AND FROM APRIL 2004....

The future’s too valuable to waste time dwelling on the past, old hats are there to be thrown out, and the enlistment of guitarist Vinnie Moore and drummer Jason Bonham can only be described as a fountain of youth for UFO. In cooperation with the band’s experienced members, vocalist Phil Mogg, bassist Pete Way and keyboarder/rhythm guitarist Paul Raymond, UFO have succeeded in creating a mix on their new album, You Are Here, that can only be called explosive. “It’s been more fun than it had been in a long time to work with these two excellent musicians,” is Phil Mogg’s satisfied comment when asked about his new colleagues. “Jason and Vinnie aren’t just talented individual musicians, they’re also extremely nice guys, which obviously affected the atmosphere during the recordings noticeably.”

Jason Bonham is the son of the legendary Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham. He received a gold award as a songwriter and drummer for The Disregard Of Timekeeping, the debut release by his own group, Bonham. He has worked with Paul Rodgers (ex-Free, Bad Company), Slash (Guns N`Roses), Ritchie Sambora and Jeff Beck, he was hired by the three Led Zeppelin survivors, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, for a tribute concert to commemorate the anniversary of their record company, and he manned the drum kit on Jimmy Page’s solo recording, Outrider. UFO is the latest musical challenge for his powerful drum style. “Jason has an amazing presence on You Are Here,” says Mogg. “You can hear him, you’re aware of his feel for fantastic grooves, his playing is omnipresent. He’s added a new rhythmic dimension to this band.”

Vinnie Moore is a guitar hero in the classic sense. His intricate style, a successful mix of rock, progressive elements, blues and fusion, impressed the audience as far back as 1987 on his solo debut Mind’s Eye. Moore was discovered by Mike Varney’s talent forge, Shrapnel, and sold over 100,000 copies of Mind’s Eye. Six solo releases have followed, and his guest appearance on Alice Cooper’s Hey Stoopid in the early Nineties caused an international stir. “I knew Vinnie’s solo work and a lot of it had impressed me,” Phil Mogg explains his decision to sign up Moore by simply saying “He plays a wonderful sound and complements the band perfectly as a songwriter.”

That much is apparent on all eleven new songs that Mogg & Co. have recorded at the Area 51 studio in Celle near Hannver/Germany with producer Tommy Newton at the helm. Classic hard rock of the traditional variety, fresh and inspiring at the same time, or, as Mogg describes it, “typical UFO with a twist”, referring to tracks like the powerful ‘The Spark That Is Us’ with its heavy groove, the rocking ‘Slipping Away’, ‘Mr Freeze’ (penned by Mogg and Moore), the haunting ‘Swallow’ (“medium tempo in your face” – quote Mogg), or the programmatic ‘Looking For The Wild One’. Fact is: You Are Here was recorded by virtuoso musicians who combine long-term experience with newly discovered enthusiasm. They are about to present themselves as a strong unit during their upcoming world tour in spring 2004, after all there is one major difference between the current UFO line-up and all previous ones: “There is a homogenous feel of communal spirit in the band.”

UFO’s success story began in London way back in 1969, when vocalist Phil Mogg, drummer Andy Parker, guitarist Mick Bolton and bassist Pete Way formed the group, borrowing the band name from a legendary London music club. Even in the Seventies, the band distinguished themselves with their very own, unmistakable style, touching a nerve among their growing following with rock numbers like ‘Prince Kajuku’, ‘Follow You Home’ or ‘C’mon Everybody’ from their albums UFO 1, Flying and UFO Live.

The global breakthrough arrived when German guitarist, Michael Schenker, joined the fold in 1973, having left his band Scorpions to follow an offer by Phil Mogg and Pete Way. UFO released three consecutive rock classics with Schenker (Phenomenon (1974), Force It (1975) and No Heavy Pettin’ (1976)), featuring classics like ‘Doctor Doctor’, ‘Shoot, Shoot’, or ‘Rock Bottom’. Following the arrival of keyboarder/rhythm guitarist Paul Raymond, UFO released their two studio albums Lights Out (1977) and Obsession (1978), including the hit singles ‘Too Hot To Handle’, ‘Lights Out’ and ‘Only You Can Rock Me’. Their live cut Strangers In The Night came out in 1979 and is referred to by the press to this day as one of the best live releases of all time, while also signalling the end of the Mogg, Way, Schenker, Parker & Raymond line-up.

The reorganised band underwent fifteen years marked by various eras and numerous line-up changes. To everyone’s surprise, autumn 1993 saw the return of the former UFO line-up consisting of Mogg, Way, Schenker and Raymond. This new edition of the classic team brought out Walk On Water, their first joint effort after one and a half decades, and embarked on a world tour. However, Schenker left UFO during the Walk On Water tour again to continue working with his own group, MSG, while Mogg & Way went on to release their second album, Chocolate Box. The UFO albums Covenant and Sharks, recorded by Mogg, Way and Schenker, arrived at the stores in 2000 and 2002. Now Vinnie Moore has joined into the legacy, recording the tracks on You Are Here together with new addition Jason Bonham in the band’s traditional spirit. So let’s enjoy the new album and the ongoing world tour of 2004.