Alcatrazz

For other uses, see Alcatraz (disambiguation).
Alcatrazz
Alcatraz in 2024
Alcatraz in 2024
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresHeavy metal
Years active
  • 1983–1987
  • 2007–2014
  • 2019–present
Labels
Members
Waldo-Shea line-up
Giles Lavery
Jimmy Waldo
Joe Stump
Larry Paterson
Gary Shea
Graham Bonnet line-up
Graham Bonnet
Jeff Loomis
Van Williams
Past membersYngwie Malmsteen
Jan Uvena
Steve Vai
Danny Johnson
Doogie White

Alcatrazz is a heavy metal band formed in 1983 by Graham Bonnet, Jimmy Waldo, and Gary Shea. They are best known for their songs "Island in the Sun", "Hiroshima Mon Amour", and "God Blessed Video". They are also notable for featuring a previously-unknown Yngwie Malmsteen as their lead guitarist for a year, who was then replaced by Steve Vai, with whom they recorded one album.

Following an internal disagreement and split in 2020, there are currently two separate and distinct Alcatrazz line-ups,[1] one featuring Bonnet, and another featuring Waldo and Shea.[2]

The band went through a number of line-up changes, with Bonnet being the only member to be in every incarnation of Alcatrazz. Yngwie Malmsteen was the original guitarist of Alcatrazz from 1983 to 1984, and was subsequently replaced by Steve Vai, and then by Danny Johnson in the original incarnation of the band up until 1987. Joe Stump became the Alcatrazz guitarist when the band reformed, and remains the guitarist in the Waldo-Shea line-up of Alcatrazz. In June 2021, Jeff Loomis was announced as the guitarist in the Bonnet line-up of Alcatrazz.[3]

After breaking up in 1987, Bonnet toured from 2006 to 2014 as Alcatrazz featuring Graham Bonnet with various line-ups, before a one-off reunion show in 2017 led to Bonnet and Waldo reforming the band once more in 2020, with Shea rejoining shortly after. From their inception in 1983 until 2020, Alcatrazz released four studio albums: No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll (1983), Disturbing the Peace (1985), Dangerous Games (1986), and Born Innocent (2020). Several months after the release of Born Innocent, Bonnet and the other four members of Alcatrazz – Waldo, Shea, Stump, and drummer Mark Benquechea – announced a split from one another, with both camps intending to continue to record music under the name Alcatrazz. The Waldo-Shea-Stump-Benquechea camp announced that Doogie White was now their lead singer,[4] and released the studio album V in October 2021. Meanwhile, Bonnet announced that he was moving forward once again with his own version of Alcatrazz. In June 2021, Jeff Loomis was announced as the guitarist for the Bonnet line-up of Alcatrazz, with a new studio album in the works.[5][6]

  1. ^ Voice, The Metal (November 17, 2020). "Alcatrazz Members React To Graham Bonnet's Statement In Regards To Current Management". themetalvoice. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  2. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 0-85112-656-1.
  3. ^ Blabbermouth (June 8, 2021). "ARCH ENEMY's JEFF LOOMIS Joins GRAHAM BONNET's Version Of ALCATRAZZ". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  4. ^ "ALCATRAZZ Parts Ways With Founding Singer GRAHAM BONNET, Welcomes DOOGIE WHITE". Blabbermouth.net. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  5. ^ "A Conversation with Iconic Vocalist Graham Bonnet". Misplaced Straws. June 29, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  6. ^ "GRAHAM BONNET Vows To Move Forward With His Version Of ALCATRAZZ, Says New Lineup Will Be Announced In The Spring". Blabbermouth.net. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2019.