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The latest studio release from UFO |
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Diary
Update - 17th February 2009
Hi
all, Andy here.
Thought it was about time that I brought you up
to date with what's been happening on the UFO
front recently. As most of you know, we finished
touring at the end of August '08 and after some
well deserved rest we began collecting material
for a new album. Everyone pitched in ideas so
there was plenty of stuff to chose from.
We
all met up in Hannover towards the end of January
and after a few days in a rehearsal room we came
up with a short list of thirteen songs. At this
point Phil and Vinnie headed home to work on their
parts while myself, Paul, our surrogate bassist
(oddly enough also called Peter) and drum tech
extraordinaire Andre headed to Area
51 studios in Celle to record drum tracks
with our old pal Tommy Newton. This was my first
time at Tommy's studio and I have to say I am
extremely happy with the results. I had already
decided that for this album I wanted to try and
"get back to my roots" a bit, as far
as the drum sound was concerned and I was not
disappointed. Thanks to the combined efforts of
Andre and Tommy the kit sounded amazing and the
whole experience was thoroughly enjoyable. Interspersed
with cups of Andre's special tea and large doses
of Rab C. Nesbitt ( one of Tommy's favourites
) our work days were fun and productive - as you
can see from the photos! I for one can't wait
to hear the finished tracks. Special mention must
also go to my 'home from home' Bohemia
Hof. The owner is Peter (yet another one)
and the two young ladies are Sarah and Steffie. |
Of
course the one downer in all of this was the
absence of Mr. Way. Those of you who have read
the news release will already know the reason
so I won't go into it again. Suffice to say
that we all wish him a speedy recovery and hope
to see him back on top very soon.
That is about all for now, Phil is heading to
Germany once again to begin recording vocals.
We are hoping that the album will be released
some time in May/June to coincide with the start
of our touring schedule. It only remains for
me to thank you all for your continued support
and to say that I am looking forward to seeing
you all in the near future. Oh and BTW, I still
haven't found a replacement for my missing 18"
tom (details below) so please keep your eyes
open. Thanks to all who contacted the website
with info, even the guy who thought that he
had seen Mick Fleetwood using it. Seems doubtful
but we will leave no stone unturned!
All the best.
Andy.
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Tom... Tom... where
are you Tom?
Details HERE
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Diary Update - 5th August 2008
Hi y'all,
Andy here.
Just a quick update to let you know what's been happening
of late. It's been Summer Festival season in the UFO
camp and we have been keeping pretty busy. One of the
nicest things about festivals is that you quite often
run into people that you haven't seen for a while. First
off was back in June at Kunzelsau in Germany where we
bumped into our old mates Nazareth. Have to tell you
they are still sounding as good as ever!
Next we embarked
on a brutal five day back-to-back jaunt that took us
to Fort Worth, Houston, Santa Fe in New Mexico, the
South Texas Rock Fest in San Antonio - where we caught
up with Tesla,Y&T and Stephen Pearcy's band - and
finally on to Pryor in Oklahoma for the Rocklahoma festival.
This event was hosted by our good friend Eddie Trunk
and despite some extreme weather the previous day, Sunday
turned out to be glorious. The line up included Axe,
Steelheart and Tesla once again so there was no shortage
of rockin'.
We had quite
a few 'interesting' incidents on this tour, such as
when Batttttty got into the wrong cab in Fort Worth,
and when Andre left his laptop at Alberquerque airport,
and the most interesting, when Jeff and Martin's plane
had to make an emergency landing after an engine failed
just after take-off from Tulsa! Whooow! But the whole
thing turned out fine in the end - the end being this
last weekend when we headed to Aurora Illinois to headline
the 'Aurora Downtown Live' show. Once again a good time
was had by all. Vinnie jammed with Blue Oyster Cult
on the Friday night show and then we followed Molly
Hatchet to wind up the festivities on Saturday. It was
great to see everybody and thanks again to the organisers
(especially Gina) for making the whole event such fun.
Also a big thank you to Mr. Jeff Kollman for doing such
a great job on bass guitar, it was a real pleasure to
work with you.
Next event on my list is Murcia in Spain on the 23rd
of August where we really will be running into old pals
as Mr. Way is scheduled to play bass on that show. Watch
this space for an update later this month. Until then,
check out the latest photos.
Be safe and
keep on rockin'.
Andy
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PREVIOUS NEWS ITEMS
Diary Update - 2nd June 2008
Hi y’all,
and greetings from Texas!
I thought it was about time for me to update you all
on what’s been happening in the UFO camp. As some
of you may know we recently completed a five week tour
of the U.S. and I would personally like to thank all
of you who came to the shows for making it such a success.
This tour was especially exciting for me as the last
time that I toured the U.S. with UFO was back in 1982.
It was great to finally get to meet so many of you and
thank you all for making me feel so welcome. Thanks
must also go to Rob DeLuca who filled in at the last
minute for Mr. Way. I’m sure that all of you who
saw the shows will agree that Rob did a fantastic job.
Not only is he an excellent bass player but he is also
one hell of a nice guy.
While I am on the subject of thanks I have some more
people to mention. Firstly our manager Peter and our
agent Mark (where’s my lunch?) Hyman, for putting
the whole thing together. Secondly our amazing crew,
Tonio our tour manager, Martin our sound engineer, Dave
our lighting designer, Andre and Eric our backline techs
and last but by no means least, Kate our merch queen
and webmistress. Thank you for all your hard work. We
could not have done it without you.
Thanks also
to our pal Eddie Trunk for all his support. To Tom Turbrock
at K-She in St. Louis. To Todd Smith and Martin Popoff.
To Daniel Zimmerman at Paiste. To Steve Lobmeier at
D’Addario/Evans and to Jim Beier at Beier drums
for my new baby which you can see on the Gear
page. Finally thanks to all the guys in the band for
making the tour so enjoyable and a special mention to
Mr Mogg who despite being laid low by a nasty little
stomach bug early on in the tour, managed to play every
show. And for those of you at the Chicago HOB show who
were disappointed by the absence of ‘Lights Out’,
we promise to catch up in Aurora later this year (Check
the Tour page for dates).
As I mentioned earlier, it was wonderful for me to get
to meet so many of you and once again I was blown away
by your support and enthusiasm. For all of you who brought
your albums to be signed, I thank you for your patience
and promise not to make you wait so long in future.
For those who gave us gifts (too many to mention but
you know who you are) thank you for your kindness and
generosity. I have said it before and I’ll say
it again, "you guys are the best". I look
forward to seeing you all in the near future. All the
best and keep on rockin’.
Andy
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Diary Update - 26th November 2007
Well we
made it! There were times when I began to think we wouldn't,
but we did. What am I talking about, you ask? The recent
UFO tour of Russia and the Ukraine, I answer! Let me
begin by saying that in no way am I knocking the promoters.
They were absolutely great and really took care of us.
It's just that touring in that part of the world was
so-o-o-o different to what we are used to.
Firstly there was the travelling. Due to the vast distances
involved and the apparent lack of decent roads, this
was accomplished mostly by plane and train. In hindsight
this was probably a good thing, because they have some
of the worst traffic jams that I have ever seen. The
planes were old, the trains even older. Fortunately
there was always an ample supply of alcohol to help
things along (an absolute necessity when it comes to
getting Pete on a plane). That can be a problem on the
trains though, when you have been drinking beer all
day and they insist on locking the toilets every time
you get within twenty miles of station. Happily the
small pliers on my multitool solved this problem. Of
course being inebriated can sometimes come in really
handy. Let's say for example, you're out in the corridor
at three in the morning because it's too hot in your
compartment and you can't sleep. Suddenly you are presented
with a vision of Pete Way, stark naked, lumbering towards
you in some kind of vodka fuelled semi-stupor. Believe
me, you would not want to see that sober! Apparently
'What it was, was...." he had a cramp and was walking
it off. Scary none the less.
Next came the equipment. Because of the transportation
problems the promoter had arranged for the gear to be
supplied at each venue. This turned into a kind of lottery
draw. Every day we would wait with expectation for Tonio
(our tour manager) to text us with a list of what we
would be using that evening. Exciting times, I can tell
you! For any of you who are drummers, you know how hard
it can be using unfamiliar equipment, so it was always
nail biting stuff. Would there be two bass drums or
only one? Would I have any cymbals worth using? Some
nights I won, some nights I lost, but all in all I have
to say they did a pretty good job!
Finally there were the fans. Now, if you think that
I have been somewhat negative about the whole experience
so far, that is not my intention. I just want to give
you an idea of how different this tour was from what
we are used to. This goes double for the audiences.
They were so appreciative, they made us feel really
welcome. For a band that is used to having to break
new markets, it was a novel experience to go to a country
for the first time and be so well received. Thank you
all. Point of interest, Belladonna from No Heavy Petting
was a huge hit in Russia. Who knew? Certainly not us
until we got there.
Anyway, that's about it. If any of you get offered a
tour of Russia or the Ukraine, go for it. Just be aware
it's not like anything you have experienced before.
I for one am very glad to have had the chance, and hopefully
will get to go again some time soon. Many thanks to
all at Spika, Alexi, Dennis and Peter. Thanks to all
the local promoters, especially Andre, the promoter
in Kaliningrad. Not only did you wine and dine us, but
your moving speech, beautifully translated by the lovely
Helena, really brought a lump to my throat. It made
us realise just how much our music has meant to you
and many others over the years. Lastly, thanks to Aeroflot
for getting us there safely and for finally finding
Phil's luggage... on the last day of the tour.
Spasibo and
Nostrovia!
Andy
p.s. There
are a few photos from the tour HERE
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News Update - April 2007
Hey all -
Andy here
I thought that it’s about time that I let you
know what’s going on with me, as I haven't sent
an update since my accident.
First off I would like to thank all of you who turned
out to see the band on the last leg of the tour. By
all accounts you did them proud, I am just sorry that
I could not be there myself. I really missed seeing
you all. My second thank you, and it’s a big one,
goes to Mr Simon Wright, who, at a moment's notice and
with nary a thought for his own personal safety, jumped
in (with both feet) to fill the gap left by yours truly.
Thanks a lot mate! I owe you one - or two!
My heartfelt thanks also go to everyone who so kindly
sent me get well messages. Dan McDonald in Canada, Russ
in Connecticut, the two Brians somewhere in the USA,
Attila in Vancouver, Salvatore in Malta, Nom and Liz
in Leeds and any one else that I might have missed.
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH. It really meant a lot to me.
Finally, I met with Dr. Louden, my orthopaedic surgeon,
yesterday and everything is great. This means that I
will be back behind the drum kit for the upcoming UFO
shows in June and July. WOOOO-HOOOO! Can’t wait!
And I hope that I will get to see some of you in person.
Until then please take care, and in the immortal words
of Mr. Mogg. “Keep on rockin’”
All the best, Andy.
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To
all of you expecting to see me play on the upcoming
European dates... I'M SOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY!!!!
As you can no doubt tell from the accompanying
pictures, I really SCREWED UP my ankle , and as
a result, will be unable to do the next LEG. Not
exactly the BREAK that I was looking for.... But
seriously, bad jokes aside, I will be out of commission
for a few weeks and can only apologise for any
disappointment this might cause. Big thanks to
Simon Wright for stepping in at such short notice,
and I hope that you'll all welcome him in the
same great way that you welcomed me on the last
tour (well..... maybe not quite as much!).
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I am REALLY bummed
that I won't get to see you all on this tour, but
rest assured, I'll be back behind the drum kit as
soon as physically possible! Until then, keep on rockin'
and remember......do not try to Walk on Water, and
avoid Making Contact with slippery surfaces - or you
too will be be Black And Blue! Click on each of the
pictures to see the pain in Large. It's hard being
me!
All
the best, and see you soon!
Andy
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There is an interview
with Andy from November 2006 online HERE
and an interview
with Andy's drum-tech Andre Bargmann HERE
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Check out the TOURDATES
page for UFO's March 2007 shows
The new UFO album
- THE MONKEY PUZZLE - is out now on SPV
Hard Being Me - Heavenly Body
Some Other Guy - Who's Fooling Who?
Black And Blue - Drink Too Much
World Cruise - Down By The River
Good Bye You - Rolling Man - Kingston Town
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Andy's Tour Diary
has some
photos From the Fall 2006 tour
Check
out some video footage from the early days!
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There is a recent
interview with Andy
over on the SITN website
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