UFO

The London hard rock band of Phil Mogg, Michael Schenker and Pete Way, whose "Rock Bottom" grew from a 1974 studio track into the centerpiece of the 1979 live album Strangers in the Night.

From Boyfriends to Chrysalis

UFO formed in London in 1968, according to Wikipedia, as the Boyfriends, taking the UFO name in 1969, with Phil Mogg on vocals, Mick Bolton on guitar, Pete Way on bass and Andy Parker on drums. They signed to Beacon and made two albums in 1970 and 1971 and a live album recorded in Tokyo, and signed to Chrysalis in 1973. Bolton left in January 1972, and Michael Schenker, from the Scorpions, joined in June 1973 aged 18. Phenomenon (May 1974) was the first album on Chrysalis, and Force It (July 1975), their first to chart in the US at 71. Paul Raymond, of Savoy Brown, joined in July 1976 on keyboards and rhythm guitar. Lights Out (May 1977, produced by Ron Nevison at AIR Studios) reached 23 in the US, and Kerrang! put it 28th in its 100 greatest heavy metal albums.

Obsession followed on June 23, 1978, and Schenker left on October 29, 1978, his last show in Palo Alto. The live double Strangers in the Night (January 1979) reached seven in the UK and 42 in the US; Slash named it his favorite live album and Classic Rock rated it the second-best live rock album of all time in 2004. No Place to Run (January 1980) was produced by George Martin, and Mechanix (February 1982) reached eight, their highest UK position. Way left in 1982, and the band split in April 1983, reformed in 1984, split again in 1989 and returned with High Stakes and Dangerous Men (1992). The classic line-up reunited in 1992 and Walk on Water (1995) followed; later albums include Covenant (2000), Sharks (2002), You Are Here (2004), Seven Deadly (2012) and A Conspiracy of Stars (2015).

Last Orders

The 2019 Last Orders tour marked the 50th anniversary, and Mogg said it would be his last as frontman, though the band continued with Vinnie Moore, who joined in 2003, Neil Carter, Rob De Luca and Parker. Paul Raymond died on April 13, 2019, aged 73, Paul Chapman on June 9, 2020, aged 66 and Pete Way on August 14, 2020, aged 69. A farewell European tour was planned for October 2022. In April 2024 Mogg told Ultimate Classic Rock that I think it's come to a conclusion, and confirmed the band was over. Wikipedia claims over 20 million records sold and VH1 ranked them 84th among the greatest artists of hard rock.