UFO Circa 1973
In the history of hard rock music, few bands have had the longevity of UFO. Formed in 1969 in England, the band has undergone many line-up changes, with vocalist Phil Mogg being the one constant in the group’s 41-year history. No matter whether the guitarist was Michael Schenker, Paul Chapman, Atomic Tommy, or current axeman Vinnie Moore, UFO’s sound is unmistakable… You know it’s them from the moment Phil starts singing.
Though not hugely commercially successful, the band has a loyal fan base, they’re respected by their peers as well as up-and-coming musicians, and signature songs such as “Rock Bottom,” “Lights Out,” “Doctor Doctor,” and “Too Hot to Handle” are still played occasionally on terrestrial radio, and quite often played on satellite and internet radio all over the world. Their double-disc Strangers in the Night album, is still considered among the best, if not the best live recordings of all time.
The band’s most successful period was, in the opinion of many fans, from 1974-1979 when guitar duties were handled by the legendary Michael Schenker until his departure after the Obsession and Strangers In The Night albums.
Phil Mogg
Following Schenker’s departure to re-join his brother Rudolf for the Scorpions’ Lovedrive record, and to later form his own Michael Schenker Group, (which has existed in various incarnations for the past 30 years), Michael was replaced in UFO by Paul Chapman. The band released three of what many feel are their best albums during Chapman’s era. Though many believe the songwriting got better with Chapman on board, the albums, The Wild, The Willing and the Innocent, and Mechanix, weren’t quite as successful commercially as Schenker-era records like Phenomenon, Force It, No Heavy Pettin‘, or Lights Out.
Following 1982′s Mechanix release, Chapman left the band, and along with UFO bassist, formed the group Waysted. Phil continued UFO with a string of different guitarists, drummers, and bass players. The line-up of Mogg, Pete Way, Schenker, keyboardist Paul Raymond, and drummer Andy Parker re-formed to put out 1995′s Walk On Water. Schenker stayed on board for two more CDs, 2000′s Covenant and 2002′s Sharks. Due to personal differences, Schenker departed UFO after Sharks was released, and turned over his ownership stake in the UFO name so that Phil Mogg could continue on.
In 2004, legendary Schrapnel Records shredder Vinnie Moore joined the band and is still the current guitarist. At first many fans, myself included, were skeptical as to how Moore’s more shredder-like style would go over in UFO. Having seen the band three times now with Moore on guitar, I can safely say he plays the new stuff wonderfully, as you’d expect…But he makes the classic material his own, and does it very well.
On the last couple of tours, due to health and immigration problems, Pete Way has not handled bass duties live. However, an article put out in the last couple of weeks reports that Way, Michael Schenker, and a couple others are forming a super-group of sorts, calling themselves Strangers In the Night.
UFO are currently working on a twenty-first studio album, which is due for release in June 2011.
left to right: Pete Way | Andy Parker | Vinnie Moore | Phil Mogg | Paul Raymond
Had it not been for a UFO show review I wrote for Metalholic.co, Rustyn and I likely wouldn’t have met at that point in time, wouldn’t have gotten into long discussions about music, and thus, probably wouldn’t have formed Mojo when we did. After talking, we discovered we’re both huge fans of a lot of the same artists, including UFO, and Rustyn ended up tuning in to a few shows on my old station. He expressed an interest in learning to DJ, so I showed him what I could, and seven hours after I set him up with the encoders and Winamp plug-ins, he did his first show for us. The next day, Mojoradio.us went live… And, as I say, it all started because of a UFO show I attended on October 30, 2009. Strangers in the night became brothers in arms. So in honor of this, it seems only fitting that UFO be our artist of the month for January 2011 as Mojo celebrates its first anniversary.
On Sunday, January 9, I’ll be hosting a “UFO and side projects” special on Mojo, starting at 7:00 PM East, and going for several hours. You’ll hear music from UFO, MSG, Fastway, Mogg-Way, Sign of 4, Paul Raymond Project, Waysted, and Pete Way’s solo material. Please join me, and if you have a favorite UFO song you’d like to make sure is played, contact me via the methods listed in my DJ bio, and we’ll make sure it happens for you.
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