UFO - London Review

When first getting into British classic rock, people usually gravitate towards the genre's founders. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath are always, rightly, heralded as some of the best that Britain has to offer when it comes to hard rock - but there are many others from around the same period that deserve their share of the credit. One such band is UFO, who were formed in London back in 1968 by frontman Phil Mogg. While they initially started out as a psychedelic/space rock act, from 1974's Phenomenon onward UFO have been a true hard rock band and released lots of classic albums throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The band's recorded output has certainly been less vital as time has moved on, with their more recent albums often being quite patchy, but some of their classic releases are untouchable. I have often wondered why UFO are not bigger than they are, and I think a late-blogger friend of mine hit the nail on the head. He once wrote that much of UFO's best output was released in the mid to late 1970s, which was a time when the British musical media was too busy obsessing over the punk explosion to care about what an old band UFO like were doing. Despite this, UFO continued to put out quality albums and did so really until their first hiatus in 1983. Fast forward to 2019 however and it seems the end is in sight for the band. Mogg, who has been the band's only constant face in years of line-up turmoil, has said that he wants to retire from the band after one final tour. 'Final tours' seem to be all the rage at the moment for classic bands and, while I will never totally believe a band to be over until the band's key members are all dead (such is the nature of band reunions), they are often events not to miss. Kicking off this Last Orders touring cycle was a lengthy UK trek, which initially - despite the sheer amount of shows - featured no dates that I could make easily without taking lots of time off of work or spending a lot of money. I was disappointed, but moved on and probably bought a few other gig tickets instead! One was probably the ticket for Swedish hair revival metal act Crashdïet, who were scheduled to play at the O2 Academy in Islington. A week before the show however, the band cancelled by spinning some story about 'a new engagement to be announced' (which, it turned out, was code for 'we barely sold any tickets'). I was disappointed of course, but still intended to go up to London as I had onward travel from London booked the next day to make another gig in Sheffield. It was then that I discovered that UFO had added a second London date on the same night, due to their Shepherd's Bush show selling out, at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town. I immediately purchased a ticket for this, and quickly began reacquainting myself with the band's back catalogue.

The O2 Forum seems to be the place for mid to large sized rock and metal bands to play these days, and the place was packed despite the Shepherd's Bush show the night before. I did not arrive particularly early, but still managed to get a spot down near the front however. There was an hour wait between the doors opening at 7pm and the sole support act starting at 8pm, so there was plenty of time for the hall to fill up in the meantime. I was relieved however when the lights went down at 8pm, as I was getting rather bored just standing around, but sadly the support act - Tara Lynch - really was not up to much. I had heard of Tara Lynch previously, as I remember reading an article about her debut album which features lots of 1980s rock and metal stalwarts as session players, but beyond that she was an unknown. Fronting a band that included ex-Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force bassist Bjorn Englen and Voodoo Six drummer Joe Lazarus, Lynch saw herself as a bit of a virtuoso guitarist. The Malmsteen link is ironic, given that is probably who Lynch models herself after, but her skills were certainly not up to that standard. While Malmsteen has become a bit of a parody of himself in recent years, his 1980s releases were stellar. He was a great songwriter in those days, but it seems that Lynch has been influenced more by his recent works. Much of the set was instrumental, with songs filled with endless neo-classical runs that all melded into one by the end. It was these songs that also showcased her limitations. While clearly a talented guitarist, she really needs to tighten up! The first couple of numbers in particular were filled with so many bum notes and sloppy runs that it was starting to get a little embarrassing. Everyone plays a bum note occasionally, but this was at a pretty unacceptable level. In fairness she did improve as the set went on, but you always felt that the next gaffe was never too far away. The songs with vocals were better, and allowed Lynch to showcase her pretty strong voice, but they were not all that hooky and still seemed to focus more on the guitar instrumental sections than crafting lasting melodies. Overall Lynch's set was not an enjoyable one for me, and it is a real shame that UFO could not have found a better support act for their - alleged - final UK tour.

Thankfully when UFO started their show, fittingly to the tolling of a last orders bell, their performance soon put Lynch's set far from my mind. I had only seen UFO twice previously - at the High Voltage Festival in 2010 and then in Exeter in 2015 - and while both of those performances were strong, it was clear from the off that this was going to be a special night. The five-piece opened their set with the mid-paced groove of Mother Mary, a song from their 1970s heyday, and it set the tone for the rest of the night. Mogg in particular was in great form. While his voice is lower these days, he still has a fantastic soulful delivery and could be clearly heard throughout the show. In fact, the live sound mix was pretty much spot on. Mogg's voice was clear, Vinnie Moore's (guitar) guitar packed a real punch, and - when needed - Paul Raymond's (guitar/keyboards/vocals) keyboards added depth. UFO are not the most adventurous when it comes to their setlists, so many of the songs played I had seen them play live before, but the performance was so strong that it did not matter. The riff-driven We Belong to the Night, from 1982's Mechanix was an early highlight, before the tough bluesy strut of Run Boy Run allowed Rob De Luca (bass guitar/vocals) a chance to dictate the pace with a muscular bassline. By this point, despite only being three songs into the set, UFO - and Mogg in particular - had all of the large crowd on side. Between songs he was his usual self-deprecating self. He is a little more reserved than your average rock frontman, but his quips and observations are all a part of his laid-back charm. This worked in his favour, and as he casually introduced Lights Out, one of the band's best-known songs, the place went wild. Moore drove the song with his riff, and when it came to the chorus the crowd almost drowned out the band. It was one of the biggest sing-a-long moments of the night, and was unsurprisingly a highlight. There was the odd deeper cut thrown in, such as Baby Blue from 2004's You Are Here, which certainly pleased the die-hard fans - but mostly the set was classic after classic. Only You Can Rock Me also brought a big cheer, with Raymond's organ really adding that 1970s grind to the piece. He also shone on Love to Love, with the delicate keyboard intro really setting the tone before the song exploded into a Moore solo. In between the two however the crowd were treated to one last newer number in Burn Your House Down, and the strange Cherry which saw lots of excellent bass playing from De Luca. The last portion of the set was chock full of classics however, with Too Hot to Handle proving popular before an elongated Rock Bottom brought the main set to a close. Mogg belted out the lyrics as if he was still in his 20s, before he handed the stage to Moore for his longest solo of the night. It was a masterclass in hard rock guitar, and the crowd sounded their appreciation. It was the perfect way to end the set, but the band were soon back for a couple more. Doctor Doctor has become a classic over the years, so that came first - before Shoot Shoot brought the evening to a close. Sadly however, down at the front a few overly drunk and burly people decided to start a mosh pit during the encore - to the annoyance of pretty much everyone else - which did sour things a little at the end, but thankfully this did not spoil my enjoyment of the songs. Both songs had everyone singing along, and bought the band's UK leg of the Last Orders tour to a close. The setlist was:

Mother Mary
We Belong to the Night
Run Boy Run
Venus
Lights Out
Baby Blue
Only You Can Rock Me
Burn Your House Down
Cherry
Love to Love
Makin' Moves
Too Hot to Handle
Rock Bottom
-
Doctor Doctor
Shoot Shoot

I have already been to quite a few concerts in 2019, but this one has already shot up to the top of the list. Performance and sound wise, this was a masterful evening from one of the most underrated British classic rock acts. If this indeed is the last opportunity that I will have to see UFO live, then they will have certainly gone out on a high! It was also certainly better than whatever Crashdïet would have mustered up if they had not cancelled!