UFO are a much under rated rock band. I spent many nights in the 70s and 80s at UFO gigs. They are appearing at Newcastle Academy next Saturday, and I intend to go along and see them, so I thought I would reminisce on UFO gigs past this week.
I first saw UFO in 1972 at Newcastle City Hall at a free gig which local promoter Geof Docherty put on, as a thank you to fans. Support came from local band Beckett, featuring Terry Slesser, and Melody Maker poll winner Lloyd Watson. At that point in 1972 I think Pink Fairies’ Larry Wallis was playing guitar with UFO. I remember the show being pretty wild with some long guitar solos, and Phil Mogg or Larry Wallis (can’t remember which) climbing up the speaker stack and onto the balcony of the venue. The music at this time would have been drawn from the first couple of lps, and was quite spacey, psychedelic stuff. The next few times I saw UFO was at Sunderland Locarno, Newcastle Mayfair, and at the 1974 reading Festival. 
By then Michael Schenker had joined the band and they had released the classic album Phenomenon, followed by Force It and Lights Out, featuring such great songs as: Only You Can Rock Me, Doctor Doctor, Love to Love, Lights Out, Rock Bottom, and Shoot Shoot. There was nothing better than a Friday night in a packed ballroom watching Schenker, Mogg and Way play Doctor, Doctor. Great guitar intro, and first class melodic heavy rock. By 1979 UFO had graduated to playing Newcastle City Hall, and Michael Schenker had left the band to be replaced by Paul Chapman. I’ll report next on some of those City Hall gigs which took me into the 80s.
12 Mar
UFO in the 1970s
Posted March 12, 2012 by vintagerock in Beckett, Lloyd Watson, UFO. Tagged: blues, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy metal, music, pop, prog rock, rock, rock n roll. 8 Comments
Vintagerock's Weblog. 
Posted by simon on March 29, 2012 at 9:04 am
Hi
I’m back
UFO What a band. Saw then several times in and arrount the area and Phill Mogg couldnt catch that swung microphone for toffee, one time it even got caught up in the lighting rig.
One of the other bands you mantion here Beckett are to this day one of my most played albums. I love it to bits.If I could concoct a top, shall we say 100 albums of all time it would undoubtably be in there alhough possition and partners would be difficult to choose.
loving the blog
Simon
Posted by Neil Thompson on March 18, 2013 at 9:30 pm
Saw UFO at Sunderland Locarno on Friday 21st June 1974. This was the only time they toured with the classic line up of Schenker and Chapman on guitars. I can still picture Chapman at the front of the stage doing most of the solos – while Schenker stood by the drum kit most of the night. They did a BBC in concert show just before this gig and the two guitars are on fire – brilliant – it was soon to be replaced by guitar and keyboards which I never really understood to be honest.
Posted by vintagerock on March 19, 2013 at 5:06 am
Sounds great. Pretty sure that I was at the gig you are talking about
Posted by Mark on July 12, 2015 at 6:26 pm
I’ve listened to those BBC gigs with both Schenker and Chapman, and am quite glad that Chapman left. For me, Chapman ruined the dynamics of UFO, and his leads sounded horrendous next to Schenker’s . I’m afraid to think of what we might have gotten, if he would have stayed on for Force It, which I consider to be UFO’s best album without Paul Raymond.
Posted by james vincent on December 1, 2021 at 4:44 am
U F O, Winterland, San Francisco, Ca. 1977, Obsession Tour + Tahoe Carson Speedway, Nevada, 1978(took pictures of show) + Maples Pavilion, Stanford University, 1978(backstage pass). U F O’s final performance w/original line up. I have it on CD, and can hear myself yelling for On With The Action. Good times ~ James V.
Posted by vintagerock on December 1, 2021 at 12:24 pm
Happy days indeed James. Sounds like you have great memories of a great band at their peak cheers Peter
Posted by james vincent on December 2, 2021 at 12:53 am
Sounds like we both experienced the best of the key bands of the era. Thin Lizzy at Winterland on the Bad Reputation Tour in 78. Judas Priest opening for Led Zeppelin, back when Priest still dressed like a theater troupe, before the blatantly “metal” attire took hold. Also, DOG(Day on the Green), w/Aerosmith, Van Halen, AC/DC, Pat Travers, and Foreigner, in 1978. Rory Gallagher at the Old Waldorf, San Francisco, in 1980? That one was officially released on CD a few years back. Y&T, beginning in 1977, when they still went by Yesterday and Today. Saw them monthly/weekly, as they were a Bay Area band. Cheers Peter
Posted by vintagerock on December 2, 2021 at 12:51 pm
Hi James you certainly saw a lot of great bands at iconic venues that I have only heard about. Happy days Peter