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UFO – 04/04/2019 – Shepherds Bush Empire

Hockney
Sun, 07/07/2019 - 12:35

When UFO first split up in 1983, they released a curious compilation album that was not only their greatest hits, but songs from the various spin-off bands. I bought it and was desperately sad I’d never seen the band in concert. After all, this was the band who gave us “Doctor, Doctor” (the Quo-esque boogie number, NOT the Thompson Twins song), “Lights Out in London”, “Rock Bottom”, etc. When UFO split up again in 1989, I’d picked up a couple of albums but missed the tours. Now in 2019 I saw they were threatening to split up for the third time and I still hadn’t seen them. However, I was unemployed when the tickets went on sale and by the time I had a job, the gig had sold out. Luckily, I got a face-value spare via a guy on Facebook and thus made my way one evening to Shepherds Bush Empire.

West London’s UFO have been drinking (sorry, performing) for 50 years, hence the t-shirt design. They started as a rock & roll cover band but graduated into heavy rock/heavy metal and brought in Michael Schenker from the Scorpions. This line-up started writing the songs that made them famous (albeit without hit singles) and the band was set. The line-up has since changed so many times that the Pete Frame family tree inside ‘Headstones’ (the aforementioned compilation) gets to #11. The band’s music is British rock, heard in pubs and clubs the length and breadth of the country and exported across the world. They’re also part of my bass player argument – Pete Way was the original bass player and it was after he left and they tried to use a replacement that the band split up. While guitarists have come and gone like tube trains, there’s really only been two bass players in the band (plus a couple of fill-ins). There has though, been only one singer: Phil Mogg has a voice that always sounded cloaked in cigarettes and beer, and he writes a nifty lyric. It was his decision to retire that made this tour a farewell affair.

On the way in to the venue, I see that the Walkabout next door – a long standing entertainment venue that ended its days as an Australian pub has been demolished. All that’s left is the façade. The support act is from LA. Tara Lynch plays some good guitar, but the songs are a bit ‘Bill & Ted’ and overall it’s just another forgettable support act.

The place is heaving and I can’t get near the front. But that’s okay – I feel like an outsider around people with UFO shits stretching back decades and forward over beer guts (a problem I suffer from as well).

The UFO line-up of the last 10 years has been Mogg, original drummer Andy Parker, keyboard player and rhythm guitarist Paul Raymond, Vinnie Moore on guitar and Rob de Luca on bass. Paul Raymond was there in the late 70s and for most of the time since. Like Ronnie Wood in the Stones, he bounces around having a good time, keeping the sound nice and thick and not worrying about the spotlight.
Hanging by the drum kit is a pub bell for calling time, and a pint of beer. The beer doesn’t last, but the bell never rings. There’s no fancy staging or lighting, just a band doing what they do well. Two hits then a less known number, as per the time approved recipe. Mogg is knackered by the third song but can still wave the mic stand around. Moore shreds his guitar and the rhythm section keep it together. The gig is fun and there’s much to sing along to, but there’s no moment that really blows you away.

The encore is “Doctor, Doctor” and as ever it takes me back to the Drama Hall at school and the band from my year that always played the song, no matter what their name, style or line-up. Someone in the crowd mentioned it’s also the song Iron Maiden play over the PA just before they hit the stage every night. And that’s enough: for a rock fan to have lived with a song since childhood, and for a band to have written it.

A couple of weeks later, Paul Raymond died of a heart attack at the age of 73. The tour had ended with one last gig in London, then they were due to play in Europe. For the rest of the tour, another ex-member – Neil Carter re-joined, and the pub-crawl continues.

Not for sale or trade

Year: 2019
Original TShirt Fabric Color: 
White
Size: 
Not yet set / Ask
More: UFO TShirts UFO Patches
Bands: 
UFO – 04/04/2019 – Shepherds Bush Empire
UFO – 04/04/2019 – Shepherds Bush Empire
UFO – 04/04/2019 – Shepherds Bush Empire

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Recent Comments

  • WOW!!!!! What an awesome LS. Never seen this, never knew it existed!!!!
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  • Hey man your stuff is cool, are these leather patches? Or how/what did you use to black them out?
  • Are these leather patches? How/what did you use to black them out?