Don’t be duped by the PR bluster: “Lights is UFO’s seminal breakthrough album.” That honour, natch, goes to 1979 double-live masterwork Additionally, the claim that the title track offers “an urgent portrayal of dystopian London” on a par withis a claim too far. Yes, (the song) might at its core be about the Notting Hill riots of ’76. Its anti-authoritarian vibe is undeniable. But equally – and you can imagine frontman Phil Mogg saying this, with a wicked glint in his eye – it could’ve been inspired by the singer’s hunt for a Zippo after he unwittingly spilled a can of Stella over his, er, fuse box. Certainly, albumcover design supremos Hipgnosis plumped for the electric option, depicting Mogg and guitarist Michael Schenker lurking inside London’s Battersea Power Station.
