Graham's Career   1982

MSG

Graham was back in LA pondering about the future of his solo career when he received a phone call from Cozy Powell asking if he would like to join MSG. Graham says "I had a call from Cozy about joining this band and he said 'Well think about it' because I wasn't sure if I wanted to be in a band again. But after listening to my album I thought : 'I need to get back into rock 'n' roll because I'm loosing something here'".

Graham continues "I was trying to get a band together and get Jon Lord, Micky Moody and Cozy. In fact, because I thought he was going to leave MSG at one point, he kept saying it all the time. So that was the plan, but when I realised that Cozy wasn't going to leave I said 'Ok, I'll come over to England to try it out'. And I'm glad I did because I think this band can be really big. Besides which, it's nice to be back with rock 'n' rollers again".

Graham first met Michael Schenker when Rainbow played at Castle Donington in 1980. In an interview with Mick Wall of Metal Fury during the summer of 1982 he asked Graham about his first meeting and how it came about him joining MSG. Graham said "Michael came to the last gig I did with Rainbow at Castle Donington. I didn't know it at the time but Cozy was about to join Michael. Then I saw MSG perform in LA and somebody I was with said that he thought the band was about to split up because they were looking for a new singer and he also said that he thought they were going to offer the gig to me. Of course I thought, you know, no way ! Then a few days later Cozy rang up and said well do you want to ?"

Graham arrived in the UK during February for talks with Michael and the band. Confirmation of him joining MSG was announced during March. Previous singer Gary Barden had recorded two studio albums and one double live album and his departure obviously came as a shock to MSG fans, along with Paul Raymond's (keyboards & guitar) exit around the same time.

There were quite a few reasons why Gary and Paul left the band. But during April, both men spoke to Steve Gett in an interview for Kerrang and Gary was adamant that the troubles within the line up basically started during the long period spent in Air Studio's recording the bands second album. Gary said "The first album was done in six weeks. It was straight forward and easy, which made it enjoyable to do. But the second one was actually like being 'on the rack' and being stretched in all directions. There were a few points where Schenker cracked and one day he even tried to smack producer Ron Nevison. Chrysalis were screaming at us to get it completed. And everyone was actually getting out of it because we were always in the studio and totally pissed off with the situation. In the end Michael just told Nevison to make the album and get it out of the way. It was finally completed at the end of seven bloody months and about a quarter of a million pounds !" Four months later Michael told Dante Bonutto of Kerrang "When you think of all the time and money it took, it really is a lot of bullshit. He left things out like the bass for a start, you can't hear that, and the same goes for Cozy's bass drums. I remember he had a conversation with his drum kit in the studio. He was going : 'Can you believe it ? I've been playing double bass drums for 15 years and what does he do ? He leaves one of you out, and not only that, but where's the bass ?' And Nevison didn't even notice that he'd forgotten the left bass drum. The whole thing was a disaster for myself."

So after a tour of Japan where the live double album was recorded and some dates in the UK, Gary and Paul found themselves out of the band a couple of months later. Gary continues "Schenker never sacked me, neither did any of MSG. It was like a managerial decision. Because he owed so much cash, it was suggested that he would have to get another name into the band. There's been talk of Coverdale doing auditions and I think Robert Plant was even meant to have a crack at it. But considering it took them two months to get a singer, it's almost a compliment that they found it so hard to replace me. I can't say I'm bitter at all." Steve Gett also asked Gary how he was told he was no longer wanted. Gary replied "I had a chat with Peter (Mensch, Michael's manager). He told me he had something he wanted to talk to me about and so I said 'OK Peter, let's have it.' He wondered how I knew and I told him I had a feeling and that was it. He said it was a company decision, not just the management or Chrysalis. It was a mixture, but all strictly business."

Michael and Graham were featured in a four page interview by Dante Bonutto in Kerrang during August. It was in this interview that Michael commented on the departure of Gary Barden after Dante had said "Bardens' contention is that he was pushed out by the management who wanted a 'name' singer to help ensure the band could pay off their debts." Michael replied with a shrug saying "I didn't see anybody pushing him." Dante continued "So he left on his own accord ?" Michael replied "Most probably. He came from nowhere right up to the top and maybe part of it was that he couldn't even handle it at all, I don't know. I never tried to analyse it, it happened and that was it."

As for Paul (Raymondo) Raymond leaving MSG, it said in his press statement 'he wanted to pursue a solo career'. But in an answer to Steve Gett in an interview in Kerrang during April, Paul was quick to answer back as to suggestions that he had been kicked out of the band by saying, "People always think that when someone leaves a band, but I can truthfully say it wasn't - people can say what they want, it doesn't bother me. I mean, I don't think the kids really want to know about that sort of thing. They're far more interested in listening to records or going to gigs ! We left on amicable terms and that's all that really matters and it was kind of sad. There were various reasons behind my leaving, like the fact that the band is London-based and I live in the States, but the basic one was I wanted to do my own thing at last."

With MSG's second album being recorded at Air Studios, Montserrat and London over a six to seven month period the tension must have been very high amongst the band members. Especially with ?250,000 or more hanging over everyone's head. So I'm sure that this must have played a part, however small, in Gary's decision to go along with what the management told him. When asked about his successor, Gary commented in UK magazine Kerrang during April "Graham Bonnet is a very good singer. I personally don't think he fits, but then the proof's in the pudding".

Graham's first outing with the band was during March at a signing session at London's Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street to promote their "One Night At Budokan" double live album. Graham wasn't even on the album and this put him in a very difficult position. He obviously wanted to keep his new band mates happy, so out of the goodness of his heart he turned up. But basically he was in a 'no win' position. It was reported in UK magazine Kerrang that one fan told Graham that he wanted Gary Barden back - like now. Graham didn't feel particularly happy about the situation he had been put in, so he decided it was best to leave the store !!

Cozy commented at the time on Graham's arrival by saying "Believe it or not it wasn't my idea. I didn't suggest Graham because I thought people would draw too many conclusions. We had a few singers on the short list before Graham was even discussed. In the end Michael said he was writing songs with someone like Graham in mind. So I said 'If you're writing with his voice in mind let's get him over. There's no harm in trying it'. I didn't know if he was going to carry on with his solo career or not, but he came over and is still working with us so hopefully it'll work out ok".

It is interesting to know that Dante Bonutto pointed out in Kerrang that a lot of albums were listened to and a list of potential singers were drawn up. He said "Coverdale was there and stashed away at the back of Michael's mind was Robert Plant, but it was Graham's performance on 'Down To Earth' that impressed him most. Besides which, he was already writing material for someone with Bonnet-style chords in mind, so it seemed silly not to go for the obvious choice. Cozy was assigned to execute the coup."

Work had already started on the bands new album prior to Graham joining and Cozy told UK magazine Kerrang during April "We've written 17 tracks for the new album of which we'll pick the best. Michael's obviously come up with the basic ideas and Chris and I have done our bit. I don't contribute much to the writing. I just add more to the arranging than the writing. But I've come up with a few bits and pieces here and there. Graham has now got to go and put his lyrics and melodies on. Then we'll get together in a week or 10 days and get on with it." When asked about getting a new keyboard player in the band, Cozy continued "No, there is no plans to get another keyboard player. I don't think we need a keyboard player, we can get away with Michael and Chris using Moog pedals to give us all the colours we need. This band is a lot stronger and harder. Keyboards tend to knock the rough edges off and smooth it out. I want to go the other way and get a bit nastier than it's been." Cozy also talked about the material and said "The material on the last MSG album was a lot better than people made out, but the production didn't bring out the best of the material. So the material on the new album will be a lot nastier. MSG go Motorhead or whatever !!"

No sooner had Graham got settled in the band, Cozy decided to leave and retire. For the time being anyway !! He wanted to concentrate on racing cars. He said at the time that it was a result of mounting pressure. Graham says "He was just overdoing everything. He'd been doing a lot of sessions and things like that. He was tired and getting uptight about nothing sometimes." He was replaced by Chris Glenn's ex Sensational Alex Harvey Band colleague Ted McKenna. Graham continues "Ted is a very good replacement, he has the same kind of power as Cozy." Michael met Ted at the Funny Farm quite by chance. The Funny Farm was a basement bar in West London and Michael persuaded Ted to have a jam with the band. Everything went so well that he asked Chris to persuade him to join. This was easier said than done, as Chris had to talk to him over and over again about joining.

Since Michael wanted a four piece band and not a five as before, he now had his wish with Ted now occupying the drum stool. Even though various demo's had been done with Cozy, the new line up still headed for Le Chateau in France, since the studio there had been booked for quite a while. Le Chateau was a studio in a castle situated near a town called Heroueville which was quite close to Paris. Graham termed the town Horrorville due to his previous experience of recording in a castle with Rainbow !! Even though it might not have been his favourite surroundings to sing in, he did manage to do half the vocals for the album !! The remainder were completed at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany where all the overdubs were done as well as the mixing. The producer for the album was Martin Birch. The album took about 10 weeks to record with mixing extra. Graham wrote all the lyrics and wrote about half of the melodies. Tommy Eyre played keyboards.

Graham seemed to be enjoying things as he said at the time "So far so good. I'm enjoying it very much and getting on with the guys in the band rather than arguing. Well, not so much arguments, but in Rainbow we just didn't communicate. This group actually talks which is unusual and we all get on very well together." He also told Mick Wall of Metal Fury "I do see this thing with Michael as a long term project. At least, I hope so. I hope so very much because the band as it stands now is very, very good and I'm not saying that because I'm in it, when I saw the original band with Gary Barden I thought that they were really very good."

The first two songs to be completed were the planned single and it's 'B' side - "Dancer" and "Girl From Uptown" (working title of "April Fool"). The 'B' side was a song that didn't appear on the album. Dante Bonutto of Kerrang had a preview of the two songs prior to release and said "I can't say that I'm overly optimistic. My first and only impression was it lacked real character, though the 'B' side "Girl From Uptown", not on the album, came across as a more consequential composition and Martin Birch, fresh from his triumph with Maiden, has certainly done his reputation another power of good, providing a rich, purposeful sound topped with a Bonnet voice showing subtle new dimensions in range and timbre."

"Dancer" didn't get great reviews in the press. Toots Daley in Kerrang was far from impressed saying "And here we have it, at the fans' expense, the ultimate proof that the Kute Kraut and his James Dean clone sidekick may be immensely talented in their respective roles on guitar and vocals but totally incapable of writing songs. In fact when it comes to melodies and lyrics, as with the subject matter of their co-writing partnership, these guys operate with two left feet. Manager Peter Mensch has gone seriously wrong in his Dr. Frankenstein role : OK, visually he couldn't have got two better looking honchos, coming over like two close contenders for the star role in Grease 2. Schenker's hair is beginning to develop a life of it's own and he looks a bit like a very pretty, blue eyed Eraserhead. So superficially everything's cool, but even the band must know something is wrong. This is a total disaster and the final chapter on MSG as far as I am concerned."

I always got the impression that Michael wanted to have a big hit single in the UK because at the time bands like Rainbow, Saxon, Whitesnake, Gillan, Iron Maiden and others were dominating the charts. Plus, let's not forget, MSG were in debt and the powers that be had already brought in a new singer with a high profile in a bid to sell more records. A record company will only invest so much money before they start wanting to see a return. And I think MSG had reached that point. "Dancer"/"Girl From Uptown" was released on August 27th in the UK in numerous different formats. Obviously Chrysalis Records were keeping their side of the deal by issuing the single as a 7" picture disc, 12" single with picture sleeve, 7" single in clear vinyl with a picture sleeve and 7" single in black vinyl with a picture sleeve. The 7" black vinyl and 7" clear vinyl pressings had different labels and all picture sleeves featured the lyrics to "Dancer". Both songs had an overall time of 10 minutes and 4 seconds. "Dancer" lasting 4 mins 22 secs and "Girl From Uptown" clocking in at 5 mins 22 secs. Not band for a single really ? Even with all these different pressings and a decent amount of publicity, the single only managed to spend three weeks on the chart, peaking at no. 52. This though was, and still is I think, MSG's biggest hit single to date. I expect the single was issued throughout Europe and it was certainly issued in Japan where the Japanese love their rock music. As for America and the Australasian countries I am not sure whether it was released or not.

On the strength of all this, tours were being pencilled in. There was talk of the band visiting Japan in October and a British tour in November. Even dates in America were mentioned. But prior to all this the band had been booked to appear at the Reading Festival as headliners for Sunday August 29th. Also, it was decided that the band would do a warm up gig at Sheffield Polytechnic three days earlier.

Unknown to everyone at the time, including the other band members, Graham had been feeling the pressure of quite a few things and all this was building up inside of him. Graham had tried to talk to his band mates but they didn't seem interested. Talking to Chris Watts of Kerrang during March 1983 Graham said "Since I joined the band there'd been so many pressures on me to learn 19 songs from the old set, not new ones, and I know nothing of the old band. I was recording and writing lyrics for the new album as well as learning new tunes and I couldn't do it all at the same time. I said to the band 'Look, I have a really bad memory problem', which is dead true 'and I can't remember all this'. Everybody laughed and thought I was joking, but it was the truth. I couldn't learn 19 songs in two weeks. I had the same problem in Rainbow but I didn't have so many old songs to learn." Graham continues "We were rehearsing every day for about two months and I kept saying, 'Look, I don't know the bloody songs to be comfortable in singing them, to be able to wander around the stage and to look as though I know what I'm doing.'" But still no one listened and the warm up gig on August 26th went ahead.

Graham managed to persuade one of the road crew to write out and then photocopy the songs and indicate the changes on separate pieces of paper, which were then taped onto the stage monitors so he could glance down when needed. But when the band hit the stage, Graham was a little worse for wear. In fact to put it plainly, he was blind drunk, although he did manage to get through the first four songs before the sheets started to fall away due to fans at the front of the stage. Graham says "By that time my nerve had totally gone. I had a little argument with Michael before we went on, nothing big deal, it's that he wouldn't let anyone into his dressing room, and I'd had a couple of drinks and was starting to go. I could feel myself staring to go."

While on stage Graham started to introduce the band, and for a bit of 'so called' fun also started introducing the hidden keyboard player Andy Nye and Michael's guitar roadie Steve Casey. Steve plays rhythm guitar at gigs but always stays out of sight. Even when Paul Raymond was in the band Steve would play rhythm guitar but would stay hidden. Anyway, at Sheffield he was playing behind the amps. Graham again "I was just introducing the band, because they had a keyboard player with them as well, but the reason I did it was because Stevey is really shy and gets easily embarrassed so I thought 'I'll get him now, 'cos he can't run away this time !' All I did was ask him to say hello but it all got blown up from there and I did not intentionally go round there to expose him, as it were." Graham convinced co-manager Rob Cooksey that he was unable to carry on with the gig and says "I came off stage and I was basically totally drunk ! I blanked out, I didn't know what I was doing. Rob came down to the dressing room and told me to get back out there but I couldn't remember what I was doing. The whole room was spinning, it was, it was just like the end, you know."

So with one of the road crew Rob bundled Graham into a taxi and they went back to the hotel in Sheffield. Graham was assured that he would be picked up by the band on their return trip to London in time for their Reading preparations. But it wasn't to be.

The following morning Michael's girlfriend kept phoning Graham asking him if he still wanted to be in the band and do Reading. Graham kept telling her 'Of course I want to be in the band and do Reading'. According to Graham, Michael never phoned him, it was always his girlfriend. But in Kerrang during March 1983 Michael is quoted from November 1982 about the Sheffield gig saying "I asked him, I said 'What's happening ? Can you carry on in the band ?' He never gave me an answer."

So with ?2.00 in his pocket he managed to get to London on his bankers card where he met his manager Andy Trueman who told him the band no longer wanted him in it. They had persuaded Gary Barden to come back and do the Reading Festival. Graham says "I couldn't believe it ! I just couldn't believe that Michael would say a thing like that, so I think that the firing actually came from the management rather than the band themselves. The thing is if anyone would understand me on that night I think it would have been Michael because he's been through similar stages in the past. I think Michael's a better kind of guy than that, he would never put a guy down like that." The following day Graham flew back to Los Angeles on a ticket that had been pre-booked by Andy.

Since there had been some line-up changes prior to Graham joining MSG this did not make for a stable atmosphere and as Chris Watts says 'It was as much a trial and error situation for the band as it was for Graham'. If the line up had been stable things might have been different. Chris asked Graham in his interview 'Did he think that the pressure problems that finally split the outfit could have been sorted out earlier on or even dealt with in the initial stages ?" Graham replied "Yes, I think so, because everyone was worried at the time what was going to happen to the band anyhow. Cozy was in charge of the band before, Cozy was the manager in a way. It was great, but he wanted to do the whole bit and he went over the top. He started to get like I was !, But yeah, if I'd been in there from the word go and we'd grown up together then it never would have come to what it did. It was just starting to come together but then I destroyed it with that one night. It's a shame, especially from the management side, to be that short-sighted."

Graham certainly came in for a lot criticism around this time but he always gave Michael and the rest of the band a lot of credit and also the road crew too for standing by him. Both Graham and Michael still have the greatest respect for each other as musicians. Michael said in Kerrang during November 1982 "I still have the great respect for Graham. Graham is one of the best singers in the world. It's a shame, mainly for what could have been something really special."

So the Reading Festival was off for Graham and nearly for the band too !! They fully expected to have to pull out of the event. Gary Barden spoke to Howard Johnson of Kerrang during September "I only heard about the band needing me last thing on Friday night, two days before the show. It was my birthday and I got a call about 11.30 in the evening from co-manager Rob Cooksey, he was obviously pretty uptight. He told me that Graham had left the group and asked if I'd do the gig - it was as blunt as that. I couldn't let the band down, cos' they had no alternative, but later on they said they expected me to say no, and they were fully anticipating having to pull out of the festival."

With the album just needing to be mixed, it must have been a big shock to Chrysalis Records knowing they had an album on their hands and the singer not even in the band anymore. Gary Barden continued "We flew down to Munich where I met Martin Birch for the first time. He was putting the final touches to the mix so it was good to get to know both him and the album. I'd liked to have over-dubbed the vocals on it but that would have meant a huge delay on the release and, of course, a great deal more expense, which Chrysalis weren't willing to allow for. Whether it will do as well as it might have, though, is debatable, because the product is out of date in a sense." Gary continued "The album is up there with the best in terms of production. And I do like a lot of the songs, but some of the numbers are just too drawn out, I think it could have done with some 'Doctor Doctor' style straight down the line songs." Gary did put his vocals on two songs so they could be used when the band film two promotional videos. They were obviously trying get everything as up to date as possible. "Dancer" was obviously chosen because the song had just been released and the other one chosen was "Desert Song". Whether "Desert Song" was actually thought of as a potential second single I don't know.

Obviously Graham wasn't around to see the release of the bands album "Assault Attack" which was released during October. Michael told reporter Andy Secher at the time "I believe that it's the strongest album this group's ever done." The press reviews were pretty average and Dave Roberts of Sounds in the UK said " Sure, Assault Attack is a good LP, but considering that it contains one of the best guitarists and one of the best vocalists in rock music it's ultimately a bitter disappointment. The problem seems to be in the old chestnut of 'song writing'. There are certainly no bad songs on this album, but there aren't any classics either. Only eight mediocre efforts are on offer, many of which are over long. At the end of the day one is left with a feeling of potential unfulfilled. Bonnet emerges with some credit, his voice attaining a new roughness, particularly noticeable on the bluesy 'Rock You To The Ground' which is snarled rather than sung. And Herr Schenker's contributions are as reliable as ever. Surprisingly, the songs that do stand out are the more commercial, lightweight numbers such as 'Dancer' and 'Broken Promises', both of which are not dissimilar to Rainbow's past chart successes. Martin Birch's production is inevitably reliable, and Ted McKenna does a noteworthy Cozy Powell impersonation on the drums. However, in the final analysis there is no avoiding the fact that 'Assault Attack' - and in fact MSG as a whole - is tragically ordinary when it should be distinctly superior."

Brian Harrigan reviewed the album for Melody Maker in the UK saying "Gray Barden as we all know has replaced Bonnet as singer in the band and as good a vocalist he is too, judging by his performance at Reading. But, I'd reckon that this wouldn't be half the album it is without the strength and individual style of Bonnet's vocals. I'm not an enormous fan of Schenker and his type of guitar playing : I think he tends to be a little on the flashy and derivative side and rather short of originality. However his deficiencies are compensated for by the earthy and daringly direct bass lines of Chris Glen and the impressively bicep-ridden drums of Ted McKenna. Add to that Bonnet's vocals and you have an album that is reasonably good - in fact better than it has much right to be. One of the major problems is that the songs simply aren't strong enough. 'Rock You To The Ground' is a good example of how the band should go. It's a rockier, straight and simple, but they have a tendency on other tracks to sound as though they're searching for some kind of musical credibility. I know the band can do better - I'm convinced of it. Chris Glen could make a bigger contribution and I'm sure McKenna would be in there with him. It's a great shame that Bonnet's gone from the band now, simply because I feel he could have helped to pull them out of the rut they've got into. I hate to say it but this is an album by a second division band."

Kerrang writer Steve Gett didn't seem to know what to make of the album. He admires Graham's amazing vocal range, but seems to think there's always something missing in his delivery and doesn't seem to think he sings from the heart. He says "To be quite frank, I still can't work out whether I like it or not. There's plenty of bite and aggression in the music but it's the vocal work that leaves me mystified. Do I like the singing or not ? I just can't tell. There are times when it seems to work and others when it becomes a shade aggravating. Bonnet has a tendency to shout rather than sing on certain tunes and this certainly puts a damper on affairs. And yet on cuts like 'Samurai' and 'Desert Song' one can't fault the man. The overall selection of material is extremely good and Michael hits out with some punching lead breaks. Ted McKenna has slotted into Cozy's drum seat very well and provides a solid backbone to proceedings with bassist Chris Glen. One should definitely praise Martin Birch."

When Graham first got to hear the album he told Chris Watts of Kerrang "I hated the final production because it sounded like 'Let's forget about Graham time'. I can understand what went on because you can imagine what happened after I was sacked and everyone was really angry and they were going to take me off altogether and re-write them all with Gray, but there was no time due to the release date, etc, so I think it's more of a guitar album than it originally set out to be. I think the next album would have been better if Michael and I had written together from the word go."

I agree with Graham that his vocals seem to have been dropped in the mix and that the album does lean towards the guitar. What I would like to add is, to me, the album still stands up today. Where as if you listen to some of MSG's earlier, and even later albums, they sound very dated.

Ian McFarlane who wrote the sleeve notes for the Michael Schenker double CD release "Into The Arena 1972-1995" released in 2000 on Raven Records in Australia said of the album "'Assault Attack' lays claim to being one of Schenker's best albums, an almost faultless synthesis of commercially viable melodies, scintillating guitar pyrotechnics and a palpable sense of drama, all backed by Martin Birch's dynamic production sheen. Bonnet's contribution to the project can not be under estimated, his vocals complimenting Schenker's playing with considerable dexterity. Almost every track is a winner, from the blistering title cut and the moody and magnificent 'Desert Song' to the lacerating 'Ulcer'. One can only speculate as to what else the Schenker/Bonnet song-writing partnership could have achieved."

The album reached No.19 on the UK album charts, which considering everything that surrounded it, I don't think is bad at all. Chrysalis released it in it's natural black vinyl form as well as in a picture disc format. The album was also released in Japan and I would imagine it was reasonably successful over there. As for America where MSG were quite popular I would imagine it got a release, but I have never seen a vinyl copy. The album was released over there though on CD, but I'm not sure if it was at the same time. As for Europe, I have never seen a vinyl copy, but I would imagine they got the 'double A' too. The album was also released in Korea and for political reasons "Samurai" was not included. This is because Japanese culture has been suppressed in Korea since 1945 when Korea was released from 36 years of governmental rule by Japan.

Gary Barden had already negotiated two extra gigs with the band for dates in Germany after the Reading Festival, but was now back in MSG full time. Still having to promote "Assault Attack", MSG fulfilled the dates that had been booked while Graham was in the band for the UK, but not in Japan. The tour over there was widely promoted, but ended up having to being cancelled. Here in the UK though, the tour started in November and was the biggest tour MSG had ever done in the UK. The opening gig was at Bristol's Colston Hall on Sunday November 21st and the tour concluded on Wednesday December 15th at Sheffield City Hall. Altogether there were 20 dates and this included 2 nights at London's Hammersmith Odeon. A review of the opening gig in Bristol appeared in Kerrang and Steve Gett said the band came on stage and opened up with "Ulcer". But the rest of the set comprised of songs mainly taken from the first two albums. Only "Desert Song" and "Rock You To The Ground" were included from "Assault Attack". Whether more songs were brought into the set as the tour progressed I don't know. As far as I am concerned, it really was a pity that Graham got himself sacked from MSG because I honestly think the band would have gone from strength to strength.

Lot's of MSG and Michael Schenker compilation albums have been issued worldwide since 1982 both in LP form and CD and every song on "Assault Attack", as well as the non-album track "Girl From Uptown" has made an appearance. Sometimes, on far more than one occasion.

During 1997, Beat Goes On Records through EMI issued "Assault Attack" along with "Rock Will Never Die" as 2 albums on one CD. This was part of a series they did with a certain number of MSG albums. "Assault Attack" itself has never see the light of day on CD in the UK. But in Japan during 2000 it got re-mastered and the album also included "Girl From Uptown".

On Mondri's Michael Schenker web site it was interesting to read a poll that was done between 2002 & 2003. Graham was voted the bands second best vocalist. "Assault Attack" was voted the most underrated album by the band and the "Assault Attack" cover was voted the best of all. And Assault Attack is even the name of a Japanese Michael Schenker tribute band !!

Michael himself has included "Assault Attack" in his live shows over the years and is still performing it today. This is as well as "Rock You To The Ground", which appears on a BBC Radio One "Live In Concert" CD from 1995. Graham has been playing various MSG songs in his sets since 1983 when Alcatrazz included "Desert Song". He also played "Desert Song", along with "Dancer" when he toured Australia in 1989. And more recently since 2000, Graham has been performing "Desert Song", "Dancer", "Samurai" and "Assault Attack" at solo shows in America. Also while touring the UK and Europe during the spring of 2004 as part of Elektric Zoo, "Desert Song" was also included in the bands set. And more recently during February 2005 Graham performed "Assault Attack" during his gigs in Russia and Lithuania and also again in May when he performed in Finland, Estonia and Sweden during May 2005.

January 2005 saw Graham involved in the 25 years MSG celebration album titled "Tales Of Rock 'N' Roll". This involved all seven singers that have been in the band throughout the years. At the time of writing the album has not been released and as I understand it, the album will only be available through Michael's web site. Nineteen songs will be on the album and every song will be a new one. Graham rehearsed with Michael on January 19th for a gig at N.A.M.M. 'Night Of Guitar' concert at The Vault 350 in Long Beach, California the following evening. Graham was expected to just sing the one song, but sadly he fell ill and was unable to do it.

Steve Wright (c) 2005