Ian Hunter Patterson (born 3 June 1939)[1][2][3][nb 1] is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Mott the Hoople, from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and at the time of its 2009, 2013, and 2019 reunions. Hunter was a musician and songwriter before joining Mott the Hoople, and continued in this vein after he left the band. He embarked on a solo career despite ill health and disillusionment with commercial success, and often worked in collaboration with Mick Ronson, David Bowie's sideman and arranger from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars period.
Mott the Hoople achieved some commercial success, and attracted a small but devoted fan base. As a solo artist, Hunter charted with lesser-known but more wide-ranging works outside the rock mainstream. His best-known solo songs are "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", later covered by Great White, and "England Rocks", which was modified to "Cleveland Rocks" and then covered by The Presidents of the United States of America, and became one of the theme songs used for the American TV series The Drew Carey Show.
Early years
Hunter was born in Oswestry, Shropshire, England.[3] Due to the onset of war, the family moved to Hamilton, South Lanarkshire to live with the family of his Scottish father. Hunter was brought up there until the age of six and has stated that he considers himself a Scot,[4] but also identifies as English.[5][6][7][8][9][10]
Hunter's entry into the music business came after a chance encounter with Colin York and Colin Broom at a Butlin'sholiday camp, where the trio won a talent competition performing "Blue Moon" on acoustic guitars.[11] York and Broom were members of a Northampton-based band called The Apex Group, fronted by bass player and band leader Frank Short. Hunter 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. Hunter 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."[11]
Hunter left The Apex Group in 1958, just before they recorded their first single "Yorkshire Relish" / "Caravan" for John Lever Records.[12] Hunter played 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."[11] 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 of his day job, he and Tony Wardle formed a harmonica duo inspired by Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang, a local variety act.
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" and "Down the Road a Piece", and Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs' "Sugar Shack". Hunter probably does not appear on this record; the EP was recorded around the time Hunter left the group for the second time.[12]
At Freddie Lee's suggestion, his backing band the Shriekers began taking jobs in the same German 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, at which he first began to "think maybe I could do this instead of working in factories."[13]
In 1966, Hunter moved to London, where he joined the Scenery with guitarist Miller Anderson, drummer Dave Dufort and keyboard player Dante Smith. There Hunter met Mick Ronson, then guitarist of bands the Voice and 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 [Hunter] Patterson.'"[11]:41 The Scenery, now with John Vernon Smith on drums, recorded tracks with Bill Farley at Regent Sound that were licensed for international release without their knowledge. Hunter and Anderson recall writing and recording "To Make a Man Cry," but not the B-side, "Thread of Time." John Vernon Smith appears on the picture sleeve, but Johnny Banks, of the Merseybeats, played on the record. Johnny Gustafson was also included in the session work. The songs were released on the Impact label, and it is unclear whether they originated from France or Belgium.[12]
Hunter remained in the band after Anderson's early 1968 departure. Anderson and J.V. Smith were replaced by guitarist Chris Mayfield and drummer Pete Phillipps, and the group backed up Freddie Lee in At Last the 1958 Rock and Roll Show. They got a regular booking at The Angel in Edmonton, and drew interest from both Chrysalis Records and NEMS but were signed by neither. With Miller Anderson back in place of Mayfield, the group released a single on CBS called "I Can't Drive". As the short-lived rock and roll revival waned, At Last the 1958 Rock and Roll Show changed its name to Charlie Woolfe and released a final single, "Dance, Dance, Dance".
During these obscure early years for Hunter, Hereford band Shakedown Sound, with future Mott members [which ones?] in their ranks, gigged in roughly the same circles but without any record company interest.[14]
Hunter played 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 that Hunter had been a member of Led Zeppelin. Explained Hunter: "See: this is rubbish, but people read it and believe it."[15] Hunter also worked as a journalist and staff songwriter for Francis, Day & Hunter Ltd., did road-digging for a local council, and reported for a local newspaper.
Career
Mott the Hoople
By 1969, Hunter had two children, but was still hoping for a return to making music full-time. Meanwhile, guitarist Mick Ralphs 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 renamed themselves after Willard Manus' 1966 novel, Mott the Hoople.[16] The band lacked a credible singer with stage presence, and the seasoned Hunter, who had by this time taken to wearing his trademark sunglasses, auditioned for a laugh and was given the position. They were a critical success in the UK, where some of their most dedicated early fans included future members of the Clash.[17] However, they could not sustain their commercial appeal, and their American tours were slow in building a following. Mott released several LPs and attracted enthusiastic live audiences, but experienced dismal sales despite the svengali-like leadership and promotion of Stevens.[18] After a 1972 concert in a "gas cylinder" in Switzerland, the band announced their end.
Hunter fronting Mott the Hoople at a reunion gig, Hammersmith Apollo, October 2009
David Bowie, a fan of the band, then 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."[13] It reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart, and revived the band, who were appreciative of Bowie's rescue. Guitarist 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.[19] Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson also significantly contributed to Mott's sound, a fact noticed by Hunter, who would later collaborate with Ronson a great deal.[11]
The post-Bowie Mott the Hoople had notable commercial success with the albums All the Young Dudes (1972, produced by Bowie); Mott (1973) and The Hoople (1974). The band experienced financial success 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 Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star, his journal of a chaotic five-week American tour in November and December 1972.[20] Ralphs left in 1973 to form Bad Company, and Hunter began to play guitar until Luther Grosvenor took over. Hunter at the same time was increasingly pressured to write hits for the band.
Grosvenor, aka Ariel Bender, was briefly replaced by Ronson, formerly the leading member of Bowie's backing band the Spiders from Mars, after the release of a live album following The Hoople. Hunter left the band in December 1974. The remaining members (Dale 'Buffin' Griffin, Pete 'Overend' Watts, and Morgan Fisher) carried on under the names Mott and the British Lions, which also included former members of Medicine Head.
On 16 January 2009, several sources, including Hunter's own website, announced that Mott the Hoople would reunite for two concerts at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, on 2 and 3 October 2009. These two dates sold out, and three additional dates were added. In the end, Mott the Hoople played two warm-up gigs in Monmouth, five nights at the Hammersmith Apollo, and made a final appearance at the Tartan Clefs Charity night at the Kelvin Hall that November. A further British tour in 2013, taking in Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow and Manchester (which was released on CD and DVD), culminated in a last night at The O2 arena on 18 November 2013.
1970s
In March 1975, Hunter joined forces with Mick Ronson, his most frequent collaborator until Ronson's death in 1993. Hunter's first single from his eponymous solo album was the UK Top 40 hit "Once Bitten Twice Shy". Hunter and Ronson then parted professionally, reportedly due to Hunter's refusal to deal with Ronson's manager, Tony DeFries.
Hunter's second solo album, All American Alien Boy (1976), was a more soul-infused work which featured saxophonist David Sanborn and bassist Jaco Pastorius. Queen, once an opening act for Mott the Hoople, provided backing vocals on one track.
Hunter's next album, Overnight Angels (1977), was produced by Roy Thomas Baker and featured a heavier guitar sound courtesy of former Bowie sideman Earl Slick. Hunter's record label in America, Columbia Records, refused to release the album in the US due to issues concerning Hunter's management: "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."[21]
The best-selling status of ...Schizophrenic led Hunter's record label, Chrysalis Records, to commission the release of the double album Welcome to the Club (1980). Primarily a live album, it also featured some original studio material. Todd Rundgren played lead guitar on Hunter's eleven-show 1980 US tour but does not appear on the live album.
Hunter's first studio album of the 1980s was Short Back 'n' Sides (1981), produced in collaboration with Ronson and Clash guitarist Mick Jones. Ronson's input on Hunter's next album, All of the Good Ones Are Taken (1983), was restricted to playing guitar on a single track. The title track became a minor hit in the US, after MTV put the song's video into heavy rotation. In the same year, Ronson travelled to Canada to produce the Payolas' album Hammer on a Drum, to which Hunter contributed backing vocals.[27]
1990s
YUI Orta was released as a joint album by Hunter and Ronson in 1990, and the pair performed alongside David Bowie and Queen at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in April 1992. Ronson died of liver cancer a year later, and Hunter gave his memorial speech.[28] Hunter wrote and recorded "Michael Picasso", a tribute to Ronson that was included on Hunter's 1996 album The Artful Dodger, the follow-up to Dirty Laundry (1995). Hunter appeared on Ronson's posthumously-released solo album, Heaven and Hull (1994), and performed at the first Mick Ronson Memorial Concert in April 1994.
2000s
Hunter in 2004
In 2000, Hunter played a handful of live dates in the UK and the US to promote the release of Sony's 2-CD anthology, Once Bitten Twice Shy. For the UK dates, he used the same band as in 1999: Darrell Bath (guitar), Paul Cuddeford (guitar), Paul 'Trevor' Francis (bass), Ian Gibbons (keyboards), and Steve Holley (drums). For the lone US date, his band included Andy York (guitar), John Conte (bass), Tom Mandel (keyboards), and Steve Holley (drums).
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's studio album Rant, produced with guitarist Andy York, released the same year and was followed by two live albums: 2004's Strings Attached with a 20-piece orchestra, and 2005's The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nuthin' But the Truth with Mick Ralphs (and Brian May of Queen and Joe Elliott of Def Leppard on one song). Hunter won Classic Rock Magazine's Songwriter Award in October 2005. His studio album, Shrunken Heads, was accompanied by a three-song bonus CD, and was released in May 2007 by Jerkin' Crocus in Europe and Yep Roc Records in the US. Man Overboard, was released on 21 July 2009, by New West Records.[29]
2010s
Hunter's 20th solo studio album When I'm President was released on 3 September 2012, in the UK on Proper Records,[30] and on the following day in the US on Slimstyle Records.[31]
Hunter and his Rant band performed on 3 June 2015, at the City Winery in New York. A new live album, Ian Hunter & the Rant Band – Live in the UK 2010, was released on 20 October 2014, on Hunter's own label Rant Records. Hunter continues to tour across the UK, Europe and North America. In January 2015, he played three nights in Tokyo. Hunter's observations on his Tokyo trip were documented in an article titled 'Diary of a Rock 'N' Roll Star – Part 2' that appeared in the June 2015 issue of Mojo.
A new studio album, Fingers Crossed, was released worldwide on 16 September 2016, on Proper Records. The album featured the song "Dandy", which Hunter wrote about and dedicated to the late David Bowie. Hunter said: "It was drab in England in the early 70s and I think David was the probably the first technicolour artist, going to see him was like going to the movies. Then you came out and caught the last bus home."[32]
Also in 2016, a career-retrospective 30 disc box set collection entitled 'Stranded In Reality' collected all of his album releases up to 2015, plus several discs of rarities and unreleased material, a DVD disc and a book, plus a signed lithograph and replica music paper.
On 29 March 2019, Hunter joined Def Leppard and other artists on stage during the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performance. The group played "All the Young Dudes" to close the night.
Hunter & the Rant Band's four-night Gala 80th Birthday Celebration was held at the City Winery in New York City from 31 May to 3 June 2019.[33] On 30 September 2019, Hunter's 2019 US tour was cancelled because he developed a severe case of tinnitus and his doctors advised him to stop performing until it subsided.[34]
2020s
He has not toured since 2019, but has continued to record, and lately collaborate remotely with various artists.[35] He released the studio album Defiance Part 1 in 2023.[36] A follow-up, Defiance Part 2: Fiction, was released in April 2024.[37][38]
↑ Although official and other reliable sources give a birth year of 1939, as Hunter himself stated in an interview (given here as a reference), some sources give the year erroneously as 1946.
Related Research Articles
Mott the Hoople were a British rock band formed in Hereford, Herefordshire in 1969. Originally named the Doc Thomas Group, the band changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums at the beginning of the 1970s but failed to find any success. On the verge of breaking up, the band were encouraged by David Bowie to stay together. Bowie wrote their glam-style signature song "All the Young Dudes" for them, which became their first hit in 1972. Bowie subsequently produced their album of the same name, which added to their success.
Michael Ronson was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musician who recorded five studio albums with Bowie followed by four with Ian Hunter, and also worked as a sideman in touring bands with Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. A classically trained musician, Ronson was known for his melodic approach to guitar playing.
Michael Geoffrey Ralphs is a retired English guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who was a founding member of rock bands Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. Though not a constant member, he appeared on every studio album by the latter band alongside drummer Simon Kirke.
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.
All the Young Dudes is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Mott the Hoople, released in 1972. It was their initial album for the CBS Records label, after three years with Island Records in the UK and Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada.
Mott is the sixth studio album by British rock band Mott the Hoople. It peaked at No. 7 in the UK Albums Chart. It is the last album to feature guitarist Mick Ralphs, and the first without organist Verden Allen; because of Allen's departure, most organ and other keyboard parts are played by Ralphs.
"All the Young Dudes" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by the English rock band Mott the Hoople in 1972 by Columbia Records. Bowie produced the song, which he had given to the band after they rejected his "Suffragette City". Bowie would subsequently record the song himself. Regarded as an anthem of glam rock, the song has received acclaim and was a commercial success. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "All the Young Dudes" number 166 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It is also one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
Peter Overend Watts was an English bass guitar player and founding member of the 1970s rock band Mott the Hoople.
The Hoople is the seventh and final studio album by British rock band Mott the Hoople. The album peaked in the UK Albums Chart at No. 11, whilst its highest chart rating in the US was No. 28. It was the 85th best selling album of 1974 and was voted 16th best album of 1974 by the readers of Creem magazine. A remastered and expanded version was released by Sony BMG on the Columbia Legacy label in Europe in 2006. It was the only album to feature guitarist Ariel Bender, and the last album to feature vocalist Ian Hunter before his departure for a solo career.
"All the Way from Memphis" is a single released by Mott the Hoople as the lead track from the album Mott in 1973. The song tells a story about a rock and roller whose guitar is shipped to Oriole, Kentucky, instead of Memphis, Tennessee. The track peaked at No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart. Although it did not chart in the United States, it did receive considerable airplay on album-oriented rock stations. The Mott album, from which it was released, reached the Top 40 of the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 35.
"Saturday Gigs" is a 7" single released by Mott the Hoople, written by Ian Hunter.
"One of the Boys" is a song written by Ian Hunter and Mick Ralphs that was released on Mott the Hoople's 1972 album All the Young Dudes. It was also released as the b-side of the "All the Young Dudes" single in some countries. It was released as a single in its own right in the US.
Shades of Ian Hunter: The Ballad of Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople is a compilation album by Ian Hunter, consisting of tracks by Hunter's previous band Mott the Hoople, and solo Hunter tracks as well. It was released in 1979 as a double-LP.
Mott the Hoople is the debut studio 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. It was re-issued by Angel Air in 2003 (SJPCD157).
Live is a 1974 album by British band Mott the Hoople recorded during their debut US performance at the Uris Theater (Gershwin) on Broadway in Manhattan, New York City, United States, with Queen as the opening act. A remastered and expanded 30th Anniversary Edition was released by Sony BMG on the Columbia label (516051). The release of the album in its original form in 1974 coincided with the announcement of the band's demise and it was, therefore, their final release. It was a single disc album in its original format but the addition of thirteen extra tracks has seen it expand to a double CD package.
Daniel Joseph "Danny" McCulloch was an English musician best known as the bassist of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Eric Burdon and The Animals.
Ian Hunter is the first solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Ian Hunter, recorded following his departure from Mott the Hoople. Released in 1975, it is also the first of many solo albums on which he collaborated with Mick Ronson. The bassist, Geoff Appleby, was from Hull like Mick Ronson and they had played together in The Rats in the late 1960s. The track "It Ain't Easy When You Fall/Shades Off" contains the only recorded example of Hunter reading his own poetry.
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 Records 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 end of his U.S tour. However, there were four new tracks three of which were recorded live in studio.
Rock and Roll Queen is a compilation album by the British rock band Mott the Hoople. The album predominantly features selections from the four albums Mott recorded for Island Records in the UK, which were subsequently issued in the US by Atlantic Records. In Canada, the first three were released by Polydor, while Brain Capers was released in Canada by Island.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by English rock band Mott the Hoople. It was released on 1 March 1976 through Columbia Records.
↑ Dingwall, John (28 November 2009). "Exclusive: Mott the Hoople legend recalls his roots in wartime Scotland". Daily Record. Scotland. I am a Scot because my father was Scottish. My dad was born and brought up in Hamilton. As far as I am concerned I have always been Scottish. My mother was 19 and had never been out of England in her life. All she knew was that she wanted to get me out of harm's way so she brought me up to Scotland to be with my dad's family.
↑ Clayson, Alan (1996). Beat Merchants: The Origins, History, Impact and Rock Legacy of the 1960s British Pop Groups. London: Blandford. ISBN0-7137-2462-5.
↑ Hunter, Ian. "Mott The Hoople '74". ianhunter.com. Ian Hunter. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2020. I got hit heavily by tinnitus. It's unrelenting and on doctor's orders, I've had to cancel everything for the time being. I've had it on and off for years, but it's always slid away. This time it's stayed....
Hunter, Ian. Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star, Panther, 1974, ISBN0-586-04041-2
Hunter, Ian. Horse's Mouth, Issue No. 33, 18 July 2003.
Hunter, Ian. Horse's Mouth, Issue No. 70, Part 1, 19 December 2006.
Ian Hunter and the Rant Band, Just Another Night, Live at the Astoria, London, colour, DVD-Video, NTSC, Region 1 (US and Canada only), 4 October 2005, 180 minutes, Bonus Material, Exclusive interview, Band Sound check, Animated Biography, Special Live Guest Appearances.
Short, Martin C. (2001). The Great Rock Discography 5th ed. ISBN1-84195-017-3
Smith, Mick, On Track Ian Hunter, Sonicbond Publishing, UK Jan. 2024, US March 2024. ISBN1789523044
Warwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony. Complete Guide to the British Charts.
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