During a recent interview with Eonmusic, Yngwie Malmsteen was asked if he had been approached by any big names during his career.
“Yeah, of course. Quite a lot, actually,” he responded. “Going on to list a number of acts, all of whom he claims sought out his services, Yngwie said: “I was offered a gig in UFO, I was offered a gig with David Lee Roth. There was some murmur about the Ozzy [Osbourne] thing. Ronnie James Dio, he talked about it all the time.”
He also revealed that Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons were interested in retaining him, presumably for the role that was eventually filled by Vinnie Vincent in 1982. He said: “When I actually lived in Sweden. I was offered a gig in KISS. They wanted to talk to me. They called me up, and the guy said, ‘Are you hot?’ And then he asked me, ‘Are you six feet tall?’ And I’m metric, right? I’m six-foot-three; I’m actually quite tall — I’m 192 centimeters. So I said, ‘No, I’m 192.’ And he goes, ‘What the f*ck’s that?’ So they never called back, so I didn’t end up with an oink on my face!”
Asked if he was ever approached by DEEP PURPLE, Malmsteen said: “There was murmurs. “Me and Roger Glover always got along. I got along with Ritchie Blackmore too, but Ian Gillan, for some reason he… I did a show with him once, and we had the greatest time, it was a lot of fun, but then I did a tour with him a few years ago, and he didn’t seem to like me a lot, so I don’t know.”
