Released in May 1976 on Chrysalis Records, No Heavy Petting arrived during the peak of UFO’s legendary “Schenker era.” The line-up was exceptional: vocalist Phil Mogg, bassist Pete Way, drummer Andy Parker, guitar prodigy Michael Schenker, and newcomer Danny Peyronel on keyboards and backing vocals. Peyronel’s arrival was significant because it expanded UFO from a four-piece into a richer, more melodic five-piece unit for the first time. His keyboards added texture and depth without softening the band’s muscular sound.
The album was produced by Leo Lyons, bassist of Ten Years After, who had already guided UFO through Phenomenon and Force It. Recorded at Morgan Studios in London, the sessions captured a band operating with tremendous confidence. Lyons wisely avoided overproduction, allowing Schenker’s guitar tone to remain raw and expressive while giving Mogg’s vocals room to breathe. The result is an album that sounds organic even today — warm, loud, and alive in a way many modern rock records struggle to achieve.
The opening track, “Natural Thing,” is among the greatest hard rock introductions of the 1970s. Schenker’s opening riff explodes from the speakers with authority, while Mogg delivers one of his coolest vocal performances. The song perfectly balances aggression and melody, foreshadowing the blueprint later adopted by countless New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands. Even nearly fifty years later, “Natural Thing” still sounds thrillingly modern.
“I’m a Loser” follows with one of the album’s finest emotional turns. The song combines melancholy with power, and Schenker’s solo is extraordinary — lyrical, fluid, and emotionally charged without descending into excess. It is a reminder of why Michael Schenker became one of the most influential guitarists of his generation. His playing throughout No Heavy Petting is masterful not because it is flashy, but because every note serves the song.
Then there is “Belladonna,” arguably the emotional centerpiece of the album. A haunting power ballad years before such songs became an arena-rock cliché, it reveals UFO’s ability to create vulnerability without sacrificing intensity. Mogg sings with genuine longing while Schenker layers delicate guitar lines over Peyronel’s atmospheric keyboards. The track has aged beautifully and remains one of the band’s most beloved deep cuts. Several retrospective reviews still single it out as a career highlight.
Elsewhere, “Can You Roll Her” delivers lean, swaggering rock and roll, while “Reasons Love” contains another stunning Schenker solo that fans still praise decades later. “On with the Action” stretches into darker, moodier territory, showing the band experimenting with structure and atmosphere. Even “Martian Landscape,” one of the album’s strangest tracks, works because UFO fully commit to its smoky, late-night vibe.
Commercially, the record was modestly successful, reaching the lower end of the US Billboard charts. It never became a blockbuster, partly because UFO always seemed to exist slightly outside mainstream trends. They were too melodic for some heavy rock audiences, too hard-edged for pop radio, and often overshadowed by larger acts of the era. Yet this outsider status eventually became part of their appeal. Fans and musicians alike came to view UFO as a “musician’s band” — respected deeply even when commercial recognition lagged behind.
Over the past fifty years, No Heavy Petting has undergone a fascinating critical re-evaluation. At the time of release, some critics viewed it as a transitional album between Force It and the more polished Lights Out. But modern listeners often appreciate it precisely because of that transitional quality. It captures UFO in motion — still raw enough to feel dangerous, yet sophisticated enough to hint at the greatness still to come.
For longtime fans, it represents the sound of a great band sharpening its identity. For newcomers, it is one of the finest entry points into the world of classic 1970s hard rock. Either way, No Heavy Petting deserves its place among the era’s enduring cult classics.
Donnie’s Rating: 9/10
