Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Michael Schenker revisits the UFO classics in Helsinki
‘Natural Thing’ wastes no time setting the tone. As Michael Schenker steps under the lights at Helsinki’s historic House of Culture, the message is clear: this tour is a celebration of the guitarist’s classic years with UFO. Backed by a tight band and a setlist built around UFO’s 1970s catalogue, the evening quickly becomes a nostalgic journey through one of hard rock’s most influential eras. The Scandinavian leg of Michael Schenker’s My Years with UFO 50th Anniversary Tour began in Finland. The opening concert took place at the historic House of Culture in Helsinki and was the first of three shows scheduled in the country on this run, with additional dates in Tampere and Jyväskylä in the coming days. However, three concerts in a relatively small market may have been a bit too ambitious this time, as despite Schenker’s long career and the tour’s focus on his UFO years, House of Culture was only about half full. Even so, the atmosphere among the audience was enthusiastic rather than subdued.
This tour looks back at a catalogue that helped shape hard rock and heavy metal. Yet unlike many legacy tours, it still has a sense of urgency. There is nostalgia, of course, but also real energy. The Helsinki crowd may be smaller than expected, but it is clearly engaged. After the intro tape of ‘Immigrant Song’ by Led Zeppelin, Schenker appears under the lights: no leather jacket, sleeves rolled up, a Flying V slung low. His white hair is hidden beneath a fluffy hat decorated with sunglasses and a scarf. His arms are bare except for tattoos and an elbow brace. He walks to the front of the stage with quiet confidence. The band locks in behind him and immediately launches into ‘Natural Thing’, the 1976 standout from No Heavy Petting. The riff is tight, the tempo urgent, and the crowd responds immediately. Schenker’s fingers move across the fretboard with practiced ease, though the guitar is sometimes buried in the mix. The rhythm section sits slightly too far forward, leaving the guitars underpowered. For a guitarist known for melodic phrasing and expressive solos, the balance is slightly frustrating.
Still, it doesn’t slow the momentum. ‘Only You Can Rock Me’ follows, and the band begins to settle. By the time they reach ‘Hot and Ready’, the rhythm section has found its groove and the audience is fully involved. A shared energy spreads through the venue as the crowd sings along. The lineup Schenker has assembled for this tour is solid. On vocals is Greek-German vocalist R.D. Liapakis, stepping into the role once held by Phil Mogg. Known for his work with Mystic Prophecy, Steel Prophet, and sessions with Powerwolf, Liapakis brings a strong voice and energetic stage presence. He approaches the material in his own way rather than trying to imitate earlier singers.
Comparisons with the long list of Michael Schenker’s vocalists are inevitable. Over the years, Schenker has worked with Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley, Doogie White, and, more recently, Erik Grönwall. Each brought a distinct character to the band. Liapakis handles the songs competently, though he lacks some of the charisma associated with earlier MSG frontmen. His vocals also suffer from the muddy mix—a point echoed by many in the audience.
The band’s backbone lies in its rhythm section, though it’s worth highlighting guitarist and keyboardist Steve Mann, also known from the British band Lionheart. Mann has worked with Schenker since the mid-1980s, when he joined the McAuley-Schenker Group lineup alongside vocalist Robin McAuley—a band that also featured drummer Bodo Schopf. That era produced albums such as Perfect Timing (1987) and Save Yourself (1989), two of the more melodic records in Schenker’s catalogue that many fans would gladly hear revisited live. On stage, Mann provides steady rhythm guitar and subtle keyboards that support the songs without overcrowding them. Bassist Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian, Tank) handles the bass with a powerful tone that occasionally dominates the mix, particularly on stage right, but keeps the songs moving forward.
When the band launches into ‘Doctor Doctor’, the reaction is immediate. The audience sings every line while Schenker’s solo cuts through more clearly than earlier in the set. Schenker was only 18 when he wrote the track, which later became one of UFO’s best-known songs. Midway through the set, the band shifts gears with ‘Lipstick Traces’, the acoustic instrumental from Phenomenon. It flows directly into ‘Between the Walls’, paired with ‘This Kid’. The acoustic-to-electric transition provides a quieter moment and briefly changes the atmosphere in the hall. ‘Love to Love’ follows and becomes one of the evening’s highlights. Mann’s keyboards create space for the vocal melody before Schenker’s guitar takes over with a restrained, melodic lead.
From there, the set builds again with ‘Let It Roll’, ‘Can You Roll Her’, and ‘Reasons Love’, deeper cuts that still resonate with longtime fans. The inevitable finale arrives with ‘Rock Bottom’. Despite the guitar sitting slightly low in the mix, the song still lands effectively, its extended solo section giving Schenker room to stretch out.
The band returns quickly for an encore. ‘Shoot Shoot’ (Force It) is dedicated to Schenker’s late UFO bandmates Pete Way and Paul Raymond, both key figures in the band’s classic era. The final song of the evening, ‘Too Hot to Handle’, closes the set on a straightforward high-energy note. As the lights come up at Helsinki’s House of Culture, the audience seems satisfied. The sound mix was uneven at times, but the material itself carries the evening.
The evening focused heavily on UFO’s most celebrated albums, including Phenomenon, Force It, No Heavy Petting, Lights Out, and Obsession. Songs like ‘Only You Can Rock Me’, ‘Lights Out‘, ‘Doctor Doctor’, ‘Love to Love‘, and the epic main closer ‘Rock Bottom’ were greeted with loud approval, even if the guitar sound was occasionally buried in the mix.
There’s no denying that Schenker’s set was packed with strong ’70s-era UFO classics, and they remain great songs. A few deeper cuts also made the setlist, including ‘Can You Roll Her’ and ‘Reasons Love’. At the same time, however, many of these tracks have been staples of Schenker’s live repertoire for decades and have appeared on numerous tours over the years.
Still, the strength of the material and Schenker’s distinctive playing ensured that the show delivered exactly what most fans had come to hear: a reminder of how influential those classic UFO songs remain. Schenker remains a distinctive guitarist whose influence runs through much of hard rock. After more than five decades, the catalogue still holds together well on stage. In Helsinki, the evening was less about spectacle and more about revisiting songs that have stood the test of time.
Considering this was already the second leg of the tour, the setlist might have benefited from a bit more variety. Including material from UFO’s 1990s comeback albums could have added an interesting twist. In my book, Walk on Water remains one of the band’s strongest later-period albums, yet it still feels somewhat underrated. Songs like ‘Push to the Limit’ or ‘Venus’ could easily have brought some welcome variety to the set.
It will be interesting to see what comes next once the My Years with UFO concept eventually concludes. Schenker is now well into his seventies, though he has rarely been short of ideas. Over the past two decades alone, we’ve seen several different versions of the Michael Schenker Group, along with separate projects such as Temple of Rock and Michael Schenker Fest, both of which revisited different eras of his career with rotating line-ups and guest vocalists.
New music is always possible, but a tour revisiting the early Michael Schenker Group catalogue—or even the long-rumoured McAuley-Schenker Group reunion—would likely attract considerable interest. With Schenker, however, the next move has never been easy to predict. That unpredictability has been part of his appeal for more than fifty years.
SETLIST
Natural Thing
Only You Can Rock Me
Hot ‘n’ Ready
Doctor Doctor
Mother Mary
I’m a Loser
This Kid’s
Lights Out
Lipstick Traces / Between the Walls / Belladonna
Love to Love
Let It Roll
Can You Roll Her
Reasons Love
Rock Bottom
Shoot Shoot
Too Hot to Handle
