MICHAEL SCHENKER On His Collaboration With AXL ROSE For 'My Years With UFO' Album: 'He Is A Perfectionist, I Have Noticed'

In a new interview with the "Appetite For Distortion" podcast, Michael Schenker discussed his upcoming album, "My Years With UFO", celebrating the 50th anniversary of Schenker's years with UFO. Asked why he decided to make the LP now, Schenker replied (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In '72 I joined UFO. I was 17 years old. In '73 we recorded 'Phenomenon'. In '74, it was released. So it's 50 years, a long time. And that's when it started with UFO. And, of course, that gave me the idea to celebrate, 50th anniversary. And I have also noticed in the past few years that re-releases, they had no information — they just had the name UFO and the songtitles, but there's no info, no details. And so I thought I'd take this opportunity to inform people, to re-educate or educate newcomers that have — maybe they sing the songs, but have no clue what it is. And also, [UFO's 1978 live album] 'Strangers In The Night' is basically the best of UFO. When we used to tour after 'Phenomenon', we would pick a couple of songs to play on tour, and then 'Force It' — every album we made, we would decide collectively which songs we are going to present live. And then by the time we did 'Strangers In The Night', we had that all together and basically it became best of UFO. And also, it just happened to be that most of the songs, the music, were written by myself. And so I wanted to also add that to the info and all together. And then, of course, invite famous musicians, singers and players that have been influenced and inspired by UFO and myself and celebrate with them. They were teenagers themselves or even younger than that, and they got inspired by that. And now II can have them. And it's a great pleasure to have those guys joining me on this album."

Regarding how he got GUNS N' ROSES members Slash and Axl Rose involved in the album, Schenker said: "Yeah, when Michael Voss, my co-producer, and I, we started putting down my guitars, and as we did that, we had no idea what we were gonna do… nothing had been discussed. And so as we were putting down the music, we thought, 'Oh, what about this?' 'What about that?' What about who?' Everybody had some ideas. And so, actually, everybody who participated on this album was added to the whole idea from different sources and different times. So, basically, with Axl and Slash — Slash, I was always interested in doing something with him, but I guess when Michael [Voss] first approached him that we're doing the best of UFO and read him the songtitles, he was for it. And when we met in the Frankfurt recording studio, we were both going jam there to 'Mother Mary'. And I had my technician there and my amplifier, and Slash brought his guys and his amplifier, and actually Slash ended up playing with my amplifier. And we were supposed to do a jam, but then I realized, 'Hey, Michael [Voss], I already put all my guitars down. Why we are wasting time doing additional stuff. I already like what I did.' So I was more into focusing on Slash and getting great takes and add them to what I already had done. And Slash liked that idea. And then also, when he came in, he said, 'Michael, I just told Axl that I was going to do this, and that I'm on my way to do this. And he said, 'I wanna sing a song too.' And I said to Slash, 'That would be fantastic. Ask Axl which song he would like to do.' And so actually Axl ended up singing 'Too Hot To Handle', 'Only You Can Rock Me' and 'Love To Love'. But I think they also were on tour at the time, and so Axl was not actually happy with his performance on 'Only You Can Rock Me' and 'Too Hot To Handle'. And I guess it was too many songs, because they were in the middle of a tour, and he preferred to just focus on 'Love To Love'. And he is a perfectionist, I have noticed, and so we waited until he was ready, and then finally he went, 'Okay, 'love to love'. I approve. You can release it. And that was it."

Produced by Schenker and Voss, the new album marks the 50th anniversary of Schenker's era with UFO, spanning from 1972 to 1978. The "German Wunderkind" was asked to join UFO at just 17 years old. Touring the globe as a teenager, Schenker became a driving force behind some of UFO's most loved tracks, such as "Doctor Doctor", "Rock Bottom" and "Only You Can Rock Me".

Although Michael Schenker's era with UFO spanned only six years, his influence as a young songwriter and exceptional guitarist had already left a lasting mark on rock. During these meteoric years, the UFO albums "Phenomenon", "Force It", "No Heavy Petting", "Lights Out", "Obsession" and the seminal live album "Strangers In The Night" were recorded, each contributing significantly to the genre. "Strangers In The Night" particularly stands out as one of the most influential live rock albums of all time and is still regarded as a cornerstone in any rock enthusiast's collection.

In this celebratory album, Michael Schenker presents 11 of UFO's greatest hits from this magical era with an impressive lineup of guest stars. Joining Schenker on this journey are Derek Sherinian on keyboards, Brian Tichy on drums, and Barry Sparks on bass.

The stellar roster of guest artists includes Axl Rose (GUNS N' ROSES),Slash (GUNS N' ROSES),Kai Hansen (HELLOWEEN),Roger Glover (DEEP PURPLE),Joey Tempest (EUROPE),Biff Byford (SAXON),Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY),John Norum (EUROPE),Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER),Joel Hoekstra (WHITESNAKE),Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW),Carmine Appice (VANILLA FUDGE, CACTUS),Adrian Vandenberg (WHITESNAKE),Michael Voss, Stephen Pearcy (RATT) and Erik Grönwall (SKID ROW).

This album is the introduction to an upcoming trilogy, as Michael Schenker has signed an exclusive three-album deal with earMUSIC, with additional albums to follow in 2025 and 2026.

"My Years With UFO" will be released worldwide on September 20 via earMUSIC and is available for pre-order.

"My Years With UFO" track listing:

01. Natural Thing (feat. Dee Snider, Joel Hoekstra)
02. Only You Can Rock Me (feat. Joey Tempest, Roger Glover)
03. Doctor, Doctor (feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Carmine Appice)
04. Mother Mary (feat. Slash, Erik Grönwall)
05. This Kids (feat. Biff Byford)
06. Love To Love (feat. Axl Rose)
07. Lights Out (feat. Jeff Scott Soto, John Norum)
08. Rock Bottom (feat. Kai Hansen)
09. Too Hot To Handle (feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Adrian Vandenberg, Carmine Appice)
10. Let It Roll (feat. Michael Voss)
11. Shoot, Shoot (feat. Stephen Pearcy)

A little over three years ago, Michael detailed events which led to his final exit from UFO in 2002, saying that "the natural flow of the chemistry was destroyed" by the time he left the band.

Schenker, whose original tenure with the British rock institution lasted from 1973 to 1978, rejoined UFO in 1993, recording the "Walk On Water" (1995) album with the classic lineup of the band that also included lead singer Phil Mogg, bassist Pete Way, drummer Andy Parker, and guitarist/keyboardist Paul Raymond.

Explaining how the reunion came about, Michael told Eonmusic: "Phil Mogg came to Los Angeles in '93, begging me to refuel UFO because he completely had destroyed it. I said, 'I have a few conditions. One is, you have to give me 50 percent of the UFO name so you don't destroy it again, especially if I put my energy into it."

The onetime SCORPIONS man went on to say that initially, things were great within the camp, and that he noticed a change in the formerly dejected Mogg almost immediately. "I tell you, when I saw Phil the next time when we started recording, he looked like an one hundred and eighty degree different person," Schenker said. "He was happy, healthy. He was unbelievably fit."

But it was a harmony that wasn't to last. "'Walk On Water' was a blessing after 17 years," Michael said. "It was such a beautiful record that famously carried on from 'Strangers In The Night' [1979]. And then, of course, we went on the road, and then Phil lost it, and wanted control again and destroyed everything."

Despite going on to record two further albums with the band — 2000's "Covenant" and 2002's "Sharks", Michael said that it was further lineup changes (the ousting of both Parker and Raymond) which ultimately destroyed the band.

"I always said to him, 'Never do a reunion with UFO unless it's the original setup, including the producer,'" Michael said. "Because if you take one piece out, the chemistry is finished."

Bringing in producer Mike Varney for "Sharks" in place of Ron Nevinson, the man behind their greatest '70s triumphs, for Michael, the end was nigh. "I said to Phil, 'Don't do this. It will backfire. It will not succeed.' And it did not. The natural flow of the chemistry was destroyed, and basically, we were just limping towards the end."

Despite this, Michael made one final gesture of good will toward Mogg. "I'd had enough of UFO at that point, and in 2002, Phil Mogg asked me, 'Michael, I need the name UFO back.' I said to Phil, 'You know what? God bless you. I'll give you the name back for free. Enjoy your life.' And then that was it. That was the end of it."

Photo credit: Tallee Savage