нло 1978

Metal-Rules.com Zine - UFO - drummer Andy Parker

Written by Marko Syrjälä and Jarno Huovila

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the classic UK rock band UFO. Still featured in the ranks are two founding members, vocalist (and the only constant in the bands event rich history) Phil Mogg and drummer Andy Parker. For the past few years the lineup has in addition consisted of two other members of the bands perhaps best loved ( Lights Out ) incarnation, namely bassist Pete Way and keyboardist Paul Raymond, with Vinnie Moore on guitar since 2005 who isfilling the shoes of the mad axe man Michael Schenker. UFO s newest record entitled THE VISITOR is their 20th studio album and the first one since 1988 s AINT MISBEHAVIN without the wild man Pete Way on board. Filling in on bass for the album is Peter Pichl, and on this summer s tour, Barry Sparks. For this interview we sat down with Andy Parker to learn more, not just about Pete s predicament, but many other things relating to the past, present and future of UFO.

Interview by Marko Syrj l and Jarno Huovila

If its okay for you we would like to start this interview with some old stuff at first?

Before UFO became aninternational success you were really famous in Japan and especially in Germany. Is it true that the first two or three if you count the live album, UFO records actually sold millions in Germany?

You know, thats very hard for us to know because the record company didnt tell us how much they sold, but we never got any money for those at all. All I know it that based on the amount of people that Ive seen that had those albums, they sold pretty well. Not only in Germany, but also in Japan too. We did the first album, UFO 1, then we did FLYING - ONE HOUR SPACE ROCK and people have asked me why and I dont know why, because we could? Thing about this band is that it always come the heart, this band has never ever, that I know of, set out to make a hit album or an album that appeals to a certain demographic. That is not where this band comes from. Its genuine, its not manufactured. The space rock album was just we were at the time, the record company told us to go do it and we just did and it was different. So yeah, I think those album sold a lot, I think. The first album came out in 1970 and I remember this because when we recorded it was 1969, I was seventeen years old. Beacon Records gave me the recording contract to sign, but I wasnt old enough, my parent had to sign it for me. My parents refused to sign it because they thought I was going to get ripped off. So I had to wait until my eighteenth birthday to sign the contract myself. So it came out in 1970 and I did get ripped off. But if I hadnt done that album no one would have every of me. This is the whole thing, sometimes youve got to get ripped off to get your foot in the door.

You did your first real headlining tours in Japan in early 70s. So how was it like to tour Japan in those early days?

We were amazed. We drove our van to the airport at Heathrow, our old van with all the gear in back. But when we got off the plane we got all those limousines waiting for us there, it was just so bizarre. We were stars on the other side of the world. We got no money from Beacon Records at all, so we told them theyd broken the contract and then there was a period from like 1972 to 1974 when we didnt do anything. Then Chrysalis signed us in 1974. What happened every time we made a Chrysalis album, Beacon would remix and re-release those records with another name on them. So when people would ask for the new UFO album in the shops, theyd not get what they were looking for. It was just bad, but eventually that faded out. I think we got ripped off really badly, but it did lead to as you see me now, forty years later.

What would you say is the biggest difference playing with your current guitar player Vinnie Moore compared to Michael Schenker?

source