The UFO Garage Rock Revival of 1978
The UFO Garage Rock Revival of 1978 was a music movement that started in the United States and spread to other countries. It was characterized by a return to the roots of rock music and a focus on simple, catchy melodies.
Introduction
It’s been said that all great things must come to an end. In the case of the garage rock revival of 1978, it came to an abrupt halt. That’s not to say that the music stopped altogether, but the momentous occasion that was the UFO garage rock revival fizzled out almost as quickly as it began.
In late 1977, a group of young musicians in London decided to start a band. They were inspired by the raw, unpolished sound of garage rock bands from the 1960s and set out to revive the genre. The band, which would come to be known as UFO, was made up of four members: Anthony Hegarty (vocals), Ian Dawnson (guitar), Paul Cook (bass), and Terry Day (drums).
The band’s sound was a unique blend of 60s garage rock and 70s punk rock. They were signed to CBS Records in 1977 and released their first single, “I Wanna Be Your Man”, in early 1978. The single received airplay on BBC Radio 1 and charted at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart.
Their self-titled debut album was released in May 1978 and reached number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. The album included their second single, “She’s So Fine”, which peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.
The band toured heavily in support of their album and were met with critical acclaim. They were hailed as one of the leaders of the garage rock revival and were credited with breathing new life into a genre that had been all but forgotten.
However, just as quickly as they had risen to fame, UFO came crashing back down to earth. Their follow-up album, “Strangers in the Night”, was released in November 1978 and failed to replicate the success of its predecessor. The album stalled at number 39 on the UK Albums Chart and produced no hit singles.
The band continued to tour throughout 1979 but failed to generate any more excitement or interest from fans or critics alike. They disbanded later that year and have since been largely forgotten. While they may not have enjoyed lasting success, UFO did leave behind a handful of tunes that are still worth revisiting today.
The Music
By 1978, the original garage rock sound of the 1960s had been mostly forgotten. Bands like the Stooges and the Sonics had been replaced by disco and arena rock. But a handful of bands in England and America decided to bring garage rock back. They started a musical movement that would come to be known as the UFO garage rock revival.
The Bands
The UFO garage rock revival of 1978 was a short-lived but influential movement in rock music, led by a number of bands who blended elements of punk rock and classic garage rock. The bands involved were mostly from the United States, but the style also had a following in Canada and Australia.
The most prominent bands of the UFO revival were the Flamin’ Groovies, the Beserkley home-recording collective (including such acts as Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, Earth Quake, and the Rubinoos), power pop pioneers Cheap Trick, and New York’s Dictators. These bands were often lumped together by music critics; however, they did not always consider themselves part of any movement or scene.
The UFO revival was named after a live album by the Flamin’ Groovies, originally released in 1971 and reissued in 1978. The album featured covers of 1960s garage rock classics such as “Flashback” by the Pebbles and “Action Woman” by the Litter, as well as original material. It was reissued on vinyl in 1978 by Aura Records, a short-lived subsidiary of A&M Records, with new artwork that depicted a flying saucer Crash-landing into San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district.
The reissue of the album coincided with a resurgence of interest in garage rock and 1960s culture in general. This was partly due to the success of Hotter than Hell, an album by Kiss that prominently featured elements of garage rock. The popularity of Hotter than Hell led to Kiss being dubbed “the clown princes of garage rock” by Robert Christgau in his review for Rolling Stone magazine. Christgau’s review helped to increase Kiss’s mainstream visibility, and Kiss subsequently became one of the most successful bands of the 1970s.
The sudden popularity of Kiss spurred record labels to sign other bands that they felt would appeal to fans of 1970s hard rock and heavy metal. One such band was Slade, a British group whose song “Cum On Feel the Noize” became a top ten hit in 1973. Slade’s success prompted Aura Records to sign them to a North American distribution deal, which led to their 1973 album Old New Borrowed and Blue being released in North America on Aura’s parent label A&M Records.
While Slade did not explicitly sound like a garage rock band, their image and style fit well with the increasing demand for more hard-edged music videos on television stations such as MTV. This increased demand eventually led to MTV adding more hard rock-oriented shows to its lineup, such as Headbangers Ball and Nocturnal Emissions.
The Songs
The UFO Garage Rock Revival of 1978 was a time when a new breed of garage rock band emerged. These bands took the sounds of the 60s and added a new twist, giving birth to a new genre of music. The following is a list of songs that defined this era.
– The Stooges – “I Wanna Be Your Dog”
– The Ramones – “Blitzkrieg Bop”
– MC5 – “Kick Out the Jams”
– Patti Smith Group – “Piss Factory”
– Television – “Marquee Moon”
– Richard Hell & The Voidoids – “Blank Generation”
– Talking Heads – “Psycho Killer”
– Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Watching the Detectives”
– The Clash – “Complete Control”
– Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers – “Born to Lose”
The Legacy
The UFO Garage Rock Revival of 1978 was a turning point in music history. It was the first time that a group of friends got together and decided to start a band. They had a shared love of music and wanted to create something new. The result was a sound that was raw, rough, and full of energy.
The Impact
In 1978, a group of musicians in England got together to start a band that would change the course of music history. The group, which came to be known as the UFO garage rock revival band, was inspired by the sounds of American garage rock and punk rock. The band’s first album, “The Legacy”, was released in 1978, and it quickly became a cult classic. The album’s raw energy and catchy hooks caught the attention of college radio DJs and music fans around the world. The band’s popularity exploded, and they became one of the most influential rock bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The Influence
The UFO Garage Rock Revival of 1978 was a turning point in the history of rock and roll. For the first time, a new generation of musicians had access to the same technology and records that their parents had grown up with. They were able to create a sound that was distinctly their own, while still paying homage to the music that had come before.
This revival sparked a new interest in garage rock and led to the release of some of the most influential albums of all time. The Legacy showcases the best of these albums, while also highlighting some of the key players in this movement. From The Stooges to The Ramones, this compilation is sure to please any fan of punk rock or garage rock.
