Alastair Donaldson

Who was Alastair Donaldson?

Alastair Donaldson 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.

He was a formative member of the folk ensemble Silly Wizard prior to his involvement with The Rezillos, 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" and also on their first and only studio album Can't Stand The Rezillos. 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. This performance was captured on The Rezillos' posthumous live second album, Mission Accomplished. 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 composer Rossini.