UFO, Plug

IT was possibly asking for trouble. You remember a band from your younger, hairier days and they are suddenly back on your doorstep. You have fond, childhood memories - do you just smile or do you risk spoiling it all for the sake of nostalgia?

Alas, your inquisitive side gets the better of you and you turn up along with lots of like-minded adults on Matilda Street. At first you feel glad UFO - that long-serving British rock institution which emerged out of a space-rock outfit in the early '70s - are still out there waving the flag. Then you begin to wonder whether things should perhaps have been left where they were; gone out on a high and all that.

Aside from the fresh blood of a newish guitarist they look pretty ragged. But, hey, don't we all after all these years. But they also seem a tad awkward around eachother, bassist Pete Way and singer Phil Mogg seemingly on the cusp of falling out or, perhaps, just playing the odd couple very well. The former sweats for England; the latter looks unsure of where to stand and is less than commanding audience attention when he speaks. Both seem fascinated, ney, obsessed with their young guitarist.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But then Mogg opens his blowhole and from this slight, bottle blond man emerges one of rock's classic voices. Given a career in swing or easy listening and Mogg could well have rivalled Tom Jones, his vocals are really that charismatic, powerful and enduring.

Instead he injects humanity into UFO classics such as Only You Can Rock Me, Lights Out, a never-ending Rock Bottom, and the must-play Doctor Doctor. And suddenly the modest stage and the uncomfortable demeanour are briefly over-looked as UFO turn in tunes that briefly made them a chart commodity and put them at a rock top table where they dined with the likes of Judas Priest and Black Sabbath.

Not a classic gig, if anything, a slightly uncomfortable one which had the makings of a potential musical car crash. Still, great to hear some songs that were once good friends played rather loud again.