Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star
Encyclopedia
Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star is
Ian Hunter
's famous written-as-it-happened account of Mott the Hoople
's 5 week November-December 1972 U.S. tour. The book was published 18 months later in June 1974, just as Hunter was leaving the band to embark on a solo career. It chronicles the endless traveling, hotels, sound checks, performances and, notably, strips away the glittering facade of the rock star that the music industry PR machine would have us believe.
Hunter delivers a distinctly British perspective as he encounters the diverse American cultural landscape. Already in his 30s and a show biz veteran, Hunter offers not only the usual clichés, but also mature, hard-won insights into the rock game.
As if aware of his own future career arc, Hunter warns, "It may look flashy, but it's over and you are finished before you know it - if you aren't already broken by one thing it will be another... The rock business is a dirty business full stop." (page 52, 1996 edition)
With Mott the Hoople riding a Top 5 hit song (the David Bowie
-penned "All The Young Dudes
") and sharing the MainMan Management "family" with rising superstar David, Hunter offers an inside look at Bowie circa late 1972. When their paths cross as on November 29th in Philadelphia before 2,000 fans, Bowie would join the band on stage to sing harmony on "Dudes". Hunter comments, "David looks tired, but great... he's the only star I know who regularly suffers from malnutrition... Innocence, cruelty, the nearness yet the distance, all the qualities of the star he is — only he knows what he pays for this coveted title, but I've sometimes caught glimpses of the sadness". (page 51, 1996 edition)
Out of print for years and difficult to find, Diary achieved cult
status. Eventually, Ian's wife Trudi bought the rights as a surprise for Ian.
A near identical Diary was re-published in 1996 by International Music Press with a new foreword by Andrew Collins
. A review in the October 1996 issue of Q magazine ventured that it "may well be the best rock book ever".
In April 1996, Per Stam presented a scholarly paper at the First Conference of the Graduate Program in Literature (Uppsala, Sweden) comparing Diary with Umberto Eco
's "Travels in Hyperreality
". Mr. Stam also stated that Diary served as a rough template for Spinal Tap
's ill-fated 1984 tour. But, unlike Tap, Mott was a real band on the way up.
Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (singer)
Ian Hunter Patterson is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer of the English rock band Mott the Hoople from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and he again fronted them at the time of their 2009 reunion. Hunter was a musician and songwriter before Mott The Hoople, and...
's famous written-as-it-happened account of Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople were a British rock band with strong R&B roots, popular in the glam rock era of the early to mid 1970s. They are popularly known for the song "All the Young Dudes", written for them by David Bowie and appearing on their 1972 album of the same name.-The early years:Mott The Hoople...
's 5 week November-December 1972 U.S. tour. The book was published 18 months later in June 1974, just as Hunter was leaving the band to embark on a solo career. It chronicles the endless traveling, hotels, sound checks, performances and, notably, strips away the glittering facade of the rock star that the music industry PR machine would have us believe.
Hunter delivers a distinctly British perspective as he encounters the diverse American cultural landscape. Already in his 30s and a show biz veteran, Hunter offers not only the usual clichés, but also mature, hard-won insights into the rock game.
As if aware of his own future career arc, Hunter warns, "It may look flashy, but it's over and you are finished before you know it - if you aren't already broken by one thing it will be another... The rock business is a dirty business full stop." (page 52, 1996 edition)
With Mott the Hoople riding a Top 5 hit song (the David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
-penned "All The Young Dudes
All the Young Dudes
All the Young Dudes is an album by Mott the Hoople, released in 1972. Their initial album for the CBS Records label , it was a turning point for the then-struggling British band. They were about to break up when David Bowie stepped in and gave them the song "All the Young Dudes"...
") and sharing the MainMan Management "family" with rising superstar David, Hunter offers an inside look at Bowie circa late 1972. When their paths cross as on November 29th in Philadelphia before 2,000 fans, Bowie would join the band on stage to sing harmony on "Dudes". Hunter comments, "David looks tired, but great... he's the only star I know who regularly suffers from malnutrition... Innocence, cruelty, the nearness yet the distance, all the qualities of the star he is — only he knows what he pays for this coveted title, but I've sometimes caught glimpses of the sadness". (page 51, 1996 edition)
Out of print for years and difficult to find, Diary achieved cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
status. Eventually, Ian's wife Trudi bought the rights as a surprise for Ian.
A near identical Diary was re-published in 1996 by International Music Press with a new foreword by Andrew Collins
Andrew Collins (broadcaster)
Andrew Collins is the creator and writer of Radio 4 sitcom Mr Blue Sky. His TV writing work includes EastEnders and the sitcoms Grass and Not Going Out .-Personal life:Collins was a member of the Labour Party between the late 1980s and early 1990s, leaving after Labour's...
. A review in the October 1996 issue of Q magazine ventured that it "may well be the best rock book ever".
In April 1996, Per Stam presented a scholarly paper at the First Conference of the Graduate Program in Literature (Uppsala, Sweden) comparing Diary with Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
's "Travels in Hyperreality
Hyperreality
Hyperreality is used in semiotics and postmodern philosophy to describe a hypothetical inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy, especially in technologically advanced postmodern societies...
". Mr. Stam also stated that Diary served as a rough template for Spinal Tap
Spinal Tap (band)
Spinal Tap is a parody heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner...
's ill-fated 1984 tour. But, unlike Tap, Mott was a real band on the way up.
External links
- Per Stam's Essay Travels in Hyperreality or Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star
