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    RockChat Rewind with Joe Milliken
    On this day (July 16) in 1974 the British rock band UFO released their fourth studio album on the Chrysalis label, titled “Force It.” Produced by Leo Lyons (Ten Years After, Procol Harum) and recorded at Morgan Studios and Wessex Sound Studios in London, “Force It became the band’s first album to crack the Billboard album chart (#70) in America.
    Lyons was also the bass player for the band Ten Years After, and he brought in his Ten Years’ band mate, Chick Churchill, to play keyboards on the album. The other (original) band members include Phil Mogg on vocals, Michael Schenker on guitar, Pete Way on bass and Andy Parker on guitar.
    A very melodic, hard rock album, “Force It” is a unique combination of hard rock (“Shoot Shoot,” “Dance Your Life Away,” “Let It Roll”,) and beautiful, flowing ballads such as (“High Flyer,” “Out In The Street” and “Mother Mary”).
    The original album cover, created by Hipgnosis, was controversial, featuring somewhat nude models in a bathtub and the gender of the couples were not known for many years. They were later revealed to by Genesis P-Orridge and his bandmate Cosay Fanni Tutti, who both became members of the industrial band Throbbing Gristle. The album artwork was altered for the US release. “Force It’ opened the door for UFO in America, and eventually went “gold” selling 500,000 copies worldwide.

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