Moggs Motel, the new band from UFO frontman Phil Mogg, have released their first single and video. Apple Pie comes from the band's self-titled debut album, which will be released via SPV/Steamhammer on September 6, and finds Mogg in typically playful mood.
"Apple Pie is the first track off the Moggs Motel extravaganza," says Mogg, apparently happy to confirm that the band's name doesn't include an apostrophe. "It concerns the quest for a piece of the pie, namely 'Apple' because I would like a nice large creamy slice this time around. Also I would get to ride the pony while she's swishing her tail - how sweet is that!"
"I just need that elusive pie," he continues. "This track was conjured up towards the end of lockdown. This was our first get-together as a team, and a very jolly affair it was too - so enjoy the ride and get a bite... not a nibble please."
The Moggs Motel lineup also includes another former UFO man in guitarist and keyboardist Neil Carter plus Voodoo Six bassists/keyboardist Tony Newton, aided by drummer Joe Lazarus (Twin Atlantic, Vennart, Gun, Kavus Torabi, The Last Internationale) and guitarist Tommy Gentry (The Raven Age). The album was recorded at the Essex studio of Iron Maiden leader Steve Harris.
In September 2022, UFO's farewell tour was abandoned after Mogg suffered a heart attack and had stents placed into two arteries during surgery. Mogg had already announced that the tour would be his last with the band.
"Being out on the road isn’t always tremendously luxurious and although the playing is as great as it ever was, the stuff that surrounds it becomes very tiresome," he said in 2018. "I always told myself that when I reached that stage I would step down, and that's what I’m going to do. This is the right time for me to quit."
