* En anglais uniquement
Vocalist
Phil Mogg, guitarist Mick Bolton, bassist
Pete Way, and drummer
Andy Parker formed the British space metal outfit
UFO in 1969. Originally known as Hocus Pocus, the group, which took the name
UFO in honor of a London club, debuted in 1971 with
UFO 1. Both the album and its follow-up, the same year's Flying, found great success in Japan, France, and Germany, but was barely noticed in the band's native country; as a result, their third effort, 1972's Live, was released only in Japan.
In 1974, Bolton left the group; after brief trial runs with ex-
Pink Fairies guitarist
Larry Wallis and future
Whitesnake member
Bernie Marsden, former
Scorpion Michael Schenker stepped in as a permanent replacement in time to record 1974's Phenomenon, which sported a harder-edged guitar sound. After 1975's
Force It and 1976's
No Heavy Petting brought
UFO increased visibility with American audiences, keyboardist
Paul Raymond joined for 1977's
Lights Out. However, after 1978's
Obsession,
Schenker left the group, first to rejoin
the Scorpions and later to form his own band. Despite the addition of guitarist Paul Chapman, the next
UFO LP, No Place to Run, failed to match the success of its predecessors.
In 1982, the band released
Mechanix, notching a minor U.S. hit with "Back into My Life"; later that year,
Way exited to form
Waysted and was replaced by ex-
Eddie & the Hot Rods bassist Paul Gray. After 1983's Making Contact,
UFO dissolved, only to re-form two years later for
Misdemeanor; however, the album was met with little response, and they again called it quits. In 1993, the group's most popular lineup --
Mogg,
Schenker,
Way,
Raymond, and
Parker -- reunited and recorded the 1995 album Walk on Water; after a tour, the members yet again went their separate ways.
Mogg and
Way continued to work as
Mogg/Way and released the albums
Edge of the World (1997) and
Chocolate Box (1999).
Schenker rejoined in 2000 along with veteran drummer
Aynsley Dunbar for the two-CD Covenant, which featured one disc of new studio recordings along with one disc of live recordings.
Sharks came out in 2002;
Schenker and
Dunbar departed and were replaced by
Vinnie Moore and
Jason Bonham, respectively. This new band welcomed returning keyboardist
Paul Raymond for 2004's You Are Here and 2005's live album Showtime.
Bonham was the next to leave and was replaced by the band's original drummer,
Andy Parker, for 2006's
The Monkey Puzzle.
The Visitor -- an album recorded without the participation of
Pete Way due to the bassist's health problems -- followed in 2009.
Seven Deadly arrived in 2012, and in early 2015 the group issued its 21st studio long-player,
Conspiracy of Stars, which featured a lineup of core members
Phil Mogg,
Paul Raymond, and
Andy Parker, along with
Vinnie Moore and bassist
Rob De Luca. Two years later, the band released the all-covers LP
The Salentino Cuts. ~ Jason Ankeny