Ian Hunter (singer)
Encyclopedia
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 he continued in this vein after he left the band. As the leading figure in Mott The Hoople, but facing ill health and disillusioned with commercial success, he embarked on a solo career, often in collaboration with Mott The Hoople's guitarist Mick Ronson
, who was well-known as David Bowie
's sideman and arranger from the Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars period.
Mott The Hoople achieved a certain level of commercial success and attracted a small but devoted fan base. As a solo artist, Hunter at times made the charts with lesser-known but more wide-ranging works outside the rock mainstream. Among his best-known solo records are "Once Bitten, Twice Shy
" (later covered by Great White
) and "Cleveland Rocks
," made famous from a cover version on the American TV series The Drew Carey Show
.
and Colin Broom at Butlin's Holiday Camp, where the trio won a talent competition performing "Blue Moon
" on acoustic guitars. York and Broom were members of a Northampton-based band called The Apex Group, fronted by bass player and band leader Frank Short. Ian soon left his home in Shrewsbury, transferred his apprenticeship from Sentinel/Rolls Royce to British Timken in Northampton, and joined The Apex Group on rhythm guitar. Ian recalls jumping around like a lunatic on stage: "Music affected me so much. The rest of them just stood there. It was funny, I had kids who came just to watch me do this, and I can't imagine what it looked like."
Hunter left The Apex Group in 1958, just before they recorded their first single "Yorkshire Relish, Caravan" for John Lever Records. (Lever, the owner of a local record shop, had recently joined as the band's drummer). Ian kicked around in a few local groups, but eventually his financial situation forced a change. "I wasn't making my hire-purchase payments, and 'little jobs' were getting done and people were getting smacked. I was never in the middle of it, but I was always somewhere in the area." He returned to Shrewsbury, ostensibly to become more responsible in his personal life, and settled down enough to have a steady girlfriend in Diane Coles. Outside his day job with McGowans fruit and vegetable company, he formed a harmonica duo with Tony Wardle, inspired by Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang, a local variety act.
Once out of debt and seemingly settled, Ian returned to Northampton and The Apex Group. Diane soon followed and the two married and settled in St James End. Their first child, Stephen, was born there in 1962. Tensions were in the air though, both musically and in his personal life. While his wife attended to home life, Hunter resumed his wild ways with his Northampton mates.
Although The Apex Group had steady regional work at clubs and military bases, Hunter eventually bristled at the formality of The Apex Group, who wore matching stage jackets and were moving increasingly toward an R&B-like stage review. So in 1963, while still a group member, Ian formed his own band in direct competition to them: Hurricane Henry and the Shriekers, with Tony Marriott on drums and Julian Coulter on guitar. They worked steadily in Northampton and eventually attracted the attention of pianist and frontman Freddie 'Fingers' Lee. Lee joined in March 1964 and Ian moved from frontman to bass player. Eventually, Frank Short learned of Hunter's duplicity and he was kicked out of The Apex Group.
It was during this period – late 1963 or early 1964 – that The Apex recorded a second disc for John Lever records, released as The Apex Rhythm & Blues All Stars. The four-song EP
included their own "Tall Girl", and covers of Chuck Berry
's "Reeling and A'Rocking", "Down the Road A'piece", also recorded by Berry and later The Rolling Stones
, and "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs. Hunter probably does not appear on this record; the EP was recorded around the time Hunter left the group for the second time.
At Freddie Lee's suggestion, The Shriekers began taking jobs in Germany, playing the same clubs where the Beatles had cut their teeth a few years earlier. In an interview taped in 2004 Hunter volunteers that Lee and their gigs in Hamburg
were a major turning point, when he first began to "think maybe I could do this instead of working in factories."
In 1966 Hunter moved to London, where he joined The Scenery with guitarist Miller Anderson
, drummer Dave Dufort
, and keyboard player Dante Smith. Within a year Anderson introduced Hunter to another guitarist, Mick Ronson
, whom Hunter would later collaborate with a great deal since Ian was keen on Mick when he first met him. Ian first saw Mick when Miller took him to see Ronson's band, the Voice at the Swan public house in Tottenham. A few months later Hunter and Ronson actually met when Anderson introduced them when Mick was playing in another band, The Rats, at the Flamingo Club
in London. According to Anderson, "Mick was coming down the stairs . . . and we were going up and I said, `Mick, this is my friend, Ian Patterson.'" By 1967 Smith and Dufort had left The Scenery while John Vernon Smith joined on drums. The Scenery recorded some material with Bill Farley at Regent Sound, but without knowing about a release, two Scenery tracks were licensed overseas. Hunter and Anderson both remember writing and recording "To Make a Man Cry," but neither artist recalls the B-side "Thread of Time." Scenery drummer John Vernon Smith appears on the picture sleeve, but Johnny Banks from The Merseybeats played on the record. Miller recollects that Johnny Gustafson was also included in the session work. Released on the Impact label, it is unclear whether they originated from France or Belgium. Both are marked BIEM, which administered royalties in both countries prior to the formation of SACEM in France (1972) and SABAM in Belgium. The Impact label appears to have issued records in both countries. In any case, by early 1968, The Scenery had run its course and Miller Anderson joined Dave Dufort in Paper Blitz Tissue.
By 1968 Hunter remained in the band to back up Freddie Lee in the At Last The 1958 Rock and Roll Show, along with drummer Pete Phillipps and guitarist Chris Mayfield. The group got a regular booking at The Angel in Edmonton, and drew interest from both Chrysalis Records
and NEMS but the group was never signed by either. Mayfield was replaced by the ever travelling Miller Anderson, and the group released a single on CBS called "I Can't Drive." As the short-lived rock and roll
revival began to wane, At Last the 1958 Rock and Roll Show changed its name to Charlie Woolfe and released a final single, "Dance, Dance, Dance".
Hunter played sporadically with various other artists throughout the 1960s, including The Young Idea, Billy Fury
and David McWilliams. In late 1968 Mickie Most
hired Hunter and Dufort to play in a band that was to be called "The New Yardbirds" – a name that Jimmy Page
had been using for his post-Yardbirds
group before discarding it in favour of "Led Zeppelin
". This led confused fans to think Hunter had been a member of Led Zeppelin
. Explained Hunter: "See this is rubbish, but people read it and believe it." Hunter also worked as a journalist and staff songwriter for the firm Francis, Day & Hunter (no relation). Other jobs he took during these years included road-digging for a local council, and reporting for a local newspaper. During the same early years of Hunter's obscurity, Hereford's Shakedown Sound gigged in roughly the same circles as Ian but without any sort record company interest at all. Ian and the band were to meet up presently.
joined organist Verden Allen in Jimmy Cliff
's backing band, The Shakedown Sound. Eventually Ralphs, Allen, vocalist Stan Tippins, bassist Overend Watts, and drummer Dale Griffin united to become Silence, who auditioned for British impresario Guy Stevens
. Silence soon renamed themselves after a novel by Willard Manus
, published in 1966: Mott The Hoople. Lacking a credible singer with stage presence according to Stevens, the band auditioned a considerably seasoned Hunter, who auditioned for the band on a lark. By this time Hunter had taken to wearing the sunglasses that have long since become his trademark (photos of him without his "shades" are rare). The band was a critical success in the UK; some of the earliest and most dedicated early fans of the band included future members of the Clash. However, they could not sustain their commercial appeal, and their early American tours on the east and west coasts were slow in building a following. After releasing several LPs, Mott attracted enthusiastic live audiences but dismal sales despite the svengali-like leadership and promotion of their manager, Guy Stevens. After a dreary 1972 concert in a "gas cylinder" in Switzerland, the band announced their end.
David Bowie, a fan of the band, offered them a song he had just written. As Hunter recalled in a 2004 DVD interview, "He offered us "Suffragette City
", which I didn't think was good enough. And then he sat down on the floor, Regent Street it was, in a publisher's office, and plays 'All The Young Dudes
' on an acoustic guitar." It shot to No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart
and Mott had new life. The band generally were appreciative of Bowie, who had rescued them from an early demise. The guitarist Mick Ralphs relates that Bowie taught Mott studio tricks, but one of the best-known sounds during the period was a 'hand-clap-in-the-toilet' routine that relied more on Hunter's vision than it did on Bowie's clearly more experienced studio abilities. Mick Ronson, Bowie's guitarist, also significantly contributed to Mott's sound, a fact noticed by Hunter who would later collaborate a great deal with him, although Hunter had actually met Mick years before in a pre-Bowie band.
The post-Bowie Mott the Hoople then had notable commercial success with the albums All the Young Dudes
(1972, produced by Bowie); Mott (1973) and The Hoople (1974). The band began to score financially with songs such as "Roll Away The Stone", "Golden Age Of Rock´n´Roll", "Honaloochie Boogie", "All The Way From Memphis", "Saturday Gigs", and especially "All The Young Dudes". Hunter chronicled the highs and lows of touring in his self-penned "Diary of A Rock'n'Roll Star", his journal of a chaotic five-week American tour in November – December 1972. When in 1973 original lead guitarist Mick Ralphs left to form Bad Company
, Hunter began to play guitar until a replacement could be found but at the same time he was increasingly pressured to write hits for the band. Luther Grosvenor
took over as lead guitarist.
Grosvenor, aka Ariel Bender, was briefly replaced by Mick Ronson (formerly the leading member of Bowie's backing band The Spiders from Mars
) after the release of a live album following The Hoople. However, Hunter left the band in December 1974. The remaining members carried on under the names Mott and British Lions.
On 16 January 2009, it was announced by several sources, including Hunter's own website, that Mott the Hoople would be re-uniting for two concerts at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, on 2 and 3 October 2009. Having sold out for these two dates, three additional dates were added. In the end Mott the Hoople actually played 2 warm up gigs in Monmouth the 5 nights at the Hammersmith Apollo and made a final appearance at the Tartan Clefs Charity night at the Kelvin Hall that November
was the UK Top 40 hit "Once Bitten Twice Shy". Hunter and Ronson then parted professionally (reportedly due to Hunter's refusal to have to deal with Ronson's manager at the time, Tony DeFries
). Hunter's second solo album, All American Alien Boy
, was a more soul
-infused work, featuring saxophonist David Sanborn
, bassist Jaco Pastorius
, and, on one track, Queen
(one-time opening act for Mott the Hoople) on backing vocals. With his next album Overnight Angels
(produced by Roy Thomas Baker
and featuring former Bowie sideman Earl Slick
on lead guitar), Hunter opted for a heavier guitar sound. Hunter's record label in America, Columbia Records
, refused to release the album in the US. According to Ian Hunter, this was due not so much to dissatisfaction on Columbia's part towards the record, but to issues concerning Hunter's management at the time: "Overnight Angels was not released in the US because I fired my manager, Fred Heller, during the English promotional tour – just before it was to be released in America. Columbia said they didn't want to release it until I had new management and that dragged on until it became too late."
Mick Ronson returned as producer and guitarist on Hunter's 1979 album You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic
, which also featured several members from Bruce Springsteen
's E Street Band
as well as John Cale
. Two songs from Schizophrenic became successes for other artists: in late 1979, "Ships" was covered by Barry Manilow
and became a top ten US hit, and in 1997, "Cleveland Rocks" was covered by the Presidents of the United States of America
(whose version was used as the theme song for The Drew Carey Show). "Cleveland Rocks" is arguably Hunter's most enduring solo song; it is seen as a de facto anthem in Cleveland, Ohio
(sometimes used as a victory song for the city's sports teams) and Hunter was given the key to the city by Cleveland mayor Dennis Kucinich
on 19 June 1979.
The bestselling status of Schizophrenic led to Hunter's record label at the time, Chrysalis Records
, commissioning the release of a double album, Welcome to the Club
(1980). Primarily a live album, it also features some original studio material. Hunter toured briefly with Todd Rundgren
on guitar in 1980, playing eleven shows on the East Coast. His first studio album of the 1980s was Short Back 'n' Sides
(1981), produced in collaboration with Mick Jones
(of The Clash
) and Mick Ronson. Ronson's input on Hunter's next album, All of the Good Ones Are Taken
(1983), was restricted to his playing guitar on only one track. The title track was a minor hit in the US after MTV put the song's video into what they called at the time 'heavy rotation', playing it over and over, every few hours. In the same year, Ronson travelled to Canada to produce a third album, Hammer on a Drum, for the Payolas (often written as 'The Payola$'). Hunter provided backing vocals on one of the tracks and Ronson contributed keyboards and vocals.
YUI Orta
was released as a joint-album by Hunter and Mick Ronson in 1990. The pair performed alongside David Bowie and Queen at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
in April 1992. A year later, Ronson died of liver cancer. Hunter wrote and recorded the song "Michael Picasso" as a tribute to Ronson; it was included on Hunter's 1996 album The Artful Dodger
, the follow-up to Dirty Laundry (1995). Hunter also appeared on Ronson's posthumously-released solo album, Heaven and Hull
(1994) and performed at the first Mick Ronson Memorial Concert in April 1994.
In 2001, Hunter toured North America with Ringo Starr
and his All-Starr Band as part of a line-up which included Ringo Starr, Sheila E.
, Greg Lake
, Howard Jones
, Roger Hodgson
, and Mark Rivera
. Hunter' next studio album, Rant
, released the same year, received wide critical acclaim, and was followed by two live albums: 2004's Strings Attached (with a 20-piece orchestra accompanying Hunter), and 2005's The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nuthin' But The Truth (featuring Mick Ralphs, Joe Elliott
of Def Leppard
and Brian May
of Queen). Hunter won Classic Rock Magazine
's Songwriter Award in October 2005. His studio album, Shrunken Heads, was released in May 2007 by Jerkin' Crocus promotions in Europe and Yep Roc Records in the US, accompanied by a three-song bonus CD. Hunter's most recent album is Man Overboard for New West Records
. The album was released on 21 July 2009.
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...
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 he continued in this vein after he left the band. As the leading figure in Mott The Hoople, but facing ill health and disillusioned with commercial success, he embarked on a solo career, often in collaboration with Mott The Hoople's guitarist Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
, who was well-known as 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...
's sideman and arranger from the Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars period.
Mott The Hoople achieved a certain level of commercial success and attracted a small but devoted fan base. As a solo artist, Hunter at times made the charts with lesser-known but more wide-ranging works outside the rock mainstream. Among his best-known solo records are "Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
"Once Bitten, Twice Shy" is a 1975 song by Ian Hunter, from his debut solo album Ian Hunter, which reached No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart.It was covered in 1989 by the American hard rock group Great White on their fourth album ...Twice Shy...
" (later covered by Great White
Great White
Great White is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1978. The band gained popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. The band released several albums in the late 1980s and gained airplay on MTV with music videos for songs like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"...
) and "Cleveland Rocks
Cleveland Rocks
"Cleveland Rocks" is a rock song by Ian Hunter from his 1979 album You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic. The song is seen as a de facto anthem in Cleveland, Ohio. The song was played every Friday at 6:00 PM on Cleveland radio station WMMS beginning in 1979 and is used as a victory song for the...
," made famous from a cover version on the American TV series The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
.
Early years
Hunter's entry into the music business came after a chance encounter with Colin YorkColin York
Colin 'Yic' York was an Australian rugby league footballer of the 1920s and 30s. He played for Yass between 1923 to 1926, spent a season with Queanbeyan in 1927 before returning to Yass in 1928 to 1930. He was born in Yass, New South Wales. York primarily played as a prop-forward repesenting...
and Colin Broom at Butlin's Holiday Camp, where the trio won a talent competition performing "Blue Moon
Blue Moon (song)
"Blue Moon"'s first crossover recording to rock and roll came from Elvis Presley in 1956. His cover version of the song was included on his self-titled debut album Elvis Presley....
" on acoustic guitars. York and Broom were members of a Northampton-based band called The Apex Group, fronted by bass player and band leader Frank Short. Ian soon left his home in Shrewsbury, transferred his apprenticeship from Sentinel/Rolls Royce to British Timken in Northampton, and joined The Apex Group on rhythm guitar. Ian recalls jumping around like a lunatic on stage: "Music affected me so much. The rest of them just stood there. It was funny, I had kids who came just to watch me do this, and I can't imagine what it looked like."
Hunter left The Apex Group in 1958, just before they recorded their first single "Yorkshire Relish, Caravan" for John Lever Records. (Lever, the owner of a local record shop, had recently joined as the band's drummer). Ian kicked around in a few local groups, but eventually his financial situation forced a change. "I wasn't making my hire-purchase payments, and 'little jobs' were getting done and people were getting smacked. I was never in the middle of it, but I was always somewhere in the area." He returned to Shrewsbury, ostensibly to become more responsible in his personal life, and settled down enough to have a steady girlfriend in Diane Coles. Outside his day job with McGowans fruit and vegetable company, he formed a harmonica duo with Tony Wardle, inspired by Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang, a local variety act.
Once out of debt and seemingly settled, Ian returned to Northampton and The Apex Group. Diane soon followed and the two married and settled in St James End. Their first child, Stephen, was born there in 1962. Tensions were in the air though, both musically and in his personal life. While his wife attended to home life, Hunter resumed his wild ways with his Northampton mates.
Although The Apex Group had steady regional work at clubs and military bases, Hunter eventually bristled at the formality of The Apex Group, who wore matching stage jackets and were moving increasingly toward an R&B-like stage review. So in 1963, while still a group member, Ian formed his own band in direct competition to them: Hurricane Henry and the Shriekers, with Tony Marriott on drums and Julian Coulter on guitar. They worked steadily in Northampton and eventually attracted the attention of pianist and frontman Freddie 'Fingers' Lee. Lee joined in March 1964 and Ian moved from frontman to bass player. Eventually, Frank Short learned of Hunter's duplicity and he was kicked out of The Apex Group.
It was during this period – late 1963 or early 1964 – that The Apex recorded a second disc for John Lever records, released as The Apex Rhythm & Blues All Stars. The four-song EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
included their own "Tall Girl", and covers of Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
's "Reeling and A'Rocking", "Down the Road A'piece", also recorded by Berry and later The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, and "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs. Hunter probably does not appear on this record; the EP was recorded around the time Hunter left the group for the second time.
At Freddie Lee's suggestion, The Shriekers began taking jobs in Germany, playing the same clubs where the Beatles had cut their teeth a few years earlier. In an interview taped in 2004 Hunter volunteers that Lee and their gigs in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
were a major turning point, when he first began to "think maybe I could do this instead of working in factories."
In 1966 Hunter moved to London, where he joined The Scenery with guitarist Miller Anderson
Miller Anderson (musician)
Miller Anderson is a UK based blues guitarist and singer.Apart from pursuing his own solo career, he was a member of the Keef Hartley Band. Other groups Anderson has been associated with are; the Spencer Davis Group, Broken Glass, The Dukes, Savoy Brown, T.Rex and Chicken Shack...
, drummer Dave Dufort
Dave Dufort
Dave Dufort is a British rock drummer who has played with Ian Hunter, Kevin Ayers, Mike Oldfield and Screaming Lord Sutch, and was a member of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands E. F. Band, Angel Witch and Tytan...
, and keyboard player Dante Smith. Within a year Anderson introduced Hunter to another guitarist, Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
, whom Hunter would later collaborate with a great deal since Ian was keen on Mick when he first met him. Ian first saw Mick when Miller took him to see Ronson's band, the Voice at the Swan public house in Tottenham. A few months later Hunter and Ronson actually met when Anderson introduced them when Mick was playing in another band, The Rats, at the Flamingo Club
Flamingo Club (London)
The Flamingo Club was a nightclub that operated in Soho, London, between 1952 and the late 1960s. It was located at 33-37 Wardour Street from 1957 onwards, and played an important role in the development of British rhythm and blues and jazz....
in London. According to Anderson, "Mick was coming down the stairs . . . and we were going up and I said, `Mick, this is my friend, Ian Patterson.'" By 1967 Smith and Dufort had left The Scenery while John Vernon Smith joined on drums. The Scenery recorded some material with Bill Farley at Regent Sound, but without knowing about a release, two Scenery tracks were licensed overseas. Hunter and Anderson both remember writing and recording "To Make a Man Cry," but neither artist recalls the B-side "Thread of Time." Scenery drummer John Vernon Smith appears on the picture sleeve, but Johnny Banks from The Merseybeats played on the record. Miller recollects that Johnny Gustafson was also included in the session work. Released on the Impact label, it is unclear whether they originated from France or Belgium. Both are marked BIEM, which administered royalties in both countries prior to the formation of SACEM in France (1972) and SABAM in Belgium. The Impact label appears to have issued records in both countries. In any case, by early 1968, The Scenery had run its course and Miller Anderson joined Dave Dufort in Paper Blitz Tissue.
By 1968 Hunter remained in the band to back up Freddie Lee in the At Last The 1958 Rock and Roll Show, along with drummer Pete Phillipps and guitarist Chris Mayfield. The group got a regular booking at The Angel in Edmonton, and drew interest from both Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
and NEMS but the group was never signed by either. Mayfield was replaced by the ever travelling Miller Anderson, and the group released a single on CBS called "I Can't Drive." As the short-lived rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
revival began to wane, At Last the 1958 Rock and Roll Show changed its name to Charlie Woolfe and released a final single, "Dance, Dance, Dance".
Hunter played sporadically with various other artists throughout the 1960s, including The Young Idea, Billy Fury
Billy Fury
Billy Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
and David McWilliams. In late 1968 Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....
hired Hunter and Dufort to play in a band that was to be called "The New Yardbirds" – a name that Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
had been using for his post-Yardbirds
The Yardbirds
- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
group before discarding it in favour of "Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
". This led confused fans to think Hunter had been a member of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. Explained Hunter: "See this is rubbish, but people read it and believe it." Hunter also worked as a journalist and staff songwriter for the firm Francis, Day & Hunter (no relation). Other jobs he took during these years included road-digging for a local council, and reporting for a local newspaper. During the same early years of Hunter's obscurity, Hereford's Shakedown Sound gigged in roughly the same circles as Ian but without any sort record company interest at all. Ian and the band were to meet up presently.
Mott The Hoople years
By 1969 Hunter had two children, but he was still hoping for a return to making music full time. Meanwhile, guitarist Mick RalphsMick Ralphs
Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Ralphs is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was a founding member of rock bands Mott the Hoople and Bad Company.-Career:...
joined organist Verden Allen in Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff, OM is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences...
's backing band, The Shakedown Sound. Eventually Ralphs, Allen, vocalist Stan Tippins, bassist Overend Watts, and drummer Dale Griffin united to become Silence, who auditioned for British impresario Guy Stevens
Guy Stevens
Guy Stevens worked in a number of different roles in the British music industry including producer and manager. He gave the rock bands Procol Harum and Mott the Hoople their distinctive names....
. Silence soon renamed themselves after a novel by Willard Manus
Willard Manus
Willard Manus is a Los Angeles-based novelist, playwright, and journalist. His best known book is Mott the Hoople, the novel from which the British 70s rock band took their name. He is also the author of This Way to Paradise: Dancing on the Tables, a memoir of life in Lindos, Rhodes, Greece from...
, published in 1966: Mott The Hoople. Lacking a credible singer with stage presence according to Stevens, the band auditioned a considerably seasoned Hunter, who auditioned for the band on a lark. By this time Hunter had taken to wearing the sunglasses that have long since become his trademark (photos of him without his "shades" are rare). The band was a critical success in the UK; some of the earliest and most dedicated early fans of the band included future members of the Clash. However, they could not sustain their commercial appeal, and their early American tours on the east and west coasts were slow in building a following. After releasing several LPs, Mott attracted enthusiastic live audiences but dismal sales despite the svengali-like leadership and promotion of their manager, Guy Stevens. After a dreary 1972 concert in a "gas cylinder" in Switzerland, the band announced their end.
David Bowie, a fan of the band, offered them a song he had just written. As Hunter recalled in a 2004 DVD interview, "He offered us "Suffragette City
Suffragette City
“Suffragette City” is a song by David Bowie. Originally from the 1972 The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album, it was later issued as a single in 1976 to promote the Changesonebowie compilation in the UK, with the US single edit of “Stay” on the B-side...
", which I didn't think was good enough. And then he sat down on the floor, Regent Street it was, in a publisher's office, and plays 'All The Young Dudes
All the Young Dudes (song)
"All the Young Dudes" is a song written by David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by Mott the Hoople in 1972. NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray have described the track as "one of that rare breed: rock songs which hymn the solidarity of the disaffected without...
' on an acoustic guitar." It shot to No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and Mott had new life. The band generally were appreciative of Bowie, who had rescued them from an early demise. The guitarist Mick Ralphs relates that Bowie taught Mott studio tricks, but one of the best-known sounds during the period was a 'hand-clap-in-the-toilet' routine that relied more on Hunter's vision than it did on Bowie's clearly more experienced studio abilities. Mick Ronson, Bowie's guitarist, also significantly contributed to Mott's sound, a fact noticed by Hunter who would later collaborate a great deal with him, although Hunter had actually met Mick years before in a pre-Bowie band.
The post-Bowie Mott the Hoople then had notable commercial success with the albums 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"...
(1972, produced by Bowie); Mott (1973) and The Hoople (1974). The band began to score financially with songs such as "Roll Away The Stone", "Golden Age Of Rock´n´Roll", "Honaloochie Boogie", "All The Way From Memphis", "Saturday Gigs", and especially "All The Young Dudes". Hunter chronicled the highs and lows of touring in his self-penned "Diary of A Rock'n'Roll Star", his journal of a chaotic five-week American tour in November – December 1972. When in 1973 original lead guitarist Mick Ralphs left to form Bad Company
Bad Company
Bad Company were an English rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of two former Free band members — singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who, in years prior, was a key component of...
, Hunter began to play guitar until a replacement could be found but at the same time he was increasingly pressured to write hits for the band. Luther Grosvenor
Luther Grosvenor
Luther James Grosvenor is an English rock musician, who played guitar in Spooky Tooth, briefly in Stealers Wheel and, under the pseudonym "Ariel Bender", in Mott the Hoople and Widowmaker....
took over as lead guitarist.
Grosvenor, aka Ariel Bender, was briefly replaced by Mick Ronson (formerly the leading member of Bowie's backing band The Spiders from Mars
The Spiders from Mars
The Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie 's backing band in the early 1970s, and consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums....
) after the release of a live album following The Hoople. However, Hunter left the band in December 1974. The remaining members carried on under the names Mott and British Lions.
On 16 January 2009, it was announced by several sources, including Hunter's own website, that Mott the Hoople would be re-uniting for two concerts at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, on 2 and 3 October 2009. Having sold out for these two dates, three additional dates were added. In the end Mott the Hoople actually played 2 warm up gigs in Monmouth the 5 nights at the Hammersmith Apollo and made a final appearance at the Tartan Clefs Charity night at the Kelvin Hall that November
After Mott
In March 1975 Hunter joined forces with Mick Ronson; during his solo career, Hunter most frequently worked with Ronson until the latter's death in 1993. Hunter's first single from his eponymous solo albumIan Hunter (album)
Ian Hunter is the first solo album by Ian Hunter, recorded following his departure from Mott the Hoople. It's also the first of many solo albums on which he collaborates with Mick Ronson....
was the UK Top 40 hit "Once Bitten Twice Shy". Hunter and Ronson then parted professionally (reportedly due to Hunter's refusal to have to deal with Ronson's manager at the time, Tony DeFries
Tony DeFries
Tony Defries is a British former record producer and pop manager, and more recently inventor.DeFries worked in the 1960s music scene with such figures as Mickie Most, Allen Klein, before turning his attention to David Bowie...
). Hunter's second solo album, All American Alien Boy
All American Alien Boy
All American Alien Boy is the second solo album by Ian Hunter. Because of management issues, Mick Ronson did not appear on this album; instead, Hunter brought in keyboardist Chris Stainton in order to act as a balancing force in the studio...
, was a more soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
-infused work, featuring saxophonist David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
, bassist Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
, and, on one track, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
(one-time opening act for Mott the Hoople) on backing vocals. With his next album Overnight Angels
Overnight Angels
Overnight Angels is the third solo album by Ian Hunter.After the poor sales of his previous album, Hunter's apparent aim for this record was to re-emphasize faster songs with more of a rock feel, and he recruited the well-regarded Roy Thomas Baker to produce. However, the album received mixed...
(produced by Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker is a multiple award-winning Anglo-American music producer, songwriter, arranger and Recording Academy Governor, who has produced Platinum and Gold certified pop and rock records from the 1970s to the present.- Career :Baker began his career at Decca Records in England at the age...
and featuring former Bowie sideman Earl Slick
Earl Slick
Earl Slick is a guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, Jim Diamond and Robert Smith, although he has also worked with other artists , John Waite, and even released some solo recordings.In the early 1970s, Earl Slick gained his...
on lead guitar), Hunter opted for a heavier guitar sound. Hunter's record label in America, Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, refused to release the album in the US. According to Ian Hunter, this was due not so much to dissatisfaction on Columbia's part towards the record, but to issues concerning Hunter's management at the time: "Overnight Angels was not released in the US because I fired my manager, Fred Heller, during the English promotional tour – just before it was to be released in America. Columbia said they didn't want to release it until I had new management and that dragged on until it became too late."
Mick Ronson returned as producer and guitarist on Hunter's 1979 album You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic
You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic
You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic is the fourth solo album by Ian Hunter. The album features members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band as the backing band. It is considered by many to be Hunter's best recording....
, which also featured several members from Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
as well as John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
. Two songs from Schizophrenic became successes for other artists: in late 1979, "Ships" was covered by Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
and became a top ten US hit, and in 1997, "Cleveland Rocks" was covered by the Presidents of the United States of America
Presidents of the United States of America (band)
The Presidents of the United States of America, commonly referred to as Pot USA or "PUSA" or The Presidents, are a twice Grammy-nominated American alternative rock band. The band formed in Seattle, USA, in 1993. The three-piece group currently comprises vocalist and "basitarist" Chris Ballew,...
(whose version was used as the theme song for The Drew Carey Show). "Cleveland Rocks" is arguably Hunter's most enduring solo song; it is seen as a de facto anthem in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
(sometimes used as a victory song for the city's sports teams) and Hunter was given the key to the city by Cleveland mayor Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
on 19 June 1979.
The bestselling status of Schizophrenic led to Hunter's record label at the time, Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
, commissioning the release of a double album, Welcome to the Club
Welcome to the Club (Ian Hunter album)
Welcome to the Club is the first live album by Ian Hunter. After the unexpected success of You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic, Chrysalis wanted to keep the momentum by releasing another album. Because Hunter never wrote when he was on the road, it became a live album which was recorded at the...
(1980). Primarily a live album, it also features some original studio material. Hunter toured briefly with Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
on guitar in 1980, playing eleven shows on the East Coast. His first studio album of the 1980s was Short Back 'n' Sides
Short Back 'n' Sides
Short Back 'n' Sides is the fifth solo album of Ian Hunter. Unsure of which direction he should take, Ian Hunter finally decided to collaborate with Mick Jones who gave Hunter's songs a tougher and heavier touch...
(1981), produced in collaboration with Mick Jones
Mick Jones (The Clash)
Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones is the former lead guitarist, secondary vocalist and co-founder for the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983. He went on to form the band Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and...
(of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
) and Mick Ronson. Ronson's input on Hunter's next album, All of the Good Ones Are Taken
All of the Good Ones Are Taken
All of the Good Ones Are Taken is sixth solo album of Ian Hunter. The album contains a mix of several styles. Longtime collaborator Mick Ronson was mostly absent , because he was seriously considering quitting music business.-Track listing:All songs written by Ian Hunter except where noted#"All of...
(1983), was restricted to his playing guitar on only one track. The title track was a minor hit in the US after MTV put the song's video into what they called at the time 'heavy rotation', playing it over and over, every few hours. In the same year, Ronson travelled to Canada to produce a third album, Hammer on a Drum, for the Payolas (often written as 'The Payola$'). Hunter provided backing vocals on one of the tracks and Ronson contributed keyboards and vocals.
YUI Orta
Yui Orta
YUI Orta is the seventh solo album of Ian Hunter. He reunites again with longtime collaborator Mick Ronson, as The Hunter Ronson Band.It was intended as a sort of comeback for both men, but record company did only little promotion and eventually they were dropped from the label.There were plans for...
was released as a joint-album by Hunter and Mick Ronson in 1990. The pair performed alongside David Bowie and Queen at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was an open-air concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992 at London's Wembley Stadium, for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the...
in April 1992. A year later, Ronson died of liver cancer. Hunter wrote and recorded the song "Michael Picasso" as a tribute to Ronson; it was included on Hunter's 1996 album The Artful Dodger
The Artful Dodger (Ian Hunter album)
The Artful Dodger is the ninth solo album of Ian Hunter. Impressed with the production on Dirty Laundry, Hunter collaborated again with Björn Nessjö on this album....
, the follow-up to Dirty Laundry (1995). Hunter also appeared on Ronson's posthumously-released solo album, Heaven and Hull
Heaven and Hull
Heaven and Hull was the final solo album by Mick Ronson, released in 1994, following Ronson's death the previous year. With collaborations by long time friends of Ronson including: David Bowie, Joe Elliott, and Ian Hunter. Other artists include: Peter Noone, Martin Chambers and Chrissie Hynde,...
(1994) and performed at the first Mick Ronson Memorial Concert in April 1994.
In 2001, Hunter toured North America with Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
and his All-Starr Band as part of a line-up which included Ringo Starr, Sheila E.
Sheila E.
Sheila Escovedo , known by her stage name Sheila E., is an American drummer and percussionist, perhaps best known for her work with Prince, George Duke and Ringo Starr.-Early life and Prince period:...
, Greg Lake
Greg Lake
Gregory Stuart "Greg" Lake is an English musician, songwriter and producer, best known as a vocalist and bassist of King Crimson, and the bassist, guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.-1960s: King Crimson:...
, Howard Jones
Howard Jones (musician)
Howard Jones is a musician, singer and songwriter. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live...
, Roger Hodgson
Roger Hodgson
Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson is a British musician and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman, and founding member, of progressive rock band Supertramp....
, and Mark Rivera
Mark Rivera
Mark Rivera is a musician, musical director and corporate entertainment provider. In addition to playing soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, Rivera's musical talents encompass vocals, guitar, percussion and keyboards.-Education:...
. Hunter' next studio album, Rant
Rant (Ian Hunter album)
Rant is the 10th solo of Ian Hunter. Unlike some of his previous albums, Hunter wrote all tracks. It is also his most political album in 25 years.-Tracklisting:All tracks written by Ian Hunter#"Still Love Rock 'n' Roll" – 4:34#"Wash Us Away" – 3:57...
, released the same year, received wide critical acclaim, and was followed by two live albums: 2004's Strings Attached (with a 20-piece orchestra accompanying Hunter), and 2005's The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nuthin' But The Truth (featuring Mick Ralphs, Joe Elliott
Joe Elliott
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott Jr is an English singer-songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of the British rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of David Bowie cover band, the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band, Down...
of Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
and Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
of Queen). Hunter won Classic Rock Magazine
Classic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
's Songwriter Award in October 2005. His studio album, Shrunken Heads, was released in May 2007 by Jerkin' Crocus promotions in Europe and Yep Roc Records in the US, accompanied by a three-song bonus CD. Hunter's most recent album is Man Overboard for New West Records
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Los Angeles, California, Austin, Texas, and Athens, Georgia. It was established in 1998, and has been home to several indie rock and alternative country bands as well as representing the PBS show Austin City Limits...
. The album was released on 21 July 2009.
Solo albums
- Ian HunterIan Hunter (album)Ian Hunter is the first solo album by Ian Hunter, recorded following his departure from Mott the Hoople. It's also the first of many solo albums on which he collaborates with Mick Ronson....
(1975) - All American Alien BoyAll American Alien BoyAll American Alien Boy is the second solo album by Ian Hunter. Because of management issues, Mick Ronson did not appear on this album; instead, Hunter brought in keyboardist Chris Stainton in order to act as a balancing force in the studio...
(1976) - Overnight AngelsOvernight AngelsOvernight Angels is the third solo album by Ian Hunter.After the poor sales of his previous album, Hunter's apparent aim for this record was to re-emphasize faster songs with more of a rock feel, and he recruited the well-regarded Roy Thomas Baker to produce. However, the album received mixed...
(1977) - You're Never Alone with a SchizophrenicYou're Never Alone with a SchizophrenicYou're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic is the fourth solo album by Ian Hunter. The album features members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band as the backing band. It is considered by many to be Hunter's best recording....
(1979) - Welcome to the ClubWelcome to the Club (Ian Hunter album)Welcome to the Club is the first live album by Ian Hunter. After the unexpected success of You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic, Chrysalis wanted to keep the momentum by releasing another album. Because Hunter never wrote when he was on the road, it became a live album which was recorded at the...
(1980) - Short Back 'n' SidesShort Back 'n' SidesShort Back 'n' Sides is the fifth solo album of Ian Hunter. Unsure of which direction he should take, Ian Hunter finally decided to collaborate with Mick Jones who gave Hunter's songs a tougher and heavier touch...
(1981) - All of the Good Ones Are TakenAll of the Good Ones Are TakenAll of the Good Ones Are Taken is sixth solo album of Ian Hunter. The album contains a mix of several styles. Longtime collaborator Mick Ronson was mostly absent , because he was seriously considering quitting music business.-Track listing:All songs written by Ian Hunter except where noted#"All of...
(1983) - YUI OrtaYui OrtaYUI Orta is the seventh solo album of Ian Hunter. He reunites again with longtime collaborator Mick Ronson, as The Hunter Ronson Band.It was intended as a sort of comeback for both men, but record company did only little promotion and eventually they were dropped from the label.There were plans for...
(1989) – with Mick Ronson - BBC Live in Concert (1995)
- Dirty Laundry (1995)
- The Artful DodgerThe Artful Dodger (Ian Hunter album)The Artful Dodger is the ninth solo album of Ian Hunter. Impressed with the production on Dirty Laundry, Hunter collaborated again with Björn Nessjö on this album....
(1996) - Once Bitten Twice Shy (2000)
- Missing In Action (2000)
- RantRant (Ian Hunter album)Rant is the 10th solo of Ian Hunter. Unlike some of his previous albums, Hunter wrote all tracks. It is also his most political album in 25 years.-Tracklisting:All tracks written by Ian Hunter#"Still Love Rock 'n' Roll" – 4:34#"Wash Us Away" – 3:57...
(2001) - Strings Attached (DVD and CD) (2004)
- Just Another Night (DVD, 2004, US release, 2005))
- The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nuthin' But The Truth (DVD and CD) (2005)
- Shrunken HeadsShrunken Heads (Ian Hunter album)Shrunken Heads is the eleventh solo album of British singer-songwriter Ian Hunter and his first since 2001's critically acclaimed Rant.-Tracklisting:All tracks written by Ian Hunter except where noted...
(2007) - Man Overboard (2009)
Mott The Hoople albums
- Mott the HoopleMott the Hoople (album)Mott the Hoople is the debut album by the band of the same name. It was produced by Guy Stevens and released in 1969 by Island Records in the UK, and in 1970 by Atlantic Records in the US....
(1969) – UK #66 - Mad ShadowsMad Shadows (album)Mad Shadows was the second album by Mott the Hoople. It was recorded in 1970 and released in the UK on Island Records in September 1970 and in the US by Atlantic Records . It was subsequently re-released by Angel Air in 2003 .As with their debut album it was produced by Guy Stevens...
(1970) – UK #48 - Wildlife (1971) – UK #44
- Brain CapersBrain CapersBrain Capers is the fourth album by the band Mott the Hoople.It was originally released in November 1971 in the UK by Island Records and was reissued in 2003 by Angel Air . It was released in the US on Atlantic Records Brain Capers is the fourth album by the band Mott the Hoople.It was originally...
(1971) – did not chart - All The Young DudesAll the Young DudesAll 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"...
(1972) – UK #21 / US #89 - MottMott (album)Mott is a 1973 album by British band Mott the Hoople. "All the Way from Memphis", an edited version of which was released as a single, received considerable airplay on U.S. radio and captured the band many overseas fans, as well as reaching the UK Top 10....
(1973) – UK #7 / US #35 - The HoopleThe HoopleThe Hoople is a 1974 album by British band Mott the Hoople. Its highest chart rating in the US was #28. A remastered and expanded version was released by Sony BMG on the Columbia Legacy label in Europe in 2006...
(1974) – UK #11 / US #28 - LiveLive (Mott the Hoople album)Mott The Hoople Live is a 1974 album by British band Mott the Hoople. A remastered and expanded 30th Anniversary Edition was released by Sony BMG on the Columbia label . The release of the album in its original form in 1974 coincided with the announcement of the band's demise and it was,...
(1974) – UK #32 / US #23 - Old Records Never Die: The Mott The Hoople/Ian Hunter Anthology (August 2008) 2CD set – Mott on one disk, Hunter solo on the other
External links
- Ian Hunter website
- On The Morton Fraser Harmonica Gang
- BBC Review of Ian Hunter at The Stables, Wavendon 2008
- Ian Hunter in Concert, National Public Radio (U.S.), 22 June 2007
- The Secret Sessions Featuring Ian Hunter & Mick Ronson
- Harris, John. Mott the Hoople: The dudes abide, The Guardian, 3 September 2009.