Unknown Soldier

Without doubt one of the best hard rock acts to have come out of the UK. They were masters of the blistering hard rock attack combined with melodic leanings. But like Deep Purple who they can draw comparisons with, they didn't start out as a hard rock band but as a boogified space-rock band as evidenced on their first two studio albums. Now whilst these two albums are decent especially UFO 2, this was never to be their true calling and the voice of Phil Mogg was just wasted on this sound, he had the tonsils for something far more potent. So like Deep Purple before them, they shifted their sound to a hard rock one and added ex-Scorpions guitar virtuoso to their ranks and the UFO legend was born.

The band on their third album Phenomenon kicked of a golden era for the band which saw them release a string of fantastic albums throughout the 1970s culminating in the classic live set Strangers in the Night. In between these releases, the band released timeless classics such such as Force It, Lights Out and Obsession. The album No Heavy Petting is probably the only questionable album in this bunch. On these albums, Phil Mogg gives singing leasons to most future heavy bands, Pete Way pulverizes on bass and Michael Schenker on guitar almost steals the show with his virtuoso riffs.

When Michael Schenker then decided to pack his bags and leave the band, it was the end on an era and the band never quite found their 1970s spark again.

Seminal Line-Up:
Phil Mogg -Vocals
Michael Schenker -Guitar
Pete Way -Bass
Andy Parker -Drums

later added Paul Raymond on Keyboards.

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