1. Alistair Macdonald "Zal" Cleminson was born on 4 May 1949 and is a Scottish guitarist, best known for his role in the Sensational Alex Harvey Band between 1972 and 1978.
21 Facts About Zal Cleminson
1. 2.
Zal Cleminson was a member of Nazareth for three years.
3.
Zal Cleminson 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.
4.
Zal Cleminson started wearing the mime makeup when the band started playing larger venues, so they could see what he was doing on stage easier.
5.
The Zal Cleminson Band did not record anything although it is said there are live bootlegs of some shows around the circuit.
6.
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.
7.
In 1979, Zal Cleminson joined Nazareth and recorded two albums with them, 1979's No Mean City and 1980's Malice in Wonderland.
8.
Zal Cleminson was a regular guitarist with singer Elkie Brooks on many of her tours throughout the 1980s.
9.
Zal Cleminson wrote and played on Brooks' album Minutes as well as one track on No More the Fool.
10.
Zal Cleminson toured with Midge Ure on his Gift World Tour 1985.
11.
Zal Cleminson appeared on the promotional photo shoots for both bands.
12.
In early 2008, Zal Cleminson announced his retirement from the music industry and stated he would never perform live again.
13.
Zal Cleminson's 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.
14.
Zal 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.
15.
Around 2016, Zal 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.
16.
Zal 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.
17.
Zal Cleminson contacted Cowan and asked if he was interested in collaborating with him on the material and ideas he had.
18.
Zal Cleminson believed Cowan could help him recover and unleash his not yet seen side of hard-edged, industrial rock.
19.
Zal 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.
20.
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 and Zal Cleminson decided to be both guitarist and lead singer.
21.
Around October 2019, Zal Cleminson announced via social media that he was leaving sin'dogs.