Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter

Mott the Hoople 1974 Autumn Tour Programme

Page 4

[Mott The Hoople]
"Gotta Fight, Nothing Right,
Living Nowhere
Watch Out For The Gun,
Snake On The Run
Hide In My Hair
Keep Your Mouth Shut,
Or You'll Get Cut
I Like To Scare
I'm A Battery Louse,
Superstar Mouse
And I Don't Care
Get Off My Back,
Or I'll Attack...
I Don't Owe You Nothing
Head For Your Hole,
You're Sick And You're Old
And I'm Here
To Tell You Something..."

Mott's rock 'n' roll journey is almost over. They're home now... top of the bill on the Rock 'n' Roll Circus. Right where they've always meant to be.

They've fought hard and sometimes they've had to fight dirty. Don't talk to them about 'compromise', because Mott don't know what it means. Ask them, instead, about the hard times, the rough times... when nothing's been easy, and only optimism, nerve and aggression have pulled them through.

"Rock 'n' Roll's A Loser's Game
It Mesmerises And I Can't Explain
The Reason For The Sights
And For The Sounds
The Greasepaint Still Sticks To My Face
So What The Hell? I Can't Erase
The Rock 'n' Roll Feeling From My Mind..."

It ain't been easy...

One lazy summer afternoon, back in July '69 a London based rock 'n' roller by the name of Ian Hunter walked in off the streets to a rehearsal room, introduced himself to Overend Watts, 'Buffin', Mick Ralphs and Verden Allen, sat down alone at a piano and sang Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone".

Mott The Hoople - the band, and in its own special way, the legend - started there. Guy Stevens signed them to Island Records; soon after, before they'd ever stood on stage and played their music live, Mott released their debut Island Lp... "Mott The Hoople".

"Mad Shadows" followed, then "Wildlife" and "Brain Capers". Mott were building all the time.. coming to terms with the energy inside themselves, driving and shaping it forward along the right directions. Playing hard, all the time. Taming the fire and aggression that Ian had sparked in them all.

David Bowie was the key. He came down to a gig in Guildford, told Ian he wanted to work with them... the result, now for CBS Records, was an album entitled "All The Young Dudes" and a single - it made it to No. 3 in the British singles charts - by the same name.

Bowie gave them something special... not really anything you could put your finger on, but something vital to Mott's future that had failed to gell before. An attitude, maybe: a way of looking at themselves, and of finding - perhaps for the very first time - the true depth of music that lay within them.

Verden Allen had gone, and Bowie had moved off... early in 1973 Mott, working by themselves went into the studio to record their sixth album. The result, triumphantly was "Mott"... and hit singles by the names of "Honaloochie Boogie" and "All The Way Frfom Memphis". They made their first coast-to-coast bill-topping tour of the States (which they have now covered a further two times, including a week's stay at the Uris Theatre in New York - the first time a rock group has ever played on Broadway!).

[Ian and Ronno live (b/w)]