Throughout numerous personnel changes, one thing remained constant for UFO, and
it was their critically acclaimed rock and roll music.
But, it took the London-based group some time to gain worldwide acceptance and
to garner attention in the U.S. Vocalist Phil Mogg, bassist Pete Way, drummer
Andy Parker and guitarist Mick Bolten formed the band in 1969. The group was
originally named "Hocus Pocus," but they changed it to UFO to honor the London
club that they performed at and where record producer Noel Moore saw them,
subsequently signing the band to Beacon Records.
Early in their career UFO was very successful in Japan and Germany, but had
little success in the U.K. or the U.S.. In fact, their breakthrough lp in 1974
called "Phenomenon" was just a precursor to the follow up releases ("Force It"
in1975 and "No Heavy Petting" in 1976), with all three albums filled with
hard-edged and engaging guitar work, with titanic riffs mixed with creative
lyrics. The band also toured extensively which brought them increased
visibility in both the U.S. and U.K. The group formed their foundation with
fan favorites such as "Doctor Doctor" and the heavy metal crunch of "Rock
Bottom" that were mixed adeptly with lighter swaying ballads.
But, it was the now legendary and brilliant album "Lights Out" with the
prolific sounds of the cut "Too Hot To Handle," "Alone Again Or" and the seven
minute opus "Love To Love" as well as the title song that cemented UFO's
position in rock and roll.
In 1978 the group was touring to promote the album "Obsession" and were
captured live (for the 1979 live lp "Strangers In The Night") and this album
release was one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful
rock albums of the 1970's.
The band went through more personnel changes and released several more albums
(in fact, 1980's "No Place To Run" was produced by legendary Beatles
collaborator George Martin), but were never able to harness the success they
had previously. In 1982, the album "Mechanix" was released and the popular
song "Back Into My Life" was a minor hit in the states. After founding member
Pete Way departed in 1983, UFO released the lp "Making Contact," which failed
miserably on all levels and in May of that year the group disbanded.
Two years later, Mogg assembled a new line up for the release "Misdemeanor" and
in 1988's EP "Ain't Misbehavin'." Despite all their efforts, neither garnered
much attention and the group split up again.
But that was not the end of UFO. Mogg and Way put together yet another line up
in 1992 and released "High Stakes & Dangerous Men" and this release was enough
to generate enough interest in a full-blown reunion with the 1970's line up of
Mogg, Way, Raymond and guitar wizard Michael Schenker. This line up toured the
world, but tensions ran high and Schenker left in the middle of the tour and
the remaining members went their separate ways.
Again, this was not the demise of UFO as Schenker rejoined the group for a
couple of new albums. Shortly after the second release "Sharks," Schenker
again departed and was replaced by guitarist Vinnie Moore. The band cut the lp
"You Are Here" in 2004, with the help of Jason Bonham on the drums. The tour
for the album provided a double DVD called "Showtime" in 2005 along with a
double live cd in November of that same year. The band released their
nineteenth studio album in September of 2006 called "Monkey Puzzle."
To reiterate, although UFO went through many personnel changes throughout the
years, the one constant was that they are a legendary live band and the music
and mystique of UFO may ever die, as they continue to appease the fans of
iconic guitar work and spellbinding musicianship.
Author Robert Benson writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and
operates www.collectingvinylrecords.com, where you can secure your
copy of his
ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting."
Robert can be contacted at robert@collectingvinylrecords.com.
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