UFO - Covenant + Sharks (2024)

• Two studio albums and one live set featuring Phil Mogg, Pete Way and Michael Schenker from the classic, reformed ‘Strangers In The Night’ line-up of UFO.

UFO’s roots go all the way back to London in 1968, when vocalist Phil Mogg and bassist Pete Way teamed up with drummer Andy Parker. Building a cult following in Japan and Germany, they finally found their key sound when joined by highly influential German lead guitarist Michael Schenker in 1973. Schenker’s original tenure with UFO came to an end with the release of the ‘Strangers In The Night’ double live LP. UFO soldiered on with numerous line-ups in the 80s and 90s while Michael formed The Michael Schenker Group, but in 1995 the classic ‘Strangers In The Night’ line-up reformed for a new studio album, ‘Walk On Water’.

The second release from the reunion following ‘Walk On Water’ was ‘Covenant’ (CD1). Featuring Phil Mogg, Michael Schenker and Pete Way, the line-up was completed by legendary drummer Aynsley Dunbar. Released in 2000, ‘Covenant’ was the 15th album by this British melodic hard rock institution. The same band release ‘Sharks’ (CD2) two years later, in 2002. Their 16th album was also the last album to feature lead guitarist Michael Schenker. The original releases of ‘Covenant’ and ‘Sharks’ featured live bonus tracks recorded on tour in the States to support the 1995 release of the ‘Walk On Water’ album. This time Phil Mogg, Michael Schenker and Pete Way were joined by Simon Wright (Dio, AC/DC) on drums and Paul Raymond on guitar and keyboards. Paul Raymond had also been part of the legendary ‘Strangers In the Night’ band. Recorded live at Blind Melons, Buffalo, NY, USA on September 11th, 1995 (CD3), as well as plenty of much-loved UFO classics, including ‘Too Hot To Handle’, ‘Rock Bottom’ and ‘Out In The Street’, the third disc features ‘Venus’ and ‘Pushed To The Limit’ from the ‘Walk On Water’ album.