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UFO are an English rock band formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional band between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. UFO's influence was strongly felt in the 1980s heavy metal scene and they have been cited as a primary influence of Steve Harris of Iron Maiden, Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth and Frank Hannon of Tesla among others.
Vocalist Phil Mogg, guitarist Mick Bolton (born Michael Bolton, May 1950, in London), bassist Pete Way and drummer Andy Parker (born Andrew Maynard Parker, 21 March 1952, in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire) formed the band in August, 1969. Originally taking the name 'Hocus Pocus', the group changed their name to UFO in honour of the London club where they were spotted by Noel Moore, who signed them to his Beacon Records label. Their eponymously titled first album debuted in 1970 and was a typical example of blues and boogie based hard rock. The album included a heavy version of Eddie Cochran's classic, "C'mon Everybody". Both UFO 1 and its follow-up, Flying, were very successful in Japan (especially the single "C'mon Everybody" which became a huge hit there) and Germany (the song "Boogie For George", also from the first album, reached #30 in German singles charts and "Prince Kajuku" from UFO 2 - Flying reached #26 there), but generated poor interest in Britain and America. Consequently, their third effort, UFO Lands In Tokyo (also known as UFO Live and UFO Landed In Japan), was only released in Japan.
Part of UFO's early heavy metal work was strongly influenced by space rock (their second album, including a 26-minute long title track and a 19-minute long opus "Star Storm", even was subtitled "One Hour Space Rock") that was modestly popular at the time, but the band soon realised the style was somewhat limited. In January, 1972 Mick Bolton left the group, and UFO set out to find a guitarist capable of providing the band with a more standard rock sound.
After brief trial runs with ex-Steve Took's Shagrat guitarist, Larry Wallis (February - October, 1972; in 1975 he became a founding member of Motörhead) and future Cozy Powell's Hammer and Whitesnake member, Bernie Marsden - he toured with UFO in Europe and recorded demo, "Give Her The Gun") - the band recruited Michael Schenker from the Scorpions in June, 1973. On a new label, Chrysalis Records, and with new producer, Leo Lyons, UFO recorded Phenomenon in 1974, which debuted the band's harder-edged guitar sound. Schenker was only 19 at the time, but was already a well-respected guitarist. Phenomenon was not an instant classic, but contained many fan favorites such as "Doctor Doctor" (later a minor hit single as a live track) and "Rock Bottom" (which was extended live to provide a showcase for Schenker). By the time of the Phenomenon tour, ex-Skid Row guitarist Paul Chapman (born Paul William Chapman, 9 May 1954, in Cardiff, Glamorganshire, South Wales) joined the group, but he left in January, 1975 to form Lone Star.
The band later released Force It (July, 1975) and No Heavy Petting (May, 1976) and toured extensively, which brought UFO increased visibility with American audiences and made them huge stars in England.
Lights Out album coverAfter the band experimented with keyboards during the recording sessions of Force It (Chick Churchill from Ten Years After played them), a keysman Danny Peyronel (previously in Heavy Metal Kids) joined the line-up in August, 1975, but the next summer he left to form The Blue Max. In July, 1976 the band recruited keyboardist and second guitarist Paul Raymond (born Paul Martin Raymond, 16 November 1945, in St Albans, Hertfordshire) (ex-Plastic Penny) from Savoy Brown to make 1977's Lights Out. Lights Out was the pinnacle of UFO's studio career and is considered a genuine 1970s rock classic, containing songs such as "Too Hot To Handle", "Lights Out", "Alone Again Or" and the 7-minute opus "Love To Love". With Lights Out, the band received substantial critical acclaim.
Strangers in the Night album coverWith their new-found success, the band went back into the studio to record Obsession in 1978. Whilst not as successful as its predecessor, Obsession still contained several popular tracks, such as; "Cherry" and "Only You Can Rock Me".
Later that year, the band went on tour and recorded the live album, Strangers In The Night. Strangers was a critical and commercial success and stands as one of the most influential live rock albums of the 1970s (along with Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous, Kiss's Alive! and Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive).
Recorded on a shoestring budget, UFO has several challenging sonic moments. The uneven mixes and amateur performances that some listeners might find quaint or innocent could be distracting to others. In their pre-Michael Schenker days, the British band made a much more experimental noise that reflected psychedelic as well as R&B influences pitched with a dark resonance. This swirling mish-mosh barely suggests the early British metal of the group's commercial pinnacle that was still years off when they released their eponymous debut.
Blue Cheer, early Black Sabbath, and maybe a little bit of the Who (mostly
derived via bassist Pete Way's meandering, over-saturated bass lines) all come to mind on standouts like "Boogie," "C'mon Everybody," and "Follow You Home." While ignored completely in the States as well as their British home, U F O was a bit of an international hit.
"C'mon Everybody" made it to the top of the charts in Japan, which led to a tour of the country and enough career momentum to keep the records coming while the sound of (and worldwide market for) heavy metal slowly took shape. While far from being the best offering from Pete Way, Phil Mogg, and company, U F O is a nice pre-metal study that reveals how the blues/psychedelic amalgam inspired would-be metal artists before pop was injected into the genre.
01. Unidentified Flying Object (Bolton/Mogg/Parker/Way) - 2:19
02. Boogie (Bolton/Mogg/Parker/Way) - 4:17
03. C'mon Everybody (Capehart/Cochran) - 3:12
04. Shake It About (Bolton/Mogg/Parker/Way) - 3:47
05. (Come Away) Melinda (Hellerman/Minkoff) - 5:06
06. Timothy (Bolton/Mogg/Parker/Way) - 3:29
07. Follow You Home (Way) - 2:14
08. Treacle People (Bolton) - 3:24
09. Who Do You Love (McDaniel) - 7:50
10. Evil (Way) - 3:27
