In gifting Mott The Hoople the timeless glam rock anthem All The Young Dudes in 1972, David Bowie ensured that, in the eyes of the record-buying public, his name would always be linked with Ian Hunter, the Herefordshire band's frontman. But in a wide-ranging interview in the new issue of Classic Rock magazine, on sale now, Hunter admits that he and Bowie were never friends.
"David was great," Hunter insists, "but he wasn’t a guy I would have hung out with."
Legend has it that Bowie, a long-time fan of Mott The Hoople, was dismayed to hear that the band were considering breaking up in 1971 following disappointing sales for their fourth album Brain Capers, and offered them his song Suffragette City, which he'd earmarked for his own Ziggy Stardust... album. When the band turned down the offer, Bowie wrote All The Young Dudes for them instead, and produced it at London's Olympic Studios for release as a single.
Released in the UK on July 28, 1972, the single peaked at number 3 in Britain, and also cracked the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching at number 37 in the US. The success of the song, and its parent album, meant that Mott The Hoople's popularity soared, and the idea of splitting was shelved.
"It’s a great song," Hunter says, 51 years on, speaking to Classic Rock's Scott Rowley. "God knows why he gave it to us. I’ve said that many times, but really, if I’d’ve had that song I wouldn’t have given it to anybody."
