Popoff, Martin: UFO-Shoot Out the Lights (book)

The first ever book written about the legendary British hard rock/metal band UFO has been written by none other than Martin Popoff. Fresh off his intriguing books on Rush and Blue Oyster Cult, Shoot Out the Lights sees Popoff shedding all sorts of knowledge and insight into this horribly underrated band, who are now 30+ years into their existence. The book is formatted very much like the two mentioned above, as it starts early in the bands career and talks about each album and the songs contained within, with interviews with the various band members giving insight into the creation of each album, the songs, and the state of the band at the time. Popoff also lovingly adds a great deal of his own personal feelings about many of these songs and albums, and it's great to read content that you can tell was written with passion about the subject matter. Of course, the stuff that's really juicy are the backstage stories of what went on during the Michael Schenker years, the fights, the drunken brawls, the drug abuse, the mental breakdowns, the revolving door of band members, the successes and the failures...it's all here. Hearing things first hand from Phil Mogg, Pete Way, Michael Schenker, Paul Chapman, Neil Carter, Paul Raymond, Danny Peyronel, Atomic Tommy M, and many others, adds to the legitimacy and enjoyment of this tome. The only drawback here is the ommission of vintage shots of the band-the one on the cover is all you get folks!

In short, this is essential reading for UFO fans. Halfway through it, you'll find yourself reaching into your CD collection and pulling out Lights Out, Obsession, Force It, Covenant, You are Here, Strangers in the Night, and any other UFO CD you own. I know I did!

Added: June 26th 2005
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Martin Popoff Website
Hits: 3439
Language: english

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