UFO fans, watch out! Anyone who’d feared over the past two years that UFO frontman Phil Mogg, one of the most influential rock vocalists worldwide, would disappear completely from the scene after the demise of his band, in addition to his health problems, has now thankfully been proved wrong. After a brief hiatus to catch his creative breath, the British musician with the distinctive voice is ready to present his latest release, ‘Moggs Motel’, which he composed together with Tony Newton (bass & keyboards) from the band Voodoo Six, who had been touring partners with UFO previously, and long-standing associate Neil Carter (guitar, keyboards, vocals). The album was recorded at Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris’s studio in Essex/UK. In the studio, the band was joined by Joe Lazarus (drums) and Tommy Gentry (guitar) to complete the line-up. The album’s twelve timeless songs show that Mogg mark 2024 has lost none of his artistic charisma, uniquely expressive voice and love of unbridled creativity. ‘Moggs Motel’ will be available on Steamhammer/SPV from 6 September 2024 on CD, vinyl LP and for digital download. Two singles including video clips will be released as appetisers ahead of the album’s arrival at the physical and digital stores: The album opener ‘Apple Pie’ will be out on 28 June 2024, followed by ‘Sunny Side Of Heaven’ on 16 August 2024.
The starting point for ‘Moggs Motel’ was a chance meeting of Mogg and Newton at the American embassy in London waiting for visas shortly before the lockdown. Mogg: “I mentioned that UFO were going on a farewell tour and I’d be taking a step backwards but didn’t want to retire completely. He said he had some material back home and would send it over and when the opportunity arose, we could maybe put together a few ideas for songs and see if anything interesting would come of it. Meanwhile, our Neil (Carter) was also starting to send through some tasty tunes. This concept was ultimately the beginning of the new album. As we all had to learn the hard way, that moment was to come sooner than expected. During the pandemic, we all suddenly had more time on our hands than any of us wanted, so there was plenty of scope for ‘Moggs Motel’.”
Mogg spontaneously trawled through his archive, looking for previously unreleased song fragments that hadn’t suited UFO. Neil Carter and Tony Newton also opened their treasure chests and contributed ideas. The result is a haunting rock album featuring a dozen varied compositions that, while typical of Phil Mogg’s long career, could never be mistaken for UFO. “‘Moggs Motel’ has been a kind of carte blanche for me, because there were no musical guidelines or expectations from our fans, record company or the media,” he explains. “From an artistic point of view, there were no given parameters, and that’s what makes the new album stand out.”
This compositional freedom applies not only to the music, but also to the lyrics, which see Mogg mix autobiographical elements with fictional ones with his typically British sense of humour and tell his stories with his usual unerring powers of observation and disarming plays on words. For him, the new songs are both surprising and logical. He explains: “I’ve always wanted to make an album like ‘Moggs Motel’. After UFO had come to an end, it was like so many things in life: When one door closes, a new one opens somewhere else!”
