During a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Phil Mogg revealed that UFO won’t have a last show.
“Oh, there’s so many permutations on that one. Not really, because I can’t see it happening in such a way that it would be worthy of doing,” the singer replied when asked if UFO will have one more concert to say goodbye. “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.”
Mogg continued, “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 would be too difficult.”
UFO officially ended their career after more than 50 years. “I think it’s come to a conclusion,” Mogg confirmed in an April chat with Ultimate Classic Rock. “We did that last U.K. tour in 2019, just before COVID. So that was kind of the end of it and the time was right.”
UFO wanted a big goodbye. They began their farewell tour in 2019 for their 50th anniversary. It was extended to 2022, with the last show on October 29 in Athens, Greece.
Right before the last show, the vocalist had a heart attack and couldn’t perform. The tour was canceled, and their last concert was on July 16, 2022, in Germany. Mogg gave a health update on Facebook in October 2022, writing, “Thank you all for my Get Well messages. I am in the recovery position at the moment, which involves doing not very much and being catered for, which I will drag out for as long as possible before I’m rumbled.”
He added, “I haven’t managed to get the full blanket bath yet – apparently, I’m quite capable of washing my bits myself. Going for an assessment next month and have a bit of a sing in the studio, so fingers crossed, I might get a gig singing down the newly formed Stent Club; who knows what’s around the corner? Tally Ho!”
Mogg also said last month that UFO has no plans to return to the stage after their retirement in April. He mentioned that the band lost its momentum after bassist Pete Way passed away in 2020 due to injuries from an accident. He feels like bringing the band back wouldn’t feel right after his death.