Few vocalists in Rock-n-Roll history have the experience and clout of Phil Mogg. Frontman of the highly influential UFO for more than fifty years, Mogg is the distinct voice on all of their studio albums from 1970’s UFO through to 2022’s The Salentino Cuts.
A force of nature, Mogg’s passion for music has never waned, and now in 2024, he returns with his brand-new album Moggs Motel. A project formed by Mogg separate from UFO, he took some songs he had been working on and brought together Tony Newton, Neil Carter, Joe Lazarus, and Tommy Gentry to record what became something entirely new. So, what does Mogg say about Rock-n-Roll experiences after all these years? He professed –
“I wouldn’t swap it for anything else.“
Excited to keep his creative juices flowing well into the future, Phil Mogg took some time to chat about the ups and downs of UFO, the work put into Moggs Motel, life lessons, and more.
Cryptic Rock – You have been involved in Rock-n-Roll music for many decades and had tremendous success with the highly influential band UFO. Continuing to pursue music with immense passion, you now have a new solo album in 2024. Before we get into that, how would you describe your incredible journey in music to this point?
Phil Mogg – A bit like one of those white water rides with great moments of calm. Yeah, that’s how I describe it. It’s a bit lively. I wouldn’t swap it for anything else. So yeah, a really good time.
Cryptic Rock – Well, that is exciting, and obviously there has never been a dull moment. As mentioned, to many, is considered a highly influential band. What is interesting about UFO is that everyone in Hard Rock and Metal knows UFO, but it seems perhaps the band does not get the broader recognition they deserve. Looking from the outside, it seems like the average person is not too familiar with UFO as opposed to someone who is really into Rock-n-Roll music.
Phil Mogg – I think the UFO thing has been so up and down as far as bands go. We were up for one moment and then something would explode somewhere else. It wasn’t that centered, the band. There were moments… and then there were really bad moments. We never had a constant. Other bands were constant like AC/DC, and Judas Priest. They were all very constant. UFO was a bit stringy. It was together for a while, and then it wasn’t. That was the nature of the beast, as it were.
Cryptic Rock – Understood. What was great is that after some time away, you regained UFO, returned in the 2000s, and were consistent with the band for a good twenty years releasing music and touring.
Phil Mogg – Yeah, that was the better do something sensible period. We’d been mucking around for ages. This was more of a stable diet UFO. It was very enjoyable and very solid. There were no explosions anywhere. No one was arrested. There were no tears. It was one of those kinds of things, whereas before it could have been very unpredictable.
Cryptic Rock – It certainly was a more consistent period for the band.
Phil Mogg – Yeah. It wasn’t until Pete Way kind of had to be rested up a little bit. Then we got in another bassist. It was, yeah, very stable.
Cryptic Rock – Right. You have also played with many different musicians through the years. Everyone has different styles and different ways of approaching music. Working with such an eclectic mix of players through the years, what do you think you have learned?
Phil Mogg – I’ve learned everyone dies. Sorry, I got carried away there with the question.
Well, Larry Wallis came from the Pink Fairies. Yeah. He played a Fender Strat through a Fender Twin. Can you imagine? He was great. Bernie Marsden just decided to flee the scene, but he was really cool. I think Mick Bolton, the original guitarist in UFO, was very good. He was a bit more like Paul Kossoff, in that style. We’ve had some very good lead players in the band.
Cryptic Rock – Most certainly. UFO has been put to bed now and you have a new album called Mogg Hotel. You have done a couple of other records outside UFO through the years, but this is your first solo record solely under your name. What inspired this album?
Phil Mogg – Well, as we were closing down a shop under UFO, I had some stuff tucked away just upstairs in the gray matter that I thought I could do or use, but I’d need to do a solo thing, as you just said.
We toured with Tony Newton before, in UFO, when he was in Voodoo Six. I bumped into him in London, and we were just chatting. I said, “I’ve got to do something. I’ve got some ideas here.” He said, “Oh, I’ve got some stuff.” It was a very casual conversation.
This was just coming up for that lovely lockdown we had. He said, “Oh, I’ll send it over to you.” Also, while I was speaking to Neil Carter, he said, “Oh, I’ve got some bibs and bobs.” I was getting material coming in while I was in that lockdown thing, which you’ve got bags of time to do anything you want. You’ve got no record company. You’ve got nobody pressuring you. You haven’t got a band. You’re just literally sailing along, mucking around, and doing something you enjoy. A bit like picking up your old hobby. It was a bit like getting sucked into it. I was very casual and very easygoing. “Let’s see what we got.” Yeah. I think that about rounds that right off.
Cryptic Rock – Well, the result is a strong record. This record is very energized and has a very Blues Rock feel to it.
Phil Mogg – Yes. I can never really see that, but it’s been said a lot. I guess that’s where the stuff he was brought up on comes from once you kind of got addicted to that. I guess it has seeped through.
Cryptic Rock – It does seep through. As you said, sometimes when you are creating something, you may not hear what other people hear. That happens all the time.
Phil Mogg – Oh, yeah. Absolutely. It’s funny when you get some bits that you’re not that keen on, and then someone says, “Oh, I really like that bit.” Yeah. It’s an unknown quantity.
Cryptic Rock – It is very true. With Mogg Hotel out now, are you doing any more live performances, or have you retired completely from live performances?
Phil Mogg – No. We did the video up in Hampton, and I found that really enjoyable. I kind of was singing along and I thought, “Yeah.” We did chat about doing some live work. At the moment, we wanted to let the record come out, settle a bit, and see what possibly was available next year, like a couple of festivals or something. It wasn’t going to be one of those long, drawn-out touring things, a bit like hit-and-run gigs. If that turns up, I think we’ll give that a shot.
Cryptic Rock – That is exciting news. People would love to see you out playing again. You had taken some time off for your health, and obviously, the whole COVID thing happened.
Phil Mogg – Oh, when that went on, that was disastrous. Now everything’s kind of rolling along. It would have been.
Cryptic Rock – Yes. If and when you go out, who would you take out with you for a live band?
Phil Mogg – Oh, it would be the same guys that did the album – Tony Newton, Neil Carter, Joe Lazarus, and Tommy Gentry.
Cryptic Rock – Fantastic!
Phil Mogg – I couldn’t get into one of those things with loads of different musicians involved.
Cryptic Rock – Well, let us hope that you do play some shows soon. As you said, it will be more one-offs rather than the grind of a tour. Touring can be grinding. You have toured for decades. Clearly, you are passionate about music, but how challenging is it to be away from home and touring so much?
Phil Mogg – Well, it’s all right for the first 30 years. It sort of goes downhill a bit. The thrill is gone. Then if you look at silly things where you can’t get your clothes washed, or you’re doing overnighters, and when you arrive, the restaurant’s closed, or you can’t get in the room till, just on that touring level.
If you’re doing it the other way, where everything’s taken, you fly in, you do the gear, you fly out, which years back we used to do, that’s kind of easy. The general hardcore bands, and touring bands, do the bus, do the coach. They’ll be doing overnights. They’ll be doing long trips. They’ll be doing gigs to fill in. That will weigh you down, actually. Unless you’ve got a really cool band and a heavy road crew, it gets a bit dismal.
Cryptic Rock – When you are younger, it is a little different. You do not mind sleeping on buses and such, but naturally, as you get older it becomes a bit more bothersome. These things we realize that we really do not want to do anymore.
Phil Mogg – Goodness me, no. You sort of go, “Really? I don’t think so.” You’ve done that long enough. You kind of think, “Well, maybe it’s time for a change here.”
Cryptic Rock – Exactly. So, Mogg Hotel has thirteen tracks, which is pretty lengthy by today’s standards. Most people put out around eight songs nowadays and call it an album. It is great that you went for a longer album here. That stated, do you have some other songs that you did not put on this album?
Phil Mogg – Yes. We’ve got bits and pieces that didn’t get used because they needed more work. It was back boiler tunes. There are a few of those, and there’s another half to “Taylor’s Wood,” which we have to finish off. Yeah, we’re okay. We’ve got enthusiasm on our side.
Cryptic Rock – That’s a great thing to hear. That means there is potential for another album. Looking back, rumors are going around, that before music, you were an amateur boxer for a while.
Phil Mogg – I don’t know how that got out. As a kid at school, you join the local boxing club, and you maybe do a couple of shows. Between different clubs, they have fights. I just did that and a couple of those. It was a bit of a foul, shall we say. When you get down to the nitty-gritty of that, you’ve got to be very dedicated. I think it was a flat nose I got that discouraged me. It was never anything. Is it one of those kids’ things you do at school after you’ve probably failed at the football team. Oh, and then you’ve come third out of a three-round race for the 4:40. I’ve tried a few things, but none were wonderfully successful. Then, of course, you go out one day and you hear a Rock band or something going on, and you think, “Oh, I like that.” Then you go, “I really like that.” You’re off on the old Rock business. A bit of the savior, really.
Cryptic Rock – Interesting. So was being in a Rock band a savior for you?
Phil Mogg – Well, just that. The discovery. When I was a kid, I remember my dad taking me to Petticoat Lane in London to buy a bike. I was really young, and we were walking along, and there was a load of teddy boys, they used to call them back then, leaning on a record player.
It was Del Shannon singing, “Runaway.” I looked and I thought, “Well, they look pretty cool. I love the music.” It was one of those moments where you go, “I’ll have a bit of that. Yeah.” After that, you go and see rock bands as you get older, and you’re hooked, more or less.
Cryptic Rock – That’s a very cool memory. You mentioned Del Shannon. What a phenomenal songwriter and performer he was.
Phil Mogg – Oh, yeah. There were The lads who were grooving to it had winklepicker shoes, skin-tight jeans, and crisp back hair. For a kid, when you look at it, you go, “Hey, that looks good. I have a bit of that.”
Cryptic Rock – Yes. It is fascinating to hear how it all began for you. It seems as if you were influenced by Rock-n-Roll from a very young age.
Phil Mogg – From listening to that, it was also the hook that went with it, the kind of people that were grooving to it then looked pretty for a kid. They looked pretty cool. Then, of course, we had The Mods come along with The Who and the Small Faces. Then, of course, if you discovered, was it John Mayall with Eric Clapton and Pete Green playing, you’re off to another. Your void has really begun.
Cryptic Rock – Times certainly have changed. What do you think of the current state of Rock-n-Roll? It still exists in some capacity, but in the mainstream what really is Rock-n-Roll anymore?
Phil Mogg – No. There was something on the other day where Richard Osman (a guy over here in England who does a TV show) mentioned the fact that there are no bands over here in the charts anymore. He was just going, “Where have all the bands gone? They used to be The Kinks, The Who, The Rolling Stones,” reeled off all the bands, but there’s no kind of new bands. They’re all duos, single-girl singers, or boy things. It is a bit of a mystery.
Although, I must say there are a couple of bands playing over here, which are playing Rock with a heavy leaning. There’s a small spark over here.
Cryptic Rock – There are some bands out there, but it just does not seem that Pop radio recognizes them anymore. Like you just said, it is all solo female or male singers dominating mainstream radio these days.
Phil Mogg – I always find that people that like this kind of heavy Hard Rock, or whatever label, usually the fans went through the people who go out, discover the band, and then adopt the band, buy the t-shirt, get the record. They become usually hardcore fans of the band. That’s a really cool thing because once you have that base of the fanbase, nothing can really stop you. It’s all down to the people behind the records.
Cryptic Rock – You are absolutely right. You build that connection with a fanbase, and they are fans for life.
Phil Mogg – Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Lest we forget that.
Cryptic Rock – Exactly. We discussed the new album and the fact that you are interested in going out to play some shows. You said your career has been a non-linear journey with ups and downs. with all your experiences, what are some of the most important things you have learned?
Phil Mogg – (Laughs) Be very careful what you sign. Try and keep out of the bars. That’s about it.
Cryptic Rock – (Laughs) There are two good lessons. As you said, be careful what you sign; because you could be giving a lot away for a few moments of glory and lose it all.
Phil Mogg – Oh, they’re all out there. It’s like a minefield. Yeah. Be very careful.
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