Alastair Donaldson

Alastair Donaldson (27 April 1955, in Edinburgh – 18 June 2013, in Edinburgh[1]) was a Scottish multi-instrumentalist, and was the
bass guitar player for the Scottish punk/pop band The Rezillos, for whom he played under the stage name of William
Mysterious.[2][3][4]

He was a formative member of the folk ensemble Silly Wizard prior to his involvement with The Rezillos,[5] and appears on many of
their recordings under his real name. He appears on the Rezillos' second single for Sire Records, a double A-side featuring the songs
"Flying Saucer Attack" and "My Baby (Does Good Sculptures)" and also on their first studio album Can't Stand The Rezillos.[4] He
took over the bass slot in the Rezillos whilst working as their saxophonist. He left The Rezillos after a British tour supporting The
Ramones, although he did make a guest appearance at the Rezillos' final gig at the Glasgow Apollo, where he returned to his original
role of saxophone player alongside his replacement on bass guitar, Simon Templar (born Simon Broomfield). This performance was
captured on The Rezillos' live album, Mission Accomplished (But The Beat Goes On). He also appeared on the B-side of the single
version of "Top of The Pops", playing saxophone on the instrumental track, "20,000 Rezillos under the Sea". This track itself was a
re-imagining of the "William Tell Overture" by the classical composerRossini.

After leaving the Rezillos, he released one single in 1982 as William Mysterious with Alastair Donaldson on the independent
Mezzanine label, "Security of Noise" b/w "Alright".[6] After The Rezillos split up for the first time in 1978, former members became
The Revillos, and Donaldson rejoined them in 1979 for theRev Up LP where he once again played bass.[4]

After this final outing with The Revillos he retired from recording and touring, but was still semi active in live work in his native
Edinburgh up until his death on 18 June 2013.

References
1. Obituary: Alastair "Ali" Donaldson, musician(http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-alastair-ali-donaldso
n-musician-1-2974634): scotsman.com
2. The Rezillos - Biography - Virgin Radio (http://www.virginradio.co.uk/music/artists/the_rezillos/biography/)
3. Alastair Donaldson - BandToBand.com (http://www.bandtoband.com/artist/alastair-donaldson)
4. Strong, Martin C.: "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", 1999, Canongate,
ISBN 0-86241-913-1
5. Acts / Bands Who Played The Kinema Ballroom Dunfermline - 'R'(http://www.kinemagigz.com/'r'.htm#The%20Rezill
os)
6. The Revillos - Revillia (http://www.revillos.co.uk/revillia.htm)

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This page was last edited on 11 March 2018, at 20:42.

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