UFO is one of my all time favorite bands. Their importance to metal cannot be overstated. Based on sheer influence alone, they’re as important as Sabbath and Priest. Michael Schenker single handedly invented the gallop riff which would characterize the NWOBHM and eventually give way to thrash metal. Unfortunately, too many believe the UFO story begins and ends with Schenker. In doing so, they disregard an equally brilliant era of the band, ushered in by Paul “Tonka” Chapman.
Chapman’s history with UFO goes back further than many think. He first joined the band in 1974 as an auxiliary guitarist after a stint with Skid Row (the Gary Moore led blues band, not the 80s hair band). He’d leave UFO in 1975. Chapman started the progressive hard rock outfit Lone Star, while his former band recorded the landmark albums, Force It (1975), No Heavy Petting (1976), and Lights Out (1977). Lone Star put out a couple decent albums themselves (I prefer their second album, 1977’s Firing on All Six), though to no critical or commercial avail. It only made sense for Chapman to return to his old mates who were now heavy metal superstars.
After filling in for an M.I.A. Michael Schenker during a 1977 tour with Rush, Chapman joined UFO for good in 1978. Fans were shocked at Schenker’s departure, but it didn’t take long for Chapman to win them over. After all, he earned the name “Tonka” for a reason: The dude was indestructible! How else could UFO replace Schenker, but with an axeman who was equally as mad onstage and off? No live recording better sums up this era than that of UFO performing “Rock Bottom” at the Randhurst Ice Arena in Mount Prospect, Illinois on December 3, 1978. One listen and you’ll notice Chapman’s playing is nothing like Schenker’s. It’s crazier, though just as ahead of it’s time. He adds his own flair to the classic song and gives fans a taste of what was to come.
After nearly two years on the road, UFO released their first album with Chapman, No Place to Run (1980). Produced by the legendary Sir George Martin, it contains such classics as “Lettin’ Go” (a live staple to this day), the Stones-esque swagger of “Young Blood”, and the ferocious “Mystery Train”. Martin would go on to describe the album and its respective recording sessions as “regrettable”. After all, Phil Mogg and Pete Way in their prime were a handful.
They followed it up with the incomparable The Wild, the Willing, and the Innocent (1981). It’s my favorite UFO album next to Lights Out and fully embraces the very NWOBHM sound and era they influenced. From the brooding opener “Chains Chains”, to the delicate closing ballad “Profession of Violence”, every song is a stone cold classic. On “Profession of Violence”, Chapman proves he’s more than a meaty riff machine. That closing guitar solo moves even the heaviest metal maniacs to tears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ECdQnWnhkk
From there, UFO would release Mechanix (1982) and Making Contact (1983). Mechanix features the rock radio hit, “The Writer”, as well as another live staple, “We Belong to the Night”. Making Contact opens with one of my top ten favorite UFO songs, “Blinded by a Lie” and includes a handful of other classic tracks. However, the writing was on the wall. With bands like Venom, Mercyful Fate, Metallica, and Slayer foreshadowing metal’s future, UFO were now considered a “dinosaur band”. Chapman left not long after Making Contact‘s release and joined his fellow bandmates in the commercial oriented Waysted. Formed by bassist Pete Way, Waysted was essentially UFO minus Mogg as it also featured drummer Andy Parker and guitarist/keyboardist Paul Raymond.
Chapman would continue to play and celebrate his legacy until his untimely passing yesterday afternoon. It was his 66th birthday. Chapman may no longer be with us, but the blistering metallic fury of those early 80s UFO albums will echo through the heads and hearts of headbangers for all eternity. Be sure to play those albums in his honor and play them LOUD! It’s what Tonka would’ve wanted.