UFO are an English rock band that was formed in London in 1968. They became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the new wave of British heavy metal. The band’s current lineup includes vocalist Phil Mogg, lead guitarist Vinnie Moore, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Neil Carter, bass guitarist Rob De Luca, and drummer Andy Parker. They have gone through several line-up changes, leaving Mogg as the only constant member, and had two hiatuses (1983–1984 and again from 1989 to 1991). The band are also notable for featuring former Scorpions guitarist and MSG founder Michael Schenker, who was a member of UFO from 1973 to 1978 and again, occasionally, between 1993 and 2003, when Moore replaced him. In May 2018, Mogg announced that he will retire from UFO after one last tour as a member of the band in 2019.
Over a career spanning 52 years, UFO have released 22 studio albums, 14 live recordings, 16 compilation albums and one album of cover songs. They achieved moderate success in the late 1970s and early 1980s with several albums and singles (including their 1979 live album Strangers in the Night) in the UK and US Top 40 charts, and have sold over 20 million records worldwide. Some of their best-known songs include “Doctor Doctor”, “Rock Bottom”, “Natural Thing”, “Lights Out”, “Too Hot to Handle” and “Only You Can Rock Me”. UFO are considered one of the greatest classic hard rock acts,[9] and often cited as one of the key influences on the 1980s and 1990s hard rock and heavy metal scenes. The band were ranked number 84 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock”.
Force It is the fourth studio album by the British rock band UFO, released in 1975. It became their first album to chart in the United States.
The album was produced by Ten Years After bass player Leo Lyons. Another Ten Years After member, Chick Churchill, played keyboards, the first use of that instrument on a UFO record.
The somewhat controversial original cover was designed by Hipgnosis, as were almost all other UFO albums of the 1970s. The nudity on the cover verged on breaching decency standards and the genders of the couple in the bathtub were not known for several years. The models were later revealed to be Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti, both later of the influential industrial band Throbbing Gristle. The artwork was softened for the initial US release, making the couple in the bathtub transparent. The cover is a pun — there are multiple taps (British English) or “faucets” (US English) in the picture, which is a play on the album’s title. (by wikipedia)
The US frontcover:
Michael Schenker and Phil Mogg really started to find their groove as a songwriting team with their second album together (and fourth UFO release overall), Force It. In fact, the last remaining folk and space rock tendencies that had stolen much of Phenomenon’s thunder are summarily abandoned here, as the group launches itself wholeheartedly toward the hard rock direction that would make them stars. The first step is taken by Schenker, of course, who confidently establishes the aggressive, biting guitar tone that would define all the releases of the band’s glory years. “Let It Roll” and “Shoot Shoot” kick off the album in rousing fashion, and while holding them under a microscope might reveal them as rather disposable slabs of hard rock, they would remain concert favorites for the band nonetheless.
The punchy single “Love Lost Love” sounds tailor-made for the American market and acoustic ballad “High Flyer” is quite good, despite taking a dip in energy. But things only really start to gell on the album’s second half. Schenker and Mogg wheel out their most mature composition yet with the piano-led “Out in the Street,” whose softer sections truly highlight Mogg’s highly disciplined, understated vocal style and make the guitar player’s more restrained soloing all the more memorable. Schenker is soon back in charge, however, on the stuttering riffs and blistering fretboard work of “Mother Mary” and the downright vicious stop-start strut of “This Kids” — both UFO anthems. One of the band’s best albums, Force It will not disappoint lovers of ’70s English hard rock. (by Eduardo Rivadavia)
Personnel:
Phil Mogg (vocals)
Andy Parker (drums)
Michael Schenker (guitar)
Pete Way (bass)
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Chick Churchill (keyboards(
Tracklist:
01. Let It Roll (Schenker/Mogg) 3.57
02. Shoot Shoot (Schenker/Mogg/Way/Parker) 3.40
03. High Flyer (Schenker/Mogg) 4.09
04. Love Lost Love (Schenker/Mogg) 3.22
05. Out In The Street (Way/Mogg) 5.18
06. Mother Mary (Schenker/Mogg/Way/Parker) 3.50
07. Too Much Of Nothing (Way) 4.03
08. Dance Your Life Away (Schenker/Mogg) 3.35
09. This Kid’s (including “Between the Walls”) (Schenker/Mogg) 6.14
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10. A Million Miles” (previously unreleased studio track) (SchenkerMogg) 4.49
11. Mother Mary (live) (Schenker/Mogg/Way/Parker) 4.05
12. Out In The Street (live) (Way/Mogg) 5.12
13. Shoot Shoot (live) (Schenker/Mogg/Way/Parker) 3.48
14. Let It Roll (live) (Schenker/Mogg) 5.00
15. This Kid’s (live) (Schenker/Mogg) 4.19
Another censored frontcover:
More from UFO:
Mechanix is the tenth studio album by the British hard rock band UFO; it was released in 1982. The contemporary music-press adverts on the album’s release carried the tag-line ‘Mechanix: it will tighten your nuts’. Immediately after the completion of the tour in support of the album, founding member and bassist Pete Way left the band to join former Motörhead guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke in Fastway.
The twenty second festival possibly had a more attractive lineup than 1981, at least if one was a heavy rock devotee. The inclusion of hard rock guitar stalwarts Gary Moore, Randy California, southern rockers Blackfoot and erstwhile pub rockers Dave Edmunds and Wilko Johnson gave the lineup spine that was missing from the previous year.
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