Regular visitors here will have read through various previous posts and concert reviews that UFO is one of my favourite bands. Huge fan for almost four decades. They just keep turning out great stuff time and time again through various “slight hiccoughs” along the way and personnel changes more frequent at times than Spinal Tap drummers. It cannot be denied that they have always been up there as a killer live act throughout their career. That is drawn to the fore here over the five CDs and DVD in this On Air at the BBC boxed set spanning performances between 1974 and 1985.
It’s for new and old fans alike. To discover UFO for the first time as “newbie” you have loads of classic stuff. For the “older connoisseur such as myself it’s a great trip down memory lane even though most of it has been available in other forms – however the jewel in the crown is a previously unreleased performance from Knebworth in 1985 featuring the short-lived tenure of Atomik Tommy M on guitar. Though never an ideal fit in my opinion, Misdemeanour is a solid album and that shows up well from this performance.
And there’s lots of stuff from the Paul Chapman period on the Knebworth set list and also on discs three and four. The Tonka era has always been a favourite of mine and (to my recollection) none of it has featured in live performances since he left so to have lots to listen to in this collection is very welcome.
Going back even further it all starts with a performance from 1974 at the Golders Green Hippodrome – a rarity in itself as it includes an (unaccredited) Chapman on guitar with Michael Schenker with some Bob Harris sessions too.
Disc 2 gives a live performance from Paris Theatre in London and a John Peel session from 1977 then it’s in to Tonka territory over discs 3 and 4 from Hammersmith in 1980 and 1982 before the great Knebworth set in 1985.
The DVD is even better and has some comedy value. Doctor Doctor and Cherry from a Whistle test show in 1979 followed by hilarious Top of the Pops appearances miming through Doctor Doctor (1979), Young Blood (1980) and Lonely Heart (1981). It’s quite hard to watch at times given how cheesy TOTP was and how embarrassed the band looks to be there. DVD closes out with a storming mini-set from a BBC Oxford Road show in 1982. We Belong to the Night, Let it Rain, Too Hot to Handle.
Overall this is a superb history lesson from a truly classic rock band when they were at their zenith. Fans new and old alike shouldn’t have any complaints as (as I type at least) it’s available at a remarkably cheap price.
The dials on the cover art amplifier only go to ten. Should be up to eleven and beyond. The box everything comes in is nice and sturdy too unlike Whitesnake’s Little Box O’ Snakes though more about that in an upcoming post.
Until then, get your ears around some UFO.
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