Zal Cleminson

Zal Cleminson
Zal Cleminson,2004
Background information
Birth name	Alistair Macdonald Cleminson
Born	(1949-05-04) 4 May 1949 Glasgow, Scotland
Genres	Hard rock, blues rock, glam rock, heavy metal
Instrument(s)	Guitar
Years active	1965–2008, 2017–present

Alistair Macdonald "Zal" Cleminson (born 4 May 1949) is a Scottish guitarist, best known for his role in the Sensational Alex Harvey Band between 1972 and 1978. He was subsequently a member of Nazareth for three years. In 2017, Cleminson put together a new rock band - /sin'dogs/, which recorded and released a four-song EP and an album, featuring nine original songs. /sin'dogs/ toured Scotland, England and Sweden in the years following.

Early days / Tear Gas

A self-taught guitarist, influenced by guitarists such as Wes Montgomery and Chuck Berry. During the mid-1960s he joined his first band the Bo-Weavels which performed mainly Tamla Motown & Stax music. In the early 1970s he left the Bo Weavels and joined Glasgow-based band Tear Gas. The line up of Tear Gas were: Andi Mulvey on lead vocals, Zal Cleminson on lead guitar, Eddie Campbell on keyboards, Chris Glen on bass guitar, and Gilson Lavis on drums.

Mulvey had previously sung with local beat group the Poets. After changing from their original name, Mustard, they chose Tear Gas as a variation on the same theme. However, Mulvey was soon replaced by keyboard player and vocalist David Batchelor, and Lavis (who later played with Squeeze) by Richard Monro from Ritchie Blackmore's Mandrake Root. It was this line-up who made their recorded debut with 1970's Piggy Go Getter, an album typical of the time with its extended guitar and keyboard passages. However, they were more playful than some - ‘We were a really loud band. In fact we used to open with Jethro Tull's 'Love Story', which started very softly and the crowd would drift towards the front. Then we'd turn the volume up and blow everyone out of the hall.’ Later in 1970 Hugh McKenna replaced Batchelor while his cousin Ted McKenna (ex-Dream Police) took over from Monro on drums. Itinerant musician Ronnie Leahy also contributed keyboards in Batchelor's absence, though the group were by now living in penury six to a room in Shepherd's Bush, London. A second album was recorded for release on Regal Zonophone Records but again met with a lacklustre response from the critics despite regular touring in an effort to establish themselves. Tear Gas met with an experienced vocalist called Alex Harvey, this was arranged by the Management Company. Harvey joined Tear Gas and the band's name was changed to The Sensational Alex Harvey Band.

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Kicking off their careers as SAHB in August 1972 they were primarily performing material Harvey already had. By 1973 they adopted distinctive stage costumes: Harvey wore vaudeville-like clothes and his trademark striped shirt, while Cleminson assumed the identity of a "mime" in full make-up and green-yellow jumpsuit and Glen wore a dark blue jumpsuit reminiscent of a superhero costume incorporating a lighter blue codpiece. SAHB produced a succession of highly regarded albums and tours throughout the 1970s. The band did not enjoy large-scale success in the United States as it had in the UK, though they did acquire a cult following in certain US cities, notably Cleveland, where the group first played at the Agora Ballroom in December 1974. Thanks to airplay from WMMS, songs like "Next" and "The Faith Healer" became popular.

In January 1974, the band went into Advision Studios in London with the American producer Shel Talmy to record a third album. By April, the sessions were finished and the album was mixed. However, the band and management had some reservations about the overall sound and decided to scrap the entire album. Talmy returned to Los Angeles with his tapes. Most of the song titles appeared on the official album The Impossible Dream later that year with a different producer, though the songs were dramatically changed.[clarification needed] The original recordings formed an album called Hot City, released in 2009 by Major League Productions.

The SAHB, as they were better known, recorded eight albums in five years and were regarded as one of the biggest-grossing live bands in Europe. They participated in major tours supporting Jethro Tull, Slade, The Who and Frank Zappa. By 1975 they were selling out venues such as The Apollos and their shows there became famous thanks to their Christmas Shows, although these were never filmed. Also in 1975 they released a live album containing the song "Delilah".

The band had top 40 hits in Britain including "Delilah", a cover version of the Tom Jones hit, which reached number seven in 1975. "Delilah" was added to their live set in order for Cleminson, Glen and Harvey to do a dance in the middle of the song. But the record company thought it was a fantastic version, they mixed and released the song without the band's knowledge or permission while they were on tour in America, which required the band to fly back to the UK to perform on Top Of The Pops and shows such as The Old Grey Whistle Test as the song had entered the UK Singles Chart.

The Boston Tea Party was released in June 1976 and the song "Anthem" was a top 30 hit in Australia in 1975.

Harvey left the group late in 1975; the other members continued with the name "SAHB (without Alex)". They recorded a new album, Fourplay, in February 1977. The album steered towards solid pop-rock with progressive influences. Harvey re-joined the group in mid-1977. Constant touring and album releases exhausted the band and keyboardist Hugh McKenna exited after the release of SAHB Stories due to stress. He was replaced with Tommy Eyre, who had worked with Gerry Rafferty prior to this, but at that point the band's chemistry had gone and Harvey's drinking was getting heavier so the band disbanded shortly after the release of their final studio album Rock Drill. Harvey died of heart failure on 4 February 1982 in Belgium.

During the success of SAHB, Cleminson had a distinctive stage presence with SAHB owing to his white-face mime makeup. He started wearing the mime makeup when the band started playing larger venues, so they could see what he was doing on stage easier. Cleminson has said "The mime face came about when I went to Paris to see Marcel Marceau performing and it gave me an idea to have an alter ego and mess around with pulling faces when I played so it gave the audience something to watch and with bigger gigs – more people could see what I was up to".

The Zal Band

When SAHB split up in 1977, the band were still under contract with Mountain Management, preventing them from performing or joining any other band, so the management company decided to change the band name from SAHB to the Zal Band as they felt Cleminson second in popularity and his image was recognisable. The band recruited The Tubes' vocalist Leroi Jones and 19 year old Billy Rankin on guitar, who later played with Nazareth. But the band dissolved when their contract ended. The Zal Band did not record anything although it is said there are live bootlegs of some shows around the circuit.

Once the Zal Band folded, Cleminson worked as a cab driver in and around London to support his wife and young family he had at the time.

Nazareth

In 1979, Cleminson joined Nazareth and recorded two albums with them, 1979's No Mean City and 1980's Malice in Wonderland. Cleminson was part of the band for three years.

Tandoori Cassette

Tandoori Cassette was an early 1980s short-lived rock band formed by Cleminson and Barriemore Barlow after leaving Jethro Tull in 1980, with Charlie Tumahai from Bebop Deluxe on bass, and Ronnie Leahy from Stone the Crows on keyboards. They recorded an EP called Angel Talk but disbanded shortly after.

Elkie Brooks

Zal Cleminson in Elkie Brooks band 1983

Cleminson was a regular guitarist with singer Elkie Brooks on many of her tours throughout the 1980s. He wrote and played on Brooks' album Minutes as well as one track on No More the Fool.

Midge Ure

Cleminson toured with Midge Ure on his Gift World Tour 1985.

Bonnie Tyler

He toured with Bonnie Tyler on several tours and performed live on some of her biggest hits such as "Holding Out For A Hero" and "It's a Heartache."

Back at the day job

When the session work decreased, Cleminson returned to day-to-day jobs including as a computer consultant and reading electric meters.

The Party Boys

During the 1990s Cleminson played with The Party Boys, a casual band formed by SAHB drummer Ted McKenna. The concept was the band would be a 'super group' who would be able to change members and vocalists at various times, featured former Marillion vocalist Fish and Nazareth's Dan McCafferty and Billy Rankin as vocalists. This project slowly weaved into a reformed version of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band with another permanent vocalist.

1990s

SAHB official reformed in 1993, with Zero Zero vocalist Stevie Doherty where they enjoyed relative success touring in the UK and Europe, performing at various festivals such as the Tarlair Music Festival as well as recording a live album titled Live in Glasgow 93 which was recorded in Minstrels. This line up of SAHB disbanded shortly after this and Cleminson decided to take time out.

SAHB reborn

In 2002, SAHB reformed briefly with ex-Nazareth guitarist Billy Rankin on vocals for a tribute concert held to Frankie Miller at the Barrowlands, Glasgow which demonstrated that there was still an audience and a diehard following for SAHB and their music. They also performed at the King Tuts venue in Glasgow where a popular bootleg of the gig was recorded but again disbanded shortly after before reuniting two years later.

SAHB in the 21st century

In 2004, SAHB reunited for the last time. They returned to their 1970s style, but with a heavier and grungier approach which included Cleminson bringing back the iconic make-up. This time it was a different look, more Brandon Lee's Crow with black sunglasses. The band needed someone who was not just a rock vocalist, but someone who could perform in the same way Harvey did so they auditioned Max Maxwell who was mostly known as a dancer on Top Of The Pops, but also had a reputation in and around Glasgow with bands such as Edith & The Ladies and The. They toured and released a live album Zalvation: Live In The 21st Century in 2005. The tour was initially a farewell but due to its popularity, they continued, with tours and festivals between 2004 and 2008 including Sweden Rock Festival, Wickerman Festival, USC Festival, and a mini-tour of Australia in 2007.

In 2006, he appeared in his début acting role as Wilson in the western film A Shot in the West, for which he wrote the theme music.

Ze Suicide and Oskura

As well as performing with SAHB, Cleminson was a member of the now-disbanded outfits Ze Suicide and Oskura. But these projects did not succeed. Cleminson appeared on the promotional photo shoots for both bands.

Retirement

In early 2008, Cleminson announced his retirement from the music industry and stated he would never perform live again. His last spell with SAHB he felt he was becoming a tribute to himself as he wanted the band to progress and write new material but according to him the band were less than enthusiastic about the whole prospect.

Return

Cleminson decided to move to Cyprus with partner Rachel, and during his time there he suffered from depression and anxiety, so he bought a cheap acoustic guitar to use as a form of therapy and soon developed ideas for what would initially be his first solo album. Around 2016, Cleminson was collaborating with Alan Mair on a project called Electric Brae and some of his initial ideas were used for that, but he disliked how some of the songs sounded and decided to go in another direction.

The Evolution of /sin'dogs/

Cleminson knew of a keyboardist from Glasgow, David Cowan, who he knew was in an Alex Harvey tribute band called The SAHB Experience and he had attended some of their shows and was impressed by their musicianship and attention to detail. He contacted Cowan and asked if he was interested in collaborating with him on the material and ideas he had. Cowan was also a friend with SAHB drummer Ted McKenna, as he was his student while attending North Glasgow College, and as an added bonus had also been a band member of SAHB bassist Chris Glen's band The Outfit.

Cleminson believed Cowan could help him recover and unleash his not yet seen side of hard-edged, industrial rock. Cleminson always advised in interviews that with sin'dogs he had come full circle and playing music he instinctively played and that he was back to his roots in Tear Gas.

As the material neared completion, Cleminson and Cowan thought these songs would sound great live and they toyed with the idea of forming a band to perform them. They organised a few rehearsals with the band and sin'dogs were born.

Not all members of The SAHB Experience were able to do it as vocalist Andy Massie had a full-time job, as did drummer Chris Killen, so they brought in experienced drummer Scott Cowie (who was also taught by Ted McKenna) and Cleminson decided to be both guitarist and lead singer. The band performed their first mini-UK tour at the end of 2017 and recorded their first self-titled EP. This was followed by an extensive UK tour in 2018 and time in the studio to record their debut album titled VOL.1. The band also made appearances at some major festivals which included Cropredy, Sweden Rock Festival, A New Day Festival, and Cambridge Rock Festival. They also performed a sell-out show at the Barrowlands Ballroom supporting Mott The Hoople. In 2018, Cowie decided to leave the band to concentrate on his day job and career as a college lecturer and was replaced by Louie Malvessi. In November 2018, Malvessi decided to leave to focus on his session work. He was then replaced by Carlos Marin.

End of the road for /sin'dogs/

Around October 2019, Cleminson announced via social media that he was leaving sin'dogs. The remaining members of /sin'dogs/ moved on to other projects. Keyboardist David Cowan formed his own band, The Meissner Effect, and continues to tour with The SAHB Experience alongside bassist Nelson McFarlane and has recently released his second solo album Identity: Out Of The Dark Part 2. Drummer Carlos Marin briefly joined rock outfit Gin Annie, before leaving and forming his own band Humanity Deluxe, who have also recorded their first studio album and were gigging throughout the UK.

Orphans Of The Ash

Since the demise of the band in October 2019, Cleminson and Willie worked together on a new project 'Orphans Of The Ash' and have released a studio album in November 2022 titled Ellipsis. Plans are currently in place for Orphans Of The Ash to begin working on their second album which is yet to be titled. The album Ellipsis was released on 29 November 2022.

Cleminson is referenced in the novel The Sacred Art of Stealing, by the Scottish author Christopher Brookmyre, as the basis of the disguises worn by bank robbers during a heist, and inspired the name of the character Zal Innez.

Guthrie Govan has cited Cleminson as one of his most important influences and considers him to have been "his Jimmy Page" in his early guitar development.

External links

• Interview in Guitar Player (May 2006)