Yngwie Malmsteen has looked back on the time he turned down the chance to join David Lee Roth’s band before Steve Vai landed the role.
When Roth parted ways with Van Halen, he began the hunt for a suitable guitar player to help head up his burgeoning solo band. Vai got the job, but he wasn’t the only one considered for the gig.
Steve Stevens was courted, but had commitments with Billy Idol. Malmsteen, it turns out, was also on the shortlist, and was offered the opportunity to join. However, he said no.
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“I was on tour with my solo band in 1985,” Malmsteen tells Eonmusic (via Ultimate Guitar). “I had a band called Talas as an opening act, and the bass player in Talas was Billy Sheehan.
“Roth would come to the shows all the time, and he had just left Van Halen, and he wanted to get the hottest guitar player, I guess.
“So he told me he thought we could do a great thing together, and I think he’s an awesome guy, and I really like the Van Halen albums with him, they’re really good and everything. I probably should have done it, but I didn’t.
“So I just basically said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks. I’m honored, but I’m really on a roll now,’ which I kind of was, but not really.”
Sheehan played a key role in this transitional period in 1980s music. He wasn’t just the link between Roth and Malmsteen. He was also the mutual connection between Vai and the former Van Halen vocalist, and responsible for that partnership getting off the ground.
“The original idea was Steve Stevens, but he was busy with Billy Idol and wisely decided to stay with him,” Sheehan once told Guitar Player.
“I told Dave I know another Steve, ’cause at the time my band Talas was on Relativity Records out of New York City, and Steve was also on that label, and we’d talked about doing something together before the Roth thing happened.
“Steve, because of his association with Frank Zappa, had a sense of humor about his playing, which was very important for the Roth band.”
It was a transitional time for all involved. Malmsteen had also been offered the UFO gig before he accepted Alcatrazz, and Vai – who got the Roth gig – had recently replaced the Swedish speed sweeper in the latter band.
