After finally hitting paydirt with their double live album Strangers In The Night, UFO had one little problem. Their moody, yet brilliant guitarist Michael Schenker had decided to, once again, go AWOL. Only this time, he wasn’t coming back. At least for awhile. So they hired Paul Chapman, who had been in and out of UFO for brief periods himself. However, Chapman had never recorded with the band before. Schenker’s exit and the success of Strangers In The Night gave him the opportunity to put his stamp on the band. Considering the circumstances, No Place To Run, the eighth studio album by UFO and the first to feature Chapman, had all the potential to raise the stakes.
Released at the beginning of 1980, No Place To Run didn’t quite hit the heights of Lights Out or Strangers In The Night in the States, though it became their highest charting album in the UK. Having Beatles producer George Martin at the helm must have motivated the group to record a superior record. Songs like “Lettin’ Go,” “Young Blood” and the album’s title track are filled with all the essential UFO ingredients — hooky melodies from singer Phil Moog, a swing-and-set rhythm section thanks to bassist Pete Way and drummer Andy Parker, and sharp-cutting power chords and stinging leads from Chapman.
Now, over four decades, Chrysalis Records has remastered No Place To Run using the original production tapes transfers at AIR Mastering. The album has been reissued via triple LP 180gm vinyl and double Digipak CD configurations. In addition to the original 10-track album, the reissue includes a new, previously unreleased mix of Live at The Marquee, London, November 16th 1980, mixed by revered engineer Brian Kehew. If there’s any question as to whether or not Chapman would be able to jump into the fray and carry his weight on stage as well as Schenker, this show is proof that UFO remained a viable live act at the dawn of the 80s.
Even in the wake of new wave, punk and pop taking over the airwaves, UFO stuck to their guns by producing hard-rocking yet accessible music. The included single version of “Young Blood,” a kissin’ cousin of the group’s 1978 single “Cherry,” has all the makings of a toe-tapping hit. Once “Alpha Centauri” opens the floodgates for “Lettin’ Go,” you surely get the feeling that UFO didn’t let the absence of Schenker stop them from delivering powerful, hard-driving statements. Their crunchy take of rockabilly standard “Mystery Train,” complete with Chapman’s tasty acoustic guitar antics to get things rolling, kicks dust in any suspicions about what the group had to offer.
The added live material may not measure up to the shadows of Strangers In The Night, though Chapman certainly holds his own on Schenker-era songs like “Only You Can Rock Me,” “Love To Love,” and even “Rock Bottom.” He was good for three more albums before leaving to collaborate with numerous outfits, including Pete Way’s Waysted. Schenker eventually drifted back to the UFO fold in the mid 90s before finally going his own way with various incarnations of the Michael Schenker Group. UFO carried on with guitarist Vinnie Moore until 2019, when the group more or less retired.
It’s nice to see No Place To Run take its place alongside a slew of reissues of UFO titles from the Schenker years. Can we expect reissues of 1981’s The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent, 1982’s Mechanix, and 1983’s Making Contact, all with Chapman, next? As interest in UFO’s history continues to compel and drawn the curious, it’s practically inevitable. Still, in the scope of UFO’s career, one can’t overemphasize the integral role No Place To Run played in sustaining the group’s status beyond Michael Schenker and Strangers In The Night. One spin through the reissue is all the convincing you need.
~ Shawn Perry
