You never know how long it's gonna last with him ...

[uwe]

Schenker is never again gonna get out of the clubs. He missed the stadium boat when he left acts like UFO and the Scorpions, but I think he knew that. He seems to be genuinely happy with what he is doing now. And he won't go hungry as long as his big brother Rudolf is around, a wealthy man.

[hieronymous]

Harry... seeing that line-up in what is effectively a club situation is almost too tempting a prospect to bear...

I realized I had the date wrong, and almost rearranged my schedule so that I could attend...

And it's SOLD OUT!   

I enjoyed seeing Michael Schenker on That Metal Show - he seemed pretty relaxed and healthy.

Any truth to the story that part of the trouble he had in UFO was that he couldn't speak English at the time? Seems unlikely to me but I don't really know.

[gweimer]

Schenker is never again gonna get out of the clubs. He missed the stadium boat when he left acts like UFO and the Scorpions, but I think he knew that. He seems to be genuinely happy with what he is doing now. And he won't go hungry as long as his big brother Rudolf is around, a wealthy man.

I interviewed him with MSG - I think it was Gary Barden on vocals, along with the SAHB guys, and an incredible background singer hiding in the wings of Haymakers - and he basically confirmed what you just said.  He left UFO, fearing that one more tour with them would finish him off.  He felt that the lifestyle would kill him if he had stayed.

[lowend1]

Saw MSG last week here in NJ. Michael played his butt off, but the aforementioned ex-Scorpions were not in present. The suspiciously-coiffed Doogie White was in attendance, as was Wayne Findlay and bass duties were handled by the ever-mobile Rev Jones. Pete Holmes was on drums.

[gweimer]

From his interview:
MICHAEL: and so the album lineup world tour is not ready until March. So, in March we start off in Japan with the album lineup touring the world and we’re gonna be in America around Autumn. I said to the guys the album is coming out in the states so I’d better go there. I want to be there…. I haven’t been promoting any album for any tours for the past; who knows how many years. This is a very special album. I want to make sure that everybody knows about this. So I decided to take Doogie with me and Wayne Findlay and put together a few shows on a smaller scale and tour throughout the United States going from coast-to-coast and letting people know that there is a new album out called, “Bridge the Gap” and that’s the new album lineup that will be touring the world and be in the states in Autumn of this year. So basically, I am here with Doogie with the help of Wes Jones on bass and Pete Holmes on drums, we are basically introducing a couple of new songs. The main focus to having Doogie with me is to introduce him to my hard-core fans as the new singer and hoping to get additional people to know about this and do as much press as possible- TV radio magazines etc. etc. we will be touring until the 16th February and will be hoping by then that the whole United States will know that there is a new album and we will be coming to the states with Herman and with Francis in Autumn.

http://onstagereview.com/interview-with-michael-schenker-january-12-2014/

[Highlander]

... that he couldn't speak English at the time?

Mogg and Way were/are extreme p*ss-takers and the young German laddie was targeted in a brutal fashion, so it was told at the time... that, and the alcohol...

[uwe]

Schenker was shy, spoke no English at all, was only 17 and came from a sheltered, if not wealthy background. The UFO guys were hard drinkers and partyers, came from an English blue collar background and physical violence was not unheard of among them. The first departure of Schenker was fuelled by physical violence of Mogg - he sucker punched Schenker backstage after an argument even though Schenker had said he would immediately leave the band "if Phil ever hits me". Mogg apologized, Schenker returned, but of course it happened again.

I know, Krauts are pussies.

[lowend1]

As a teenager and huge Schenker fan, I tried to go see UFO three times. The first time was in '77. A plumpish guy in leather walked out onto the stage of the little club, sweated profusely and played guitar for them while I tried to figure out what happened to my hero. My first encounter with supersub Paul Chapman. Not to worry though - a year later, I had tickets again. Unfortunately, by the day of the show, I also had mononucleosis. My friend used the tickets. "How was it?" I asked, and was told that it was unbelievable and that Schenker was indeed there in the flesh. As luck would have it, they showed up in NJ again, supporting Cheap Trick. I had third row seats. The lights go down... and out comes the guy dressed in leather again. I was beside myself. "Where's Schenker?!" I repeatedly screamed at Phil Mogg. Finally, he replied on mic - "He's dead".

[uwe]

Chapman was a competent guitarist in his own right, but - in Rolling Stones terms - no Mick Taylor for the band. With Schenker gone, UFO lost a lot in the songwriting department and the guitar solos became mere afterthoughts, not high points of songs.

I saw a UFO version with Atomic Tommy in the eighties and ex-Damned Paul Gray on bass, they weren't bad at all, but Mogg's heart was no longer in it.

[Nocturnal]

I listened to a track-by-track review of the new album. Schenkers playing is still great and there are some great solos and riffs on the album. The lyrics sound more like Dio cast-offs in many cases but the vocals were fine.

[uwe]

Yes, the lyrics are trite, Doogie White is no Ian Gillan when it comes to word play or amusing/witty lyrics. No comparison to Mogg's little stories either. And White, his voice having aged somewhat (in a nice way), has certainly become more Dio'ish over the years. There are worse role models though, I've never heard any other rock singer say that Dio's use of his voice was anything but technically excellent, especially as his range wasn't exactly baffling.