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Mott the Hoople were a 1970s British rock and roll and glam rock band with strong R & B roots. They are perhaps best known for the song "All the Young Dudes" written for them by their fan David Bowie, and the similarly entitled 1972 album.

History

The Early Years

In 1968, Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Pete "Overend" Watts and Dale "Buffin" Griffin formed a band called Silence, playing near Hereford, Herefordshire, England. Adding high-voiced lead singer Stan Tippens in 1969, the band recorded early tracks at a studio in Monmouth, later dominated by Love Sculpture and Dave Edmunds. Stan was soon injured and could not sing, but the band lobbied and eventually signed with Island Records, and moved to London to record with Guy Stevens as producer.

Stevens changed the band's name to "Mott the Hoople" from a novel of the same name by Willard Manus. The book is about an eccentric that works in a circus freak show. The band also recruited a new singer and also a piano boogieman, Ian Hunter, who had replied to a music magazine advertisement, which read "Singer wanted, must be image-minded and hungry." Tippens became the road manager for the band. Mott the Hoople (1969) was a cult success, that included memorable cover versions of "Laugh At Me" (Sonny Bono), and an instrumental version of "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks).

The second album, Mad Shadows (1970), sold poorly and received generally negative reviews; as did Wildlife (1971). Even allowing for the fact that the group was building a decent following, Brain Capers (1971) also did not do well, and the band was close to breaking up.

The Glam Years

David Bowie had long been a fan of the band, and heard that they were about to split. Bowie convinced them to stay together, and offered them "Suffragette City" (off his then massively popular Ziggy Stardust). They refused the song and Bowie wrote "All the Young Dudes" for them instead. Released as a single in July 1972, it was a major success in the UK, with the band using Tippens to sing the higher notes of its chorus during live gigs. A Bowie-produced album, also called All the Young Dudes, sold well. Late in 1972 the band was going to record another Bowie song, "Drive-In Saturday", but their intended arrangement dissatisfied the composer, and their professional relationship effectively ended. Another casualty in the wake of All the Young Dudes was Verden Allen, who departed before the release of their next album, Mott.

Mott climbed into the Top Ten of the UK album charts, and became the band's best seller to date in the US. It yielded two UK hits, "Honaloochie Boogie", and "All the Way from Memphis", both featuring Andy Mackay of Roxy Music on saxophone. "All the Way From Memphis" is also featured in the movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.

Mott the Hoople's new-found popularity ultimately helped lead to the band's break-up, perhaps helped along by an exposé in New Musical Express of Tippens' role in singing the chorus of "All the Young Dudes", from a hidden microphone backstage. Ralphs left in 1973 to form Bad Company and was replaced by former Spooky Tooth guitarist Luther Grosvenor. For contractual reasons, he changed his name to Ariel Bender for his stint with the band. At the same time, former Love Affair member Morgan Fisher joined as keyboardist.

In the afterglow of The Hoople (1974), a live album was quickly released, after which Mick Ronson replaced Bender. The end was nigh when both Ronson and Hunter left the group to form a duo. Ray Major and Nigel Benjamin were added to continue the group, which abbreviated its name to Mott.

The Post-Hunter Years

This lineup released two more albums, Drive On (1975) and Shouting and Pointing (1976), both of which sold poorly. Mott added John Fiddler and became British Lions in 1978, but they soon split as well, likewise without any chart success. Hunter and Ronson worked and toured together sporadically until Ronson's death in 1993. Hunter continued his solo career.

No Mott the Hoople reunion has ever occurred, though all parties have shown some interest in the idea over the last 25 years or so. At this late date a full reunion seems unlikely, although in 2002 and 2004, Mick Ralphs toured with Ian Hunter, as part of Hunter's backing band.

In 2005 it was reported in the publication Classic Rock, that Hunter had received an offer for a seven figure number to reform the band.

Band personnel

Trivia

  • In 1974, for their tour of America, Mott the Hoople were supported by the band Queen. This tour later provided the inspiration for Queen's 1975 single "Now I'm Here," which contains the lyric "Down in the city, just Hoople and me." The song became a live favourite of Queen fans and reached number 11 in the UK singles chart. The tour resulted in a lifelong friendship between the two bands, with Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson and David Bowie performing "All the Young Dudes" at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992.

Mott the Hoople albums

Mott the Hoople singles

Mott albums

British Lions albums

External links

English musical groups | Rock music groups

Mott the Hoople | Mott The Hoople | Mott the Hoople | Mott the Hoople

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Mott the Hoople".

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