British blues-based rock legends, UFO (named after the famed London music club), has aged very well. Germinating in 1969, original members Andy Parker (drums), Phil Mogg (vocals) and Pete Way (bass), forged their own brand of blues/space rock. Forty-six years later, UFO, remains on top in perseverance and longevity. 

Joining Parker and Mogg (Way has since left, more on that later), are guitarist Vinnie Moore (for more than 10 years now), longtime guitarist/keyboardist Paul Raymond (pushing 24 years) and bassist Rob DeLuca (joined permanently in 2012). And the band has never sounded tighter. On its 21st full-length album, A Conspiracy Of Stars, it sounds unmistakably like UFO; never forced. This just comes natural for a band such as it. 

“It’s determination more than anything,” Parker said. “I think this band has just always been true to itself. I like the fact that this band has never been worried about trying to appeal to a certain group of people. We’re just doing what we do and hope that people like it. I just feel joyous that we’re still doing it and there are still people out there that want to hear us. To me, that’s good enough; it’s better than good enough, it’s great.”

On A Conspiracy Of Stars, the band deliver 10 hard-driving blues-rock tunes (plus bonus track “King Of The Hill”). Newest member DeLuca penned two songs, while the majority of the music was created by Moore. 

“When it’s time to make a new album, Vinnie takes his ideas for tracks and pulls tracks from other people into his,” Parker said. “Then we’ll get together and decide on ideas, while shortlisting the tracks and working out arrangements, which is when I get involved. We spent a weekend in Germany during the year and then another week right before we went into the studio just to knock things through and make sure we got the arrangements down. Then Phil goes away and works his stuff. We never really know much what’s going to happen until we hear the finished product, and he usually pulls a rabbit out of a hat at one point.”

There’s a lot of truth in that, because one just can’t help but to be drawn into Mogg’s double entrees and working class lyrics. He always delivers a twist of hopeless-romantic commentary in that wispy rasp he has made so famous. Mogg’s voice has become more seasoned compared to his formidable years with the band, as Parker explains with admiration.

“That’s the highlight. I mean, how many songs has he penned now? It must be hundreds. It’s funny because just the other day the label sent us the artwork for the album and I was scrolling down on the screen and I came across the lyrics. Obviously, I’ve already heard the tracks, but sometimes you don’t always know exactly what he’s saying. But I started reading them and I got stuck in it. I thought, ‘These are really good!’ There’s some great stuff in there and it really sucks you in. I actually prefer his voice now than back in the ’70s and ’80s.”

On A Conspiracy Of Stars, the band recorded in their homeland for the first time in 20 years. Plus it was produced by the legendary Chris Tsangarides, who ironically was the assistant-engineer on UFO’s third album, and first with Schenker, Phenomenon in 1974. 

“I think mainly just because Phil got fed up with leaving home to go and record,” Parker said as the reason why they recorded in England this time around. “We never recorded in America, but ever since I’ve been back every album has always been done in Germany. Phil decided he wanted to stay home. The reason we hooked up with Chris is because The Quireboys were doing some work with him, and Phil and Spike are pretty close. So we hadn’t seen him for quite some time. It’s such a dream to work with the guy. He’s very relaxed. We were in a tiny studio in Kent and it sounded great in there. It was quite a squeeze getting us all in there, but it was a really pleasant album to make.”

Throughout UFO’s existence, certain members have come and gone. Some have come back again — even more than once. And in the case of Mr. Parker, three times. Although die-hard fans respect the current lineup, one can’t help but fondly reflect on the past lineups such as the Schenker years (1973-78, 1993-95, 1997-98, 2000, 2001-03), which received the band’s greatest kudos. However, the Paul Chapman phase (1974-75,1977, 1978-83), which produced some good but underrated albums, and the Paul Raymond era (1976-80, 1984-86, 1993-99, 2003-present), have their moments in the sun as well. No matter who’s in the band, UFO seems to form a real bond, like a family. Even through the tough times, Parker still thinks highly of what the band has achieved after all these years.

“The interesting thing is … Paul’s still there; Phil’s still there. Pete was there for a while. It’s like a family. A lot of that tension that was there in the ’70s is gone now. We’ve been there, done that. The big egos aren’t there any more. It’s a little more relaxed. There was a lot of pressure back in the ’70s and ’80s. But now it’s a lot more fun for me than it was back then. It was a lot more business-like back then. I just enjoy the playing now and it’s a lot more intimate because we’re doing smaller venues again.”

UFO fully blossomed in 1973 when they acquired (stole) a young, long-haired blonde German guitar god by the name of Michael Schenker, whom the band snagged from his brother’s band at the time, Scorpions. It obviously boosted UFO’s creativity as well as its musical potential, as Andy remembers when they first recruited Schenker.

“I think the fact that he couldn’t really speak any English,” Parker said. “It’s pretty amazing when you think about it because you had a guy who was joining the band and his girlfriend spoke for him. And if she wasn’t there … basically we communicated through our music, which is quite remarkable. And you look at the fact that we were basically a guitar-based band. The whole world was out there and we were just this little band from England, and doors just kept opening. It was a pretty special time. There couldn’t have been a better time than being in a rock band than in the ’70s. There was a time where it fizzled out for us; the ’90s basically sucked. But in the ’70s with Michael and that long blonde hair, that was pretty special.”

In the case of bassist Pete Way, he left the band in 2011 because of some well-documented health issues while his latest triumph recently saw him successfully beat prostate cancer. But his drinking issues were still lingering according to Parker, which led to his exit from the band for the fourth time. Even though he was such an iconic part of the classic UFO lineup, the band is in a great headspace with its current formation.

“He wasn’t really getting any help with his liver problems, this is why he was taking a break from us,” Parker said. “He wasn’t really changing his lifestyle any, and since then, he got diagnosed with prostate cancer. So he’s fought and beat that. I spoke with him when he was going through that stuff because my wife got cancer this year, too. The thing between him and us, as far as I know, he hasn’t really changed his lifestyle. So that isn’t going to really get him back in (the band). I think Phil was just at the point where if he didn’t change his lifestyle he won’t be back in the band. I miss him, I miss him a lot. But these days we really like playing decent gigs. If you see UFO play these days, we’re kicking major ass. And that’s where we want to be.”

Shortly after a band records a new album, the inevitable touring cycle begins. And so will UFO. Old age hasn’t settled in just yet, and their current touring plans will see them add some frequent flier miles to their hard-rocking history. However, the band’s busy schedule won’t see them play on North American soil until at least the end of the summer. I jokingly made the statement to Parker that it seems like UFO has been touring since the dawn of time. With a exuberant laugh, Parker responded by saying, “You make us sound like dinosaurs!” 

Actually, more like iconic rock figures.