Join host Pete Pardo of Sea of Tranquility for a career retrospective of the legendary British hard rock act UFO. Pete takes a look at their discography, family tree, and where they are today.
....caught that right away! but we knew what you meant. lol Only ever got to catch UFO in early 80's with Chapman and always as an opening act. But I thought they were excellent! Always very solid and tight. Pete Way was quite energetic and they got the crowd pumped for the headliner. Would like to catch them with Vinnie Moore now. Always liked his solo stuff when he first came out, and I see how he would be a good fit in UFO.
Kickass as usual Pete! My personal favorite as well: Obssession. Michael does what he wants with the guitar. It's like a channel; Reminds me of Jimmy Page during the first 5 Zeppelin records before heroine. And yesss the Zeppelin Hard rock influence on Ufo is absolute. Couldn't agree more!!
I left school in '76 & landed a not so glamorous job as a petrol pump attendant. (Sorry, that's a gas station to my American cousins). I was unaware of UFO, back then I was a Status Quo, Deep Purple & Led Zeppelin fan. Three brothers used to frequent the station, as they had a company account with us. 2 were always suited & booted, with a smart short hair cut, the other was clearly from a different world. He was lean, long permed hair, frilly shirt & either tight jeans or leather trousers. For 7 f*cking years I was serving petrol to UFO's Andy Parker, & I never knew !!
MY favorite all time band. First got into them from my friends older brother. In his album collection was Phenomenon and Stranger In The Night. . Saw Schenker many times. I actually saw the very first, FIRST reunion concert of UFO in Babenhausen , Germany. Dec. 1993. Was front row and met Andy Parker and Michael after the show. I still have the poster , which has Paul Chapman;s name on the poster!!...later a sticker was plaster over Paul's name with MIT Michael Schenker. Love both era;s….
Great video! Learned a lot, am now a subscriber. UFO was a band I never listened to in their heyday. I was a Priest/AC-DC/Sabbath guy. I knew they were out there, never gave them a chance. Last year, I went on a (ridiculous, really) CD buying binge and bought both Chrysalis 5 disc collections. Blown away. Solid rock.
I was fortunate to see UFO at the legendary starwood club Hollywood ca "Force It Tour" Stood ten feet from Schenker and his black flying V, To this day one of my most memorable concerts.
About ten years ago I sold all of my vinyl except for 5 or 6. One of them that I refused to sell and still have is "Lights Out". Yeah, all my Zep, Rush, Kiss, everything went. That should say all I need to about how I feel about UFO.
Nice one! I saw them twice around the Mechanix period. First gig was great. The second one was Way's birthday and he was so drunk holding a bottle of vodka whilst pplaying bass that he had to lie on his back for most of the gig!
So this video came up on my YT news feed...UFO, my favorite band. I saw them in October and was able to meet the band backstage after the show. A bucketlist moment for sure. I wished I could have met Paul Raymond though. No place to Run is a pretty cool album, Pete. Give Anyday from that CD another try...GREAT tune, GREAT solo. Kinda gave up on the albums after Walk on Water. Will give the later ones a try though.
Glad Misdemeanor gets a fair hearing here. I grew up on the Schenker/Chapman eras, but the Atomik Tommy M line-up was the first I saw live (Bristol (UK), 1984), and that was a revelation. High Stakes... (Pete Way was on that, by the way) was another great album, and then the reunion with Schenker (and Ron Nevison) produced Walk on Water and another dramatic era with great music outweighing the histrionics.
NEW subscriber, long time UFO fan from the 80's. Been doing alot of watching your videos, watched history of Whitesnake yesterday, saw them in the 80's in San Antonio, was the 4 piece with Cozy Powell, Neil Murray, Sykes. I'd like to see you do a history of Pete Way's band Waysted. That first album was killer, wish that lineup could have stayed together longer than it did. Anyway, great channel, great website, keep up the great work.
Pete,enjoyed your Retrospect...UFO was my Heavy Metal band.Your tastes run much HEAVIER IN THE METAL BANDS...I found out many are not available on Spotify...Walk On Water and several others.I had NO IDEA of how much they Spewed out in various INCARNATIONS...With/Without Schenker...a few titles you have are of INFLATED PRICES...Aproaching Collectors level...Very informative show!I saw UFO/URIAH HEEP in Norman,Ok.(circa '79?)Favourite "obscure schenker solo that soars...Obsession:Hot N' Ready.Also enjoyed your Uriah Heep show...PEACE Wiz
Michael Schenker divided up his solo side with stripped down acoustic, Robin NcAuley- Thank You period, then essentially 25th Anniversary came about and BBC releases, spawning the Michael Schenker Story Live, Temple of Rock, Spirit on a Mission, MichaelSchenker Fest and more? Haha, got to work after Contraband ended a hiatus
Dont you just love those ``I met UFO ´´ stories ..O.K so here goes i was a coach driver in the UK and the companyI worked for did rock n roll tours so I got the gig to drive the roadies on a tour bus I picked them up I think in Tourhut Holland in around 85-86 ?? did one or two gigs in italy and then drove on to Brindsi and with the ferry to Patras then on to Athens so good so far `` the road manager was an arshole´´ and the roadies though they shouldve been on stageand not humping it around , I didnt know much about UFO except the two guitarist were great guys and great musicans I watched all the gigs from the mix consule and yeah I liked them unfortunatley Moggy done got groggy in Athens and threw the amps into the crowd to an abrupt end , end of tour , so me and the marvelous roadies drove back to the U,K , long long drive didnt do much rock n roll after that here endeth thou story.... ..its certanly rock n Roll unless you paid to see a gig and you go home early than expected picking bits of marshall amps out of your head
Listening to your takes on all these albums is like having a conversation with myself. I echo most of your sentiments and opinions about the band and it’s recorded efforts. Obsession. A Schenk tour de force. Wild willing innocent by far best work with Paul Chapman. I love the diversity of styles with Vinny at helm and yes, he kills the old material to boot. Agree on Conspiarcy of Stars being best VM album. Based on your recommendation , I may have to listen to Misdemeanor again. Just didn’t bite into it back in the day. Gotta look for the Mogg-Way stuff now!!! Have not heard any of that.
The studio albums were 'ok' [3 or 4 stand out tracks on each one], but they were such a great live band that it didn't matter. Strangers in the Night is a perfect 10/10! - Also love "No Place to Run" with Chapman....jumped ship after that. Went to a 'reunion' show in '95 [Indianapolis] - front row. It was amazing.
When Walk On Water came out it was initially an import only release here in the states. After seeing it at my local record shop on cd for a whopping $50 I decided I had to have it. The import release has different art and photos than the later local release that came out around '98.
Enjoyed your rankings of UFO (and many others) especially when I’m on the road. UFO is not real popular in Canada ( I’m in Winnipeg) so when I meet a fan they usually are a big fan, I 1st heard them in grade 10, I heard Rock Bottom and was hooked but strangely they dropped off my radar around Mechanix and my tastes ran in a different direction until .......... decades later when I picked up a compilation CD and listened to it while driving out to the lake ( with a pizza and a case of beer ) it took me to a musical head space I have never been before and I didn’t want the drive to end. That allowed me discover all the albums I had missed throughout the years and they have soared easily to the top of my favourite bands. The bartender at my local bar is as much of a fan as I am and we have seen them twice in the states ( Minneapolis and Vegas) and they are my go to band and have created many new fans. Not sure what the future holds for them especially with the passing of Pete Way,Paul Raymond and Paul Chapman but their legacy will live on especially within the hearts of the diehard fans like myself CHEERS 😀😀
OK dude. this thumbnail came up during the BOC History.... I had three UFO albums. I used to put up the Strangers in the Night album on one side of the room and stand way away to see the actual picture. Hey, it was the '70s and I was baked most of the time. I am subbed.
Blast from my past. The first concert I went to as a kid was Molly Hatchet, UFO and REO Speedwagon. At the time, no one had heard of Molly Hatchet. The year was about 77 or 78. It was at the Utica War Memorial Aditorium in Utica, NY. The place was across from the police station, which turned out to be convenient. Some knuckle head pulled out in front of us with his Cadillac and fudged up my buddy's Le Manns. We caught Molly Hatchet playing their last song and then, UFO. It was an awesome night to remember.
My very first concert was UFO with AC⚡DC. Both promoting their live albums. Strangers in The Night/ If You Want Blood, You've Got It. I only remember Phil complaining about the beach ball. There was a huge cloud of smoke.
I would love to see Paul Chapman playing the lead solo at the end of the song "Anyday". Can't find the song on a live concert video. It's a "KILLER RIFF". 🎸 I'd like to re recreate the solo..."SOMEWHAT"
12:20 Robbie France was in the group for sessions and shows, however, he was not the drummer on the album Misdemeanor or Aint Misbehavin' ep. Jim Simpson was the drummer on those records.
Don’t mean to nitpick, but the song you referred to as “The Kids” is actually “This Kid’s”. I dig your videos, man! We have similar taste in music, for sure. I’ve been reading your website for many years.I think the Mogg Way album “Chocolate Box” deserves a bit more commentary, as it’s a UFO album in all but name and a much stronger effort than Covenant or Sharks with the amazing Jeff Kollman writing the music, producing and playing guitar so well, you don’t really miss Schenker, which is saying a lot! I think he was a better fit than Vinnie Moore, but maybe they chose Vinnie because he was more known and they thought they could grow their fanbase better with him, Idk. Maybe they feared Jeff would have too much control, since he writes, produces and plays. To my ears, Chocolate Box smokes anything they’ve done with Vinnie, as great as he is.
Thank the stars Michael stepped in. My favorite guitarist ever. That era of UFO is my favorite band ever. Phil is easily a top 5 hard rock vocalist imo. Great thunderous rythm section. Love it. Cant stand Vinnie Moore. He sounds generic insert guitar here. He plays Schenker stuff without soul. Obviously wish Schenker never left to begin with but I'd rather they got Jon Sykes or Lynch than Moore. Anybody actually.
I love Mechanics.I passed it up for years because I never heard anyone discuss it and it has that horrible album cover.I finally gave in and paid $1.99 for a sealed vinyl copy and loved it ever since.
Don’t know too much about UFO, but it’s kind of funny they actually made fun of Rush playing Xanadu..One of the best songs I’ve ever seen played live on Exit Stage Left..I like to see them play a song live that comes close!!
Saw Paul Gray their late bassist with the Damned a few months ago. He was perfect with them. He used to be in the Damned before UFO, on their gothic sounding albums. Whew! He was awesome. Perfect fit and solid. They blew away all the other punk bands at that Camp Anarchy festival in Ohio. It wasn't even close.
Good video Pete. I've never been able to get into this band or MSG. I've tried and I own 3-4 albums on record like Obsession, Mechanix and Making Contact but I just can't seem to get into the band.
My Ufo ranking top list of the 10 best. 1.Mechanix 2.the Wild the Willing 3.Obsession 4.Lights Out 5.No Hevy Petting 6.No Place to Run 7.UFO 1 8.Force It 9.Phenomenon 10.UFO 2
@@greensombrero3641 yes if that live album was good by UFO there has to be other great albums by UFO u said UFO are a huge band in your Rock N Roll History I’m sure there’s other good albums I’m sure there is I’m sure there is
I saw UFO in Lubbock Tx in ... uuummmm .. mid to late 70's in concert and they just kicked my ass. Oh yea they had a young up and comming band open the show nobody really heard of by the name of Judas Priest, yes that's right I saw UFO and Judas Priest share the stage in the 70's.
One more comment. The good live albums of the seventies were the best, no question. The worst were obviously engineered by somebody way more toasted than me. And I would say that would be hard to do lol. On With the Action
No one ever mentions the extremely important input of Ron Nevison - he is to UFO what George Martin was to The Beatles. His treatment of basic demo's into philharmonic strung masterpieces on Lights Out and Obsession is nothing short of stunning - sure Schenker was like a wunderkind back than and set the world on fire, but Nevison needs a pat on the back...imo
