Forty-six years on from replacing the great Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow, the shock recruitment of a clean-cut looking Graham Bonnet still looks like image suicide. All the same, his short stint still produced the much-loved Down To Earth album, much of which features on his new live opus, Lost In Hollywood Again.
Graham Bonnet Band
Lost In Hollywood Again (Live)
Release Date: 12 December 2025
Words: Brian Boyle
You do not get too many artists from Skegness headlining the hallowed ground of the Whisky A-Go-Go, so I will take a gamble and say Graham Bonnet is probably the most famous.
But what is certain is that there are not a whole lot of 77-year-old heavy-duty rock singers still performing at the level Bonnet is.
Just close your eyes when opener Eyes Of The World plays out. There is, of course, some wear and tear, but the power and pure engagement remain exactly the same.
Although it is not the enigmatic Ritchie Blackmore cranking out the riff to the always uplifting All Night Long, Conrado Pesinato’s unleashing of those famous chords has pretty much the same effect. This timeless gem has lost none of its anthemic va-va-voom, and just like its parent studio version, Bonnet does not hold back and gives no-holds-barred reassurance that one of rock’s greatest moments is still alive and kicking.
The Rainbow buffet stays piping hot with Love’s No Friend oozing pure blues despair. The backing vocals are exquisitely executed and are in stark contrast to the main man’s near self-combusting delivery.
As great a song as Makin’ Love is, the album take did lack a few extra pounds of muscle, so it is great to hear this more filled out rendition throwing its weight around.
Five songs in and playing one of music’s Mona Lisas, the timeless Since You’ve Been Gone might have been something you would expect to hear deeper into the set. But such is the standing of the Down To Earth album, it’s easy to forget the depth of Bonnet’s catalogue.
His one album spell with the Michael Schenker Group in 1992 with Assault Attack is most definitely not looked upon in the same light, but the bombarding run through of the title track shows it was a definite case of quality over quantity. Its album cohabitant Desert Song does not fare too badly either, with Bonnet’s enthusiasm for the song still glaring.
If you are only here for the solo stuff, Into The Light, S.O.S. and Imposter hold their own admirably against all the big stuff. But it is the big-sounding Night Games that sticks its neck out the furthest.
He probably would not have got out of Sunset Boulevard alive if some Down To Earth material was not revisited before his departure. And by the sounds of rampaging curtain closer Lost In Hollywood, he sent a polite-sounding crowd home with yet another fine wedge of classic rock ringing in their ears.
Graham Bonnet has never conformed to the stereotypical hard rock frontman. No need, his often dapper appearance and platinum dipped vocals have always carried him through.
Lost In Hollywood Again is not one of the pioneering live albums, but it gives a nice reminder of the talent of a man too often overlooked.
Skegness’ biggest export is still cookin’. It must be the sea air.
Graham Bonnet releases Lost In Hollywood Again (Live) on 12 December 2025 via Frontiers Music s.r.l. Pre-orders are available from ffm.bio/grahambonnetband_lostinhollywoodlive
