UFO (Live)

At the O2 Academy, Newcastle, U.K., March 28, 2018

UFO (Live at the O2 Academy, Newcastle, U.K., March 28, 2018)
Photo: Mick Burgess

After an incredible 50 years as a band it was time for one last hurrah for legendary rockers, UFO. A golden anniversary and a farewell tour all in one, this promised to be a celebration of some of the best Hard Rock this country has produced.

In the past UFO have been criticised for relying too much on songs from their classic Strangers In The Night live album but there’s a good reason for that. It’s choc full of killer songs and Mother Mary, a case in point, was the perfect opener with its huge driving riff and striking melody.

Of course, the set was built around that fabled live album and it’s simply inconceivable that a UFO show could leave out Doctor Doctor, Lights Out, Only You Can Rock Me and guitarist, Vinnie Moore’s, centre piece, Rock Bottom out of the set. Tonight, they sounded magnificent with the epic Love To Love, drenched in melody and drama as well as a jaw dropping guitar solo summed up the majesty of UFO in one song.

With a strong, punchy sound and clear, well balanced mix, UFO haven’t sounded this good in years. Vocalist Phil Mogg especially, seems rejuvenated with his powerful, melodic delivery harking back to his 70s heyday. Not bad for a 70-year-old.

The band’s promise to cover all eras of UFO was more than complied with as We Belong To The Night and Makin’ Moves, heads down Rockers from the Tonka Chapman era mixed with the more recent Messiah Of Love and Burn Your House Down along with the long-lost gem, Cherry ensured there was something for everyone.

Original members Phil Mogg and drummer Andy Parker alongside long-time rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Paul Raymond can certainly feel proud that the UFO legacy went out on an absolute high and much of that was also down to guitarist Vinnie Moore who had did a sterling job of covering Schenker and Chapman’s parts not to mention bassist Rob De Luca who had a Pete Way sized hole to fill.

It all came down to the ubiquitous Doctor Doctor and the in your face punch of Shoot Shoot to bring down the curtain for one last time on an illustrious career of one of the UK’s greatest Rock bands. Farewell, it’s been a blast.

Review and Photos By Mick Burgess

Author

  • Mick Burgess

    Mick is a reviewer and photographer here at Metal Express Radio, based in the North-East of England. He first fell in love with music after hearing Jeff Wayne's spectacular The War of the Worlds in the cold winter of 1978. Then in the summer of '79 he discovered a copy of Kiss Alive II amongst his sister’s record collection, which literally blew him away! He then quickly found Van Halen I and Rainbow's Down To Earth, and he was well on the way to being rescued from Top 40 radio hell!   Over the ensuing years, he's enjoyed the Classic Rock music of Rush, Blue Oyster Cult, and Deep Purple; the AOR of Journey and Foreigner; the Pomp of Styx and Kansas; the Progressive Metal of Dream Theater, Queensrÿche, and Symphony X; the Goth Metal of Nightwish, Within Temptation, and Epica, and a whole host of other great bands that are too numerous to mention. When he's not listening to music, he watches Sunderland lose more football (soccer) matches than they win, and occasionally, if he has to, he goes to work as a property lawyer.

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