Fate always seemed to deal Mott The Hoople a peculiar hand. Four years’ toil on the Island label had brought them a reputation as one of Britain’s must-see live bands, yet no one seemed to be buying the records. By 1972 they were resigned to sharing stages with circus jugglers and comedian Max Wall. Utterly dispirited, they’d all but split. Then David Bowie offered them one of his own new songs, All The Young Dudes, and Mott The Hoople were reborn as swaggering rock’n’roll hit-makers. By the following year they’d become regulars in the British charts and were playing to packed crowds both here and in the US.
Lead singer Ian Hunter, the quintessential early-70s frontman in outsize shades and a cascading frizz of big hair, had emerged as their primary songwriter. The major success of singles Honaloochie Boogie and All The Way From Memphis, both from Top 10 album Mott, suggested the band’s rollicking glam’n’roll was finally here to stay. And when Hunter came up with another big smash later in ’73, Roll Away The Stone, it seemed like the good times might never end.
