First time listening to UFO. The Coming of the Prince was my favorite among those you shared here. I didn't really get into music until I hit my teens. Then it was the Beatles, the Stones, Dylan, Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison, Cream and on from there. Now I rarely listen to rock. It's interesting to look back at our musical journey.
Thanks and Happy New Year, Deborah. I don't listen to anywhere near as much rock as I once did. These days when I go to record stores, I spend far more time in other sections (jazz, soul, funk, gospel, world) than I do in rock.
But some bands have left their mark, and UFO is certainly one of them. As a young boy, I loved them and felt like I had joined the older kids club (compared to KISS, who by 1978 were appealing more to younger kids).
I’d never heard of UFO before and I really enjoyed this dive into their music. I loved the track ‘Love to Love’ and am listening to ‘Rock Bottom’ as I write this. I’m traveling tomorrow and have downloaded the album to my Spotify to have a listen. Funnily enough, another ‘Rock Bottom’ was a favorite of mine from KISS’s 1975 album ‘Dressed to Kill’ which is the first album I ever owned.
Thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Coming of Prince Kajuku’ and have also queued up that album (as well as 1977’s ‘Lights Out’) for later listening.
What an interesting story about how Michael Schenker came to be UFO’s guitarist. Talk about right time, right place!
Happy New Year from Vancouver, BC, Mark! My wife and I came up here to see in the New Year, and we are headed back home tonight (I am writing this from YVR airport).
Thanks for reading and digging into the music. I hope, as you dig deeper into UFO’s albums, you will discover some songs or LPs that you enjoy. The studio version of “Love To Love” is a very melodic, textured, and well-crafted song (as is “Out In The Streets”). Add to it their ability to rock hard, and I am stumped as to why they didn’t find greater fame.
I am also glad you enjoyed the earlier track, “The Coming of Prince Kajuku.” The ‘Flying’ LP, however, may prove a more demanding listen due to the extended jams, which are no doubt very much propelled by psychedelics.
Enjoy your travels, and I am excited to hear about where you eventually decide to reside in the UK (and, of course, the new house/flat, neighborhood, village, etc.).
Great article. Saw UFO many times with many line ups. Always thought Moggs lyrics were very Sprinsteenish. Saw Schenker last year in a small uk club. Still playing a few UFO classics. Strangers In The Night still sounds wonderful all these years later.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Trevor. I have never thought of Mogg's lyrics in that way ("Springsteenish"), but now that you mention it, you might be on to something!
I 100% agree on 'Strangers.' It never wears out its welcome. But I also think for many of us who have enjoyed the album for years/decades, it is now part of our musical DNA.
You hit it dead on with this post. I’ve seen UFO in many iterations throughout the years and have always enjoyed them. Schenker’s audiences were also most enthusiastic when he cranked out the UFO tunes.
Thanks, Daniel! Cheers for reading, commenting, and the restack! I have read interviews with Schenker where he has said similar things about the audience being particularly responsive when he played UFO songs.
Thanks Michael-I thought I was alone. I’m the same age as you and was obsessed with UFO from age 10-16, and I could never understand why they didn’t have wider appeal. Strangers in the Night still features heavily in my Spotify favourites.
It’s odd as UFO were so good and checked so many boxes. They had huge guitar riffs by an extraordinary guitarist. A dynamic rhythm section, melodic and atmospheric keys, a singer with a good voice. But maybe they fell in that weird time when Zeppelin was still the biggest rock band in the world. Stateside, the likes of Aerosmith and KISS were huge (but appealed to different fanbases). Van Halen and AC/DC soon broke the scene, and then the likes of British metal and eventually the explosion of the 80s metal scene. They seemed to get lost in it all. That said, they were always the band that musicians loved and appealed to the rockers as well as the metal kids.
Happy New Year! I think it would be appropriate if we both gave our beloved UFO a spin on this first day of 2025! 🤘😎
Sometimes conventional wisdom is correct and there is no need to force a contrarian opinion; Strangers in the Night is simply one of the greatest live rock albums of all time.
Thanks for reminding me about UFO, Michael. When I got into metal, hard rock and prog in the 1980s, UFO was one of the groups I got into retrospectively. Haven't listened to them for years but used to enjoy those albums a lot. Might give them a blast when I get back from seasonal travels.
Thanks for reading, Richard. The beauty of having time off over the holidays is revisiting old friends that reside on our record shelves. Earlier this month, I pulled out a handful of my UFO albums and thoroughly enjoyed giving them a spin. They reminded me how much I love the albums, their impact on me as a young kid, and how they have stuck with me for 46 years. That's the sign of a damn good friend.
This is a surprise discovery for me. Definitely underrated as, otherwise, I might have heard of them back then. I enjoyed the track from UFO2 Flying the most of the links you shared. I will explore.
'Flying' is an amazing album and my favorite of theirs. When I first heard it, however, I was too young to understand it, but even back then, I liked it. In comparison to everything else in their catalog, it is a total anomaly and stands on its own.
It seems that age isn't the only prerequisite for understanding this album. I just acquainted myself with the first half of the album in the car. I pulled over to write and notice that I happened to stop opposite a billboard advertising 'MF and Co - SOLD'. This album has definitely been sold. I love the understated, perhaps even subdued ambience and the floating / drifting quality of this output. It has a kind of time-stretching effect. I find myself really appreciating the bare bones texture through which absolutely every detail is crystal clear and can be given full simultaneous attention. I even kinda like the boxy recording quality that mainly impacts the tone of the drums. It's a real journey of exploration, especially for the guitar and the non-pyrotechnical vocal approach to the guitar improv is definitely my kind of thing. There's a sense that the band members are really allowing themselves to journey freely and uninhibited as one. Much of 'Star Storm' is like listening to a song scored for humpbacked whales, bass and cymbals; just fantastic. Somewhat later, I have listened to 'Flying' through headphones while lying in bed. I'm sure long tracks are never popular but I love this. I'm not at all bothered by the wanderings. Some of the panning could be described as wild and extraneous but, somehow, it fits. The spacing of the drum kit results in separation greater even than would be experienced on the drum stool, which is curious but also fascinating with all the wandering of the guitar in-between. I also really enjoyed Mogg's vocals and vocal effects employed on this track. I had a little read after listening and this album attracts quite a lot of negative reviews. Obviously, it's not going to win prizes for mainstream popularity but, so what? The creative chemistry here is doing something pretty special for me. That's in no small part due to the generous helpings of the unexpected.
This was such a pleasure to read, and I am so glad you enjoyed the album, Phil. I have just put the album on and have it playing in the background as I reply.
I completely agree that they seemed uninhibited as they experimented and organically allowed the music to evolve. No doubt, largely due to being recorded while having a head full of acid, but I also think in that era, rock bands did allow themselves to explore much more so than many do today. I love your comment on 'Star Storm' being scored for humpback whales! So apt! I am also with you on long songs; I have no problem with them! But I also think that you being a musician and having a love of jazz and classical helps your openness to it. You also have a patient attention span, which allows the music to take you on a ride, which so many people lack today!
Finally, your last two sentences ring so true. The creative chemistry and the massive dosage of the unexpected and I'll add, taking a creative risk are exactly what I love about the album.
Cheers, Phil! I appreciate you not only listening but also sharing your thoughts.
Very cool, Patrick! Of all the bands I have seen, I missed out on UFO. I was 9 in 1978 when 'Strangers' was recorded. My first concert, however, came in 1979 (KISS Dynasty Tour). But I missed out on UFO (especially their glory years w/Schenker). That said, I would have also loved to have seen them in their early '70s Mick Bolton-era!
Cheers for stopping by, reading, and taking the time to comment!
It was a bit backwards for me, as I knew 'Strangers' from growing up a little hesher, then found my way to 'Flying', through some...older dudes. I didn't actually own 'Force It' until about 10 years ago, and Side 1 turned into a long time staple at our record night, BC Hydra. I threw 'Prince Kajuku' on a mixtape I did for this group exhibition I helped conceive, and featured Rodney Graham and several other Canadian and British artists. We had listening sessions once a week in the gallery, (Rodney made a great mix too), held in a scale model of Stonehenge that doubled as shag-carpeted thrones.
Yeah, as I said in a previous reply, UFO was one of those unique bands that was loved and adored by other musicians as well as fans. I know that Steve Harris was a big fan, and Maiden often (still does?) took the stage after 'Doctor Doctor.'
Flying is such a fantastic album. Over the years, I have turned so many psych heads on to it who didn't know the album or had written UFO off as a heavy rock band. And, despite not being a true metal act and having a decent amount of melody to their songs, the heavy metal kids always (still) give the band much respect. Not many bands can achieve that level of respect and adoration from such a wide group of fans.
On a side note, I love the Spinal Tap'ish image of the shag carpet Stonehenge thrones!
This is fucking brilliant! When I first moved to England, they still held annual Solstice 24-hour gigs at Stonehenge with Hawkwind as the headliner and other jammy bands like Ozric Tentacles. Sadly, that has long since stopped.
Couldn’t agree more. They were the missing link between the proto-hard rock of the Who, the progenitor of heavy metal Black Sabbath and the founders of punk Sex Pistols. Your opinion of them being underrated was voiced by Colin Farrell’s character’s diary musings in an episode of the series Sugar (2024). Spot on.
I haven't seen that series, but I know that Iron Maiden's bassist, Steve Harris, also loved UFO, and Maiden used to play 'Doctor Doctor' before taking the stage. UFO was one of those unique bands that was loved and adored by other musicians as well as fans.
Great post! I got turned on to UFO in early 1980, thanks in part to the cuts from Strangers that WLUP in Chicago played semi-regularly. Like you, I definitely picked up on them coming from a more grown-up perspective; unlike you, I bought only Strangers and Lights Out as a young teen, and didn’t really begin to explore their other albums until a good decade later. These days, I love just about everything they did through 1982 or so…
I always associated the city of Chicago with UFO because of the Strangers album in the same way I associated Detroit with the J. Geils band because of Blow Your Face Out. I was thrilled when I moved to Chicago in '96 that UFO was still played on the radio much more than in other places in the States where I had lived.
It was always fascinating (and occasionally frustrating) to me how wildly a band's regional popularity could vary in those days. Several friends I met in college or later recalled seeing UFO second or even third on the bill in other cities during the late 70s, whereas in Chicago they headlined the Amphitheater. I have to assume that was because they got much stronger radio support in Chicago than in those other places.
Thanks for reading, Dan! I always appreciate you sharing your thoughts and insight. When reflecting on that time, Pete Way often talked about the crowds in Chicago in a somewhat similar way that early KISS talked about Detroit. The city embraced them, which is probably why Strangers pulls from shows during that week in October '78 that kicked off with Chicago. I love the footage of 'This Kid's' that I linked (from 1976), but have you seen the footage of them on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert from 1975? Super rad. There is also some ultra-rare footage circulating with Larry Wallis playing with them (during his brief stint in the band before MS joined).
Yes! I love that Kirshner footage- and there’s some incredible early Shencker-era footage out there of them on German TV. I loved their addition of keyboards, of course, but good god could those guys kick out the jams as a power trio with a frontman…
Too right they did (kicked out the jams)! I think I have seen that same German footage where people are seated and not sure what the hell is going on. A few kids in the back, though, are wiggin' out!
First time listening to UFO. The Coming of the Prince was my favorite among those you shared here. I didn't really get into music until I hit my teens. Then it was the Beatles, the Stones, Dylan, Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison, Cream and on from there. Now I rarely listen to rock. It's interesting to look back at our musical journey.
Thanks and Happy New Year, Deborah. I don't listen to anywhere near as much rock as I once did. These days when I go to record stores, I spend far more time in other sections (jazz, soul, funk, gospel, world) than I do in rock.
But some bands have left their mark, and UFO is certainly one of them. As a young boy, I loved them and felt like I had joined the older kids club (compared to KISS, who by 1978 were appealing more to younger kids).
I’d never heard of UFO before and I really enjoyed this dive into their music. I loved the track ‘Love to Love’ and am listening to ‘Rock Bottom’ as I write this. I’m traveling tomorrow and have downloaded the album to my Spotify to have a listen. Funnily enough, another ‘Rock Bottom’ was a favorite of mine from KISS’s 1975 album ‘Dressed to Kill’ which is the first album I ever owned.
Thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Coming of Prince Kajuku’ and have also queued up that album (as well as 1977’s ‘Lights Out’) for later listening.
What an interesting story about how Michael Schenker came to be UFO’s guitarist. Talk about right time, right place!
Happy New Year from Vancouver, BC, Mark! My wife and I came up here to see in the New Year, and we are headed back home tonight (I am writing this from YVR airport).
Thanks for reading and digging into the music. I hope, as you dig deeper into UFO’s albums, you will discover some songs or LPs that you enjoy. The studio version of “Love To Love” is a very melodic, textured, and well-crafted song (as is “Out In The Streets”). Add to it their ability to rock hard, and I am stumped as to why they didn’t find greater fame.
I am also glad you enjoyed the earlier track, “The Coming of Prince Kajuku.” The ‘Flying’ LP, however, may prove a more demanding listen due to the extended jams, which are no doubt very much propelled by psychedelics.
Enjoy your travels, and I am excited to hear about where you eventually decide to reside in the UK (and, of course, the new house/flat, neighborhood, village, etc.).
Great article. Saw UFO many times with many line ups. Always thought Moggs lyrics were very Sprinsteenish. Saw Schenker last year in a small uk club. Still playing a few UFO classics. Strangers In The Night still sounds wonderful all these years later.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Trevor. I have never thought of Mogg's lyrics in that way ("Springsteenish"), but now that you mention it, you might be on to something!
I 100% agree on 'Strangers.' It never wears out its welcome. But I also think for many of us who have enjoyed the album for years/decades, it is now part of our musical DNA.
Cheers and Happy New Year from Portland, Oregon.
You hit it dead on with this post. I’ve seen UFO in many iterations throughout the years and have always enjoyed them. Schenker’s audiences were also most enthusiastic when he cranked out the UFO tunes.
Thanks, Daniel! Cheers for reading, commenting, and the restack! I have read interviews with Schenker where he has said similar things about the audience being particularly responsive when he played UFO songs.
I’ve done security for both him and The Scorps. I may be the only guy in the world who has used the urinal next to both Michael and Rudy. 🙂
Ha! 😆
Thanks Michael-I thought I was alone. I’m the same age as you and was obsessed with UFO from age 10-16, and I could never understand why they didn’t have wider appeal. Strangers in the Night still features heavily in my Spotify favourites.
Thanks for reading and sharing your comment, Ken.
It’s odd as UFO were so good and checked so many boxes. They had huge guitar riffs by an extraordinary guitarist. A dynamic rhythm section, melodic and atmospheric keys, a singer with a good voice. But maybe they fell in that weird time when Zeppelin was still the biggest rock band in the world. Stateside, the likes of Aerosmith and KISS were huge (but appealed to different fanbases). Van Halen and AC/DC soon broke the scene, and then the likes of British metal and eventually the explosion of the 80s metal scene. They seemed to get lost in it all. That said, they were always the band that musicians loved and appealed to the rockers as well as the metal kids.
Happy New Year! I think it would be appropriate if we both gave our beloved UFO a spin on this first day of 2025! 🤘😎
Sometimes conventional wisdom is correct and there is no need to force a contrarian opinion; Strangers in the Night is simply one of the greatest live rock albums of all time.
Well said, Matt! 100% agreed!
Thanks for reminding me about UFO, Michael. When I got into metal, hard rock and prog in the 1980s, UFO was one of the groups I got into retrospectively. Haven't listened to them for years but used to enjoy those albums a lot. Might give them a blast when I get back from seasonal travels.
Thanks for reading, Richard. The beauty of having time off over the holidays is revisiting old friends that reside on our record shelves. Earlier this month, I pulled out a handful of my UFO albums and thoroughly enjoyed giving them a spin. They reminded me how much I love the albums, their impact on me as a young kid, and how they have stuck with me for 46 years. That's the sign of a damn good friend.
This is a surprise discovery for me. Definitely underrated as, otherwise, I might have heard of them back then. I enjoyed the track from UFO2 Flying the most of the links you shared. I will explore.
'Flying' is an amazing album and my favorite of theirs. When I first heard it, however, I was too young to understand it, but even back then, I liked it. In comparison to everything else in their catalog, it is a total anomaly and stands on its own.
It seems that age isn't the only prerequisite for understanding this album. I just acquainted myself with the first half of the album in the car. I pulled over to write and notice that I happened to stop opposite a billboard advertising 'MF and Co - SOLD'. This album has definitely been sold. I love the understated, perhaps even subdued ambience and the floating / drifting quality of this output. It has a kind of time-stretching effect. I find myself really appreciating the bare bones texture through which absolutely every detail is crystal clear and can be given full simultaneous attention. I even kinda like the boxy recording quality that mainly impacts the tone of the drums. It's a real journey of exploration, especially for the guitar and the non-pyrotechnical vocal approach to the guitar improv is definitely my kind of thing. There's a sense that the band members are really allowing themselves to journey freely and uninhibited as one. Much of 'Star Storm' is like listening to a song scored for humpbacked whales, bass and cymbals; just fantastic. Somewhat later, I have listened to 'Flying' through headphones while lying in bed. I'm sure long tracks are never popular but I love this. I'm not at all bothered by the wanderings. Some of the panning could be described as wild and extraneous but, somehow, it fits. The spacing of the drum kit results in separation greater even than would be experienced on the drum stool, which is curious but also fascinating with all the wandering of the guitar in-between. I also really enjoyed Mogg's vocals and vocal effects employed on this track. I had a little read after listening and this album attracts quite a lot of negative reviews. Obviously, it's not going to win prizes for mainstream popularity but, so what? The creative chemistry here is doing something pretty special for me. That's in no small part due to the generous helpings of the unexpected.
This was such a pleasure to read, and I am so glad you enjoyed the album, Phil. I have just put the album on and have it playing in the background as I reply.
I completely agree that they seemed uninhibited as they experimented and organically allowed the music to evolve. No doubt, largely due to being recorded while having a head full of acid, but I also think in that era, rock bands did allow themselves to explore much more so than many do today. I love your comment on 'Star Storm' being scored for humpback whales! So apt! I am also with you on long songs; I have no problem with them! But I also think that you being a musician and having a love of jazz and classical helps your openness to it. You also have a patient attention span, which allows the music to take you on a ride, which so many people lack today!
Finally, your last two sentences ring so true. The creative chemistry and the massive dosage of the unexpected and I'll add, taking a creative risk are exactly what I love about the album.
Cheers, Phil! I appreciate you not only listening but also sharing your thoughts.
Love love love UFO. Saw them live in 1979 and not only did they rock hard, they all just looked cool doing it.
Very cool, Patrick! Of all the bands I have seen, I missed out on UFO. I was 9 in 1978 when 'Strangers' was recorded. My first concert, however, came in 1979 (KISS Dynasty Tour). But I missed out on UFO (especially their glory years w/Schenker). That said, I would have also loved to have seen them in their early '70s Mick Bolton-era!
Cheers for stopping by, reading, and taking the time to comment!
It was a bit backwards for me, as I knew 'Strangers' from growing up a little hesher, then found my way to 'Flying', through some...older dudes. I didn't actually own 'Force It' until about 10 years ago, and Side 1 turned into a long time staple at our record night, BC Hydra. I threw 'Prince Kajuku' on a mixtape I did for this group exhibition I helped conceive, and featured Rodney Graham and several other Canadian and British artists. We had listening sessions once a week in the gallery, (Rodney made a great mix too), held in a scale model of Stonehenge that doubled as shag-carpeted thrones.
HUGE UFO fan.
Yeah, as I said in a previous reply, UFO was one of those unique bands that was loved and adored by other musicians as well as fans. I know that Steve Harris was a big fan, and Maiden often (still does?) took the stage after 'Doctor Doctor.'
Flying is such a fantastic album. Over the years, I have turned so many psych heads on to it who didn't know the album or had written UFO off as a heavy rock band. And, despite not being a true metal act and having a decent amount of melody to their songs, the heavy metal kids always (still) give the band much respect. Not many bands can achieve that level of respect and adoration from such a wide group of fans.
On a side note, I love the Spinal Tap'ish image of the shag carpet Stonehenge thrones!
https://www.liamhoganwork.com/like-a-rolling-stone-charles-h-scott-gallery
This is fucking brilliant! When I first moved to England, they still held annual Solstice 24-hour gigs at Stonehenge with Hawkwind as the headliner and other jammy bands like Ozric Tentacles. Sadly, that has long since stopped.
Oh what a thing to be a part of…can't think of a better way to visit Stonehenge.
Couldn’t agree more. They were the missing link between the proto-hard rock of the Who, the progenitor of heavy metal Black Sabbath and the founders of punk Sex Pistols. Your opinion of them being underrated was voiced by Colin Farrell’s character’s diary musings in an episode of the series Sugar (2024). Spot on.
I haven't seen that series, but I know that Iron Maiden's bassist, Steve Harris, also loved UFO, and Maiden used to play 'Doctor Doctor' before taking the stage. UFO was one of those unique bands that was loved and adored by other musicians as well as fans.
Great post! I got turned on to UFO in early 1980, thanks in part to the cuts from Strangers that WLUP in Chicago played semi-regularly. Like you, I definitely picked up on them coming from a more grown-up perspective; unlike you, I bought only Strangers and Lights Out as a young teen, and didn’t really begin to explore their other albums until a good decade later. These days, I love just about everything they did through 1982 or so…
I always associated the city of Chicago with UFO because of the Strangers album in the same way I associated Detroit with the J. Geils band because of Blow Your Face Out. I was thrilled when I moved to Chicago in '96 that UFO was still played on the radio much more than in other places in the States where I had lived.
It was always fascinating (and occasionally frustrating) to me how wildly a band's regional popularity could vary in those days. Several friends I met in college or later recalled seeing UFO second or even third on the bill in other cities during the late 70s, whereas in Chicago they headlined the Amphitheater. I have to assume that was because they got much stronger radio support in Chicago than in those other places.
Thanks for reading, Dan! I always appreciate you sharing your thoughts and insight. When reflecting on that time, Pete Way often talked about the crowds in Chicago in a somewhat similar way that early KISS talked about Detroit. The city embraced them, which is probably why Strangers pulls from shows during that week in October '78 that kicked off with Chicago. I love the footage of 'This Kid's' that I linked (from 1976), but have you seen the footage of them on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert from 1975? Super rad. There is also some ultra-rare footage circulating with Larry Wallis playing with them (during his brief stint in the band before MS joined).
Yes! I love that Kirshner footage- and there’s some incredible early Shencker-era footage out there of them on German TV. I loved their addition of keyboards, of course, but good god could those guys kick out the jams as a power trio with a frontman…
Too right they did (kicked out the jams)! I think I have seen that same German footage where people are seated and not sure what the hell is going on. A few kids in the back, though, are wiggin' out!
Damn, I wish we still had TV like that!
Yep — and an embryonic version of “Rock Bottom”! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PoSiGVt5XY