In late August 2022, UFO frontman Phil Mogg suffered a heart attack. The following month, doctors pronounced a strict performance ban for Mogg, after having performed several detailed examinations in the previous days. This resulted in a UFO farewell tour, which was set to occur across Europe in October 2022, being cancelled.]
Mogg recently spoke with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation. During their conversation, Phil discusses why UFO ended and the possibility of a final show.
On why UFO ended
Phil Mogg: "It's easier when you look back on it, but I think after Pete went, you know, he was suffering, a few problems which are rather popular in rock bands. So I hear he was suffering a few setbacks. But I think when Pete went, it kind of took the real sort of the original flavor out of the band and he was kind of, kind of irreplaceable in that sense. You could obviously get another bass player in which we did, but it is not the same. It was like taking a big lump out of the band and as bad as it was at certain times, it was kind of the character of the band.
And I know for some time after Pete, when I felt a little bit, it meant I'd have to do double the amount of jokes. It meant I'd have to do double the amount of drinking because he was gone. It meant I'd have to double up. I didn't have anyone to hide behind because Pete would do the interviews, too. Because he would come out with such ridiculous things you go, 'Ah, this is great.' He could have come out with some crap. No, but he was good at it. So I think after that, I think the steam went out a bit, and we were slowly shutting down and I didn't particularly wanna see UFO go in and sort of ever decreasing circles, so that, I think that was the general gist of it."
On whether a final UFO live show will happen
Phil Mogg: "Oh, there's so many permutations on that one. Not really, because I can't see it. I can't see it happening in such a way that it would be worthy of doing it. It would have to be pretty damn good. And if you stick something out there and it falls below par, then the audience, people who come along will be disappointed. I'd be disappointed if it was below something else. And I think that's the chance that I really wouldn't want to take unless it was like, 'Yeah, this is happening. That's great.' You might go, 'Oh, well I'll give that a shot.' But I can't see it coming together. I can't see the stars aligning. So yeah, it will be too difficult."
