen’s creative vehicle. His increasing control and distinct vision shaped the band’s direction.
Eddie Trunk revealed that Phil Mogg actively worked to reform UFO at the time. However, the project lacked the immediate structure and direction that Malmsteen found in the Alcatrazz opportunity.
The choice enabled Malmsteen to develop his signature neoclassical style. He established himself as a solo artist instead of adapting to UFO’s established sound.
