GRAHAM BONNET Regrets Leaving RAINBOW: 'I Was A Bit Too Cocky'

January 12, 2017

MetalTalk's Mark Taylor recently conducted an interview with legendary hard rock vocalist Graham Bonnet (RAINBOW, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, ALCATRAZZ, IMPELLITTERI). You can now watch the chat below.

Asked if it's true that he recorded his vocals on the classic RAINBOW song "I Surrender" before quitting the band in 1980, Bonnet said: "I started to record it, yeah. I did some backing vocals and quit after the backing vocals were done, because we had nothing else. And I looked at Roger Glover [RAINBOW bassist and producer], and I said, 'What else are you gonna do? I've done backing vocals. What else have you got?' 'We have nothing.' So I went back to L.A. And then they called me up a little bit later to say, 'We've got some more songs now.' I said, 'What's the point of me coming back now?' I said, 'I've decided to do something different.' [And they said] 'Well, look, if we get another singer in to do some of the songs you don't wanna do, we'll get somebody else to do those and you do what you wanna do, the songs you like.' And I said, 'No. That won't work — two singers.' So I just quit, believe it or not. What an idiot… I'm kicking myself now, because I should have stayed a bit longer. And I apologized for that to the band."

Pressed on whether he regrets leaving RAINBOW, Bonnet said: "Yeah, absolutely. 'Cause I was probably a bit too… My ego was taking me somewhere else. I was a bit too cocky. But in the end, it worked out okay."

In 1979, Bonnet auditioned for the frontman position in RAINBOW. With his James Dean image, the choice of Bonnet to replace Ronnie James Dio was subject to some questions. However, once the band heard Bonnet sing, they knew they had their man. With Bonnet at the mic, they recorded the "Down To Earth" LP, which became one of RAINBOW's most successful releases.

Graham moved on from RAINBOW in the early '80s to work on his solo career. He also played with MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, recorded several albums with ALCATRAZZ and had a short stint with IMPELLITTERI.

GRAHAM BONNET BAND's debut album, "The Book", was released on November 4 via Frontiers Music Srl.

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