UFO

A British hard rock institution for over 40 years, UFO's blazing riffs, euphoric melodies and thundering walls of sound have influenced the likes of Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden and Metallica and earned a huge cult following. Originally formed by frontman Phil Mogg under the name Hocus Pocus in 1969, the band grew out of the 1960s blues rock craze but, as the volume got louder, the hair longer and the intensity darker and more blistering, they stood alongside Saxon, Motorhead and Def Leppard as the new wave of British Heavy Metal started to gain importance in the late 1970s. With the lightning licks of former Scorpions guitarist Michael Schenker, the band's seminal albums Force It (1975), Lights Out (1977) and live record Strangers In The Night (1979) became landmarks of the genre and broke the band across the world. Renowned for their hard partying lifestyle and raucous live shows, they worked with Beatles' producer George Martin on No Place To Run (1980) and reached Number 8 in the UK charts with Mechanix (1982) to become an increasingly influential and respected act as the years passed. Despite numerous line-up changes, they have continued to tour and record regularly and - with Vinnie Moore taking over the lead guitar role in 2003 - they notched up their 20th studio album Seven Deadly in 2013.