By Mark Kadzielawa

UFO is a long-running rock institution. In its long history the band experienced the fair amount of highs and lows, not to mention some memorable and well-reported drama. UFO was always a band with an incredible amount of potential that didn’t always materialize. The traditional excesses of rock’n’roll certainly played a big part in the latter. But when UFO was great they were one of the most amazing bands on the planet, and that goes for every incarnation of the band.
The last few years have been very kind to the band. UFO is definitely back on the track and reaping the benefits of their long career. The band is very consistent, releases records and continues to tour regularly.
UFO picked up the pieces since Vinny Moore (guitar) joined the band in 2004 for the You Are Here album. And once the much-needed stability was established the band continued to grow and repair its damaged reputation. The band is still Phil Moog on vocals, Paul Raymond on keyboards and guitar, the above-mentioned Vinny Moore on guitar, and Andy Parker on drums. Bass player, Pete Way, is currently on hiatus from the band, as he is trying to recover from poor health, and conquer his personal demons. Several different bass players fill in on various tours. This line up went on to release Monkey Puzzle, and most recently The Visitor.
UFO’s latest record, The Visitor, is a fine example of how great this group can be. This is the second album featuring the current line up, and it certainly shows the band on its way up again. The Visitor is a very solid album, showing a rather bluesy side of the band, while preserving the typical UFO components.
Drummer, Andy Parker, struggles with a very bad hotel phone, but delivers some personal thoughts and updates on the current stage of the band. The bad phone eventually won, and we had to cut the interview short, but our hats go off to Andy for being the professional that he is, and working through the technical difficulties.

The name The Visitor is a very mysterious title, what is the meaning behind it?
Andy Parker: In a word I can’t explain it (laughter.) As it is with any of our past titles, they don’t really have any particular meaning. It’s down to what you want to make of it. If you look at the artwork it’s an engraving from the 17th century. It’s called The Rake’s Progress. It depicts a guy who comes to London with a bunch of money and ends up losing it all through gambling, whoring, and drinking. He ends up in the poor house, and eventually in the insane asylum. This is what that picture is all about. The idea behind it is that people could pay a small amount of money to actually look through a peep hole and get an idea of what was going on inside there. He was visiting, and they were visiting. I think this is where Phil (Moog) got the idea for the concept. I wouldn’t be too specific on that because we always let people draw their own conclusions, make up what you will. But I think that was where he was coming from.
Musically the album really flows nicely. The band appears to be very comfortable and much more in sync with the classic UFO sound in a very bluesy setting.
Well, I’ve been back in the band for the last two records. I was kind of interested to know that the band shifted more into the bluesy side of rock than maybe our classic 70s and 80s heavier rock. I found that interesting because that’s where we started out, and where our roots were. I first met the guys in 1969, and we were coming up on the blues boom in the UK. And I also listened to a lot of blues when I was a teenager. As did Phil, I mean he turned me onto a lot of stuff. And Vinny is into the blues too. It’s interesting with Vinny. He is an incredible player, and if you listen to his solos you’ll notice that he listened to BB King, Albert King, Freddy King, and all the Kings really. When he was growing up that’s what he was into. With that in mind, it feels like we’ve gone the full circle. Obviously as members come and go the chemistry of the band changes. I started with Monkey Puzzle back in 2006, and The Visitor is like the next stage for me. It has a lot of blues influence, and I kind of like that. I’m very at home with that feel, so I’m quite happy about this fact. Of course Paul (Raymond) is happy about that too. Paul has a huge background in the blues music He was with Chicken Shack, Savoy Brown. We’re glad that we kind of came back to that.

It’s funny how this musical circle can come around 40 years down the line.
Well, you have to understand one thing about UFO. As far as my experiences are concerned with this band; we’ve never sat down and said what kind of album we’re gonna make. We’ve never really thought about trends or what’s popular to the masses. It’s just what comes from the heart, what comes from your head in the particular moment. There is no conscious thought process to sit down and write a bluesy rock album. That’s just where we happened to be coming from right now. That’s the best I can say it. That’s just the way the band has always been. We’ve never really made conscious plans. People keep asking me questions about the early 80s when the New Wave of British Heavy Metal Bands were popular. They are asking me if we tried to play heavier to be considered one of those bands. And the answer is negative. We didn’t give a rat’s ass about that movement. We were just doing what we did that we always have. That’s kind of what you see is what you get.
So there is still that level of unpredictability when it comes to UFO.
Yeah, that’s absolutely correct. To be brutally honest, we hardly ever know what we’re gonna get when we are in the studio. Phil is constantly writing when we are composing. I mean we have lyrical ideas but we don’t know what we are gonna get until we hear the finished product. So, we are as much in the dark as you are. That’s kind of good in a way. I think it keeps it fresh.
You were away from UFO for over ten years. What made you come back, and what dynamics are you experiencing within the group?
I was away from the band simply because life gets in the way sometimes. I had other commitments. I had a child to raise. Also, I wasn’t particularly happy with the dynamic in the band with Michael (Schenker.) As much as I love Michael, and he is a great player he just became totally unstable, and that doesn’t work for me. I like to know that when we are gonna start a tour we’re gonna finish it. And when we start a gig it will be finished as well. With Michael it became increasingly more unpredictable. That was really one of the main reasons for my absence. With Vinny it’s a completely different dynamic. The guy is just a great guitar player, and a stand-up guy. He’s just solid as a rock. It’s really enjoyable. You really know when you step out on that stage that you are really gonna do a great job, and it’s gonna go from start to finish.
Knowing that Vinny Moore was the new guitar player in the band prior to you re-joining, did you have any ideas as to what it was going to be like?
To be honest, and I have to say it. For the 11 years or so that I was away from the band I was completely out of the music business. I don’t think I even owned a pair of sticks. I wasn’t really keeping tabs on the band, and I had no plans to actually re-join. It was only the fact that Paul Raymond called me after Jason Bonham quit to join Foreigner. He asked me if I was interested in coming back. It just happened that circumstances in my life allowed me to do that. I only came back to do one show for them which they had booked, and had no drummer to do it. It was so good playing with Vinny. I’ve heard that Vinny was in the band at that time, but I didn’t know him. I’ve never met him. It was just really good. I sat at that drum stool and it felt the right place to be. So when they asked if I would continue I just agreed. I’ve been there ever since.
In the past UFO was often labeled as the most dysfunctional band in rock music, but it looks like the times are changing.
That’s kind of a harsh summary of the band. I mean the drugs and alcohol played a great part in it. And we’ve experienced a lot with Michael, and recently with Pete (Way.) I mean Pete is not in the band right now because his life struggles came from being in the band. It was getting to the point where he wasn’t functioning as a band member. He is on hiatus right now. Hopefully he is going to get his act together and rejoin us. But that remains to be seen. And from what I’m hearing recently he doesn’t seem to be heading in that direction. In fact, he seems to be heading in the opposite direction. But right now the band is functioning fully and doing some great stuff. To be honest, if it wasn’t I wouldn’t be here. I’ve been doing this for too long to be part of a dysfunctional outfit right now. I mean I’ve been there, done that, and I have the t-shirts to prove it so. I’m very happy the way things are right now.
Also, the band is very consistent lately when it comes to releasing records, and touring on regular basis.
We’ve been fortunate to have a record company. There are a lot of bands these days that don’t have that privilege. And with the downloading, the record labels are becoming a thing of the past. In fact, our record label, SPV, has recently gone bankrupt, so I don’t really know what the future holds for us. I know we have had other interest. It’s a shame because there is a lot of talent out there that may not get heard for that reason. I guess if we’re given the opportunity there will be more material coming. I mean, we’re still at it, and we’re still coming up with ideas. Let’s just hope it will work itself out.
Judging by the new album and the recent set of performance the band appears to be on fire. In a way it feels like you’re peaking once again.
I think so too. I think the chemistry in the band now is really working. That’s always great for any band. The chemistry is obviously very important for creativity in the band. I really think like you said we’re kind of on the upswing. So hopefully we can continue to do that.
Recently your back catalog has undergone the re-mastering process. Do you have any thought from just reviewing all of those records?
I’ve been asked a lot of questions by different journalists who’ve been given the job of writing the liner notes. It’s interesting to go back and re-think those times. I mean it’s been so long ago. I mean 30 years of recording to look back at. There is some incredible material on those back catalog albums. It’s great to see them because obviously it gives us a chance to appeal to a whole new audience. We see a lot of younger kids showing up at the venues when we play. Traditionally in the past, the younger kids came with the parents who were the UFO fans. But now we see a younger generation turning up at the gigs which is great. I’m sure a lot of it is due to the reissues.
Do you find yourself dusting off any unusual tracks?
Oh no, we don’t really get a chance to put away the tracks we play now. People still want to hear them. Obviously we’re getting good reaction to the new songs, but there are still songs that people want to hear. You get people shouting for them all the time. And they leave nasty messages on our guest book when they don’t get them, so I guess they’ll be getting them.
You are only playing two new tracks on the tour, and the record really deserves to be heard in a live setting.
Yeah it does. But we’re only get 90 minutes of playing plus the encores, and there is so much material that people want to hear. I mean we’re not even playing anything off Monkey Puzzle because there simply is no room. We had a third song off The Visitor in the set, but we were running over. We had to axe something out. And the problem is that if you try to take something older out people get upset. You can’t please everybody, that’s just how it is.
You sound very enthusiastic, and the band is really moving forward. How long do you see yourself doing it?
We’re gonna go at it for as long as we can. I don’t see any end to it right now. As long as people will want to hear us and keep showing up we’ll keep on doing it.

Links:
http://www.ufo-music.info/