Graham Bonnet Band
Biography Graham Bonnet Band
Graham Bonnet
Born in Skegness, England (December 1947), Bonnet enjoyed his first chart success with The Marbles, his first single with them – ‘Only One Woman’, penned by the Bee Gees – becoming a top 5 UK hit in 1968. After a spell recording advertising jingles, he appeared in the 1974 British comedy film ‘Three for All’ as lead singer of a fictional band called Billy Beethoven, receiving a rave review for his performance! Bonnet’s subsequent career has seen him work with some of the best musicians in the business, including guitar virtuosos Ritchie Blackmore Michael Schenker, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai and Chris Impellitteri... drummers Cozy Powell and Ted McKenna, bassists Roger Glover and Chris Glen and keyboard player Don Airey.
He is well known as the voice on a number of classic heavy rock albums including Rainbow’s ‘Down to Earth’ (1979), Michael Schenker Group’s ‘Assault Attack’ (1982), Alcatrazz’s ‘No Parole for Rock ‘n’ Roll’ (1983) and ‘Disturbing the Peace’ (1985).
Rainbow’s ‘Down to Earth’ spawned two hit singles, a cover of Russ Ballard’s ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ and ‘All Night Long’. During his time with Rainbow, Bonnet also headlined the inaugural Monsters of Rock Festival at Castle Donington in the UK. Singles from the first two studio Alcatrazz albums, ‘Island in the Sun’ (from ‘No Parole …’ and ‘God Blessed Video’ (from ‘Disturbing the Peace’), became staples of MTV, then in its infancy.
Bonnet has maintained an active solo presence throughout most of his career, releasing albums periodically including the eponymous ‘Graham Bonnet’ (1977), which was a hit in Australia, ‘No Bad Habits’ (1978), ‘Line-Up’ (1981), ‘Here Comes the Night’ (1991), ‘Underground’ (1997) and ‘The Day I Went Mad’ (1999). The single ‘Night Games’ (from the ‘Line Up’ album) reached number 6 in the UK charts.
He has recorded and toured with a wide-range of other artists and released albums with bands such as Impellitteri, Forcefield, Blackthorne and Japanese legends Anthem.
Bonnet has a powerful and distinctive vocal style and, indeed, a distinctive image – preferring to let the music, rather than the conventional heavy metal look, do the talking.
