Ian Hunter

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Ian Hunter (born 3 June 1939), better known as Ian Hunter, is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist who is best known as the lead singer of the English rock band Mott the Hoople from 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and is recalled at the 2009 and 2013 reunions.

Before joining Mott the Hoople, Hunter was a singer and songwriter who continued in this vein after leaving the band.

Despite poor health and disillusion with commercial success, he began a solo career, and he 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.

Hunter, as a solo artist, explored with less well-known but more diverse works outside of the rock world.

"Once Bitten, Twice Shy," Later redesigned to "Cleveland Rocks" and "England Rocks," later covered by Great White and "England Rocks," later retitled to "Cleveland Rocks" and "United Rocks" and then "America's President" and became one of the most popular solo songs on the American television series The Drew Carey Show.

Early years

Hunter was born in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. Due to the outbreak of war, the family moved to Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, to live with his Scottish father's family. Hunter was borne up to six years old and has claimed to identify himself as a Scot but also identified as English and British.

Hunter's involvement in the music industry came after a chance meeting with Colin York and Colin Broom at a Butlin's holiday camp, where the trio placed first in a talent competition "Blue Moon" on acoustic guitars in a talent competition. The Apex Group, a Northampton-based band led by bass player and band leader Frank Short, was a member of York and Broom. Hunter moved from Sentinel/Rolls Royce to British Timken in Northampton and joined The Apex Group on rhythm guitar shortly. On stage, Hunter recalls how music affected me so much. The majority of them stayed where they were supposed to be standing around. It was funny, because my kids came just to watch me do this, and I can't imagine what it looked like."

Hunter joined The Apex Group in 1958, just before they released their first single "Yorkshire Relish, Caravan" for John Lever Records. Hunter was involved in a few local clubs, but a change was forced by his financial circumstances. "I wasn't making my hire-purchase payments," the company's 'little jobs' were getting started, and people were getting fired, and I was getting smacked." I was never in the middle of it, but I was always somewhere in the area." He returned to Shrewsbury, ostensibly to be more responsible in his personal life, and in Diane Coles, he found a long-distance girlfriend. He and Tony Wardle formed a harmonica duo influenced by Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang, a local variety act, outside of his day job.

The Apex released a second disc for John Lever records in late 1963 or early 1964, and the Apex appeared as The Apex Rhythm & Blues All Stars in this period. The four-song EP featured "Tall Girl" by the singers, as well as "Down the Road A'piece" by Chuck Berry, "Reeling and A'Rocking" and "Down the Road A'piece," as well as Jimmy Gilmer and The Fireballs' "Sugar Shack." Hunter is likely that this is incorrect; the EP was released around the time Hunter left the company for the second time.

The Shriekers began working in the same German clubs where the Beatles had cut their teeth a few years ago, according to Freddie Lee's suggestion. In an interview in 2004, Hunter admits that Lee and his Hamburg gigs were a major turning point, during which he first began to "think maybe I could do this instead of working in factories."

Hunter immigrated to London in 1966, where he met drummer Miller Anderson, drummer Dave Dufort, and keyboard player Dante Smith. At the Flamingo Club in London, Hunter met Mick Ronson, then guitarist of bands The Voice and The Rats. "Mick was coming down the stairs...and we were going to get up, and I said, 'Mick, this is my friend, Ian [Hunter] Patterson," Anderson said. "41 The Scenery, now with John Vernon Smith on drums, has performed tracks with Bill Farley at Regent Sound that were not allowed for international broadcasting without their knowledge. "To Make a Man Cry," Hunter and Anderson recall writing and recording "To Make a Man Cry," but not "Thread of Time," which is not the B-side. John Vernon Smith appears on the picture sleeve, but The Merseybeats' Johnny Banks also appeared on the scene, but The Merseybeats' Johnny Banks was on the radio. Johnny Gustafson was also involved in the session. The songs were released on the Impact label, and it's unclear if they originated from France or Belgium.

After Anderson's departure in early 1968, Hunter stayed in the band until his departure. Anderson and J.V. Smith was revived by guitarist Chris Mayfield and drummer Pete Phillipps, and the group backed up Freddie Lee in 'At Last the 1958 Rock and Roll Exhibition'. They had a regular booking at The Angel in Edmonton and drew attention from both Chrysalis Records and NEMS, but no one had signed them. Miller Anderson's return to Mayfield led to the group's "I Can't Drive" single on CBS. As the short-lived rock and roll revival came to an end, 'At Last the 1958 Rock and Roll Show' renamed 'Charlie Woolfe' and debuted "Dance, Dance, Dance" as the show's short lived. During Hunter's brief early years, Shakedown Sound in Hereford, which included current Mott members in their ranks, gigged in similar circles but without a single point of concern.

Throughout the 1960s, Hunter performed with several other musicians, including The Young Idea, Billy Fury, and David McWilliams. In late 1968 Mickie Most recruited Hunter and Dufort to play in a band called 'The New Yardbirds,' a term Jimmy Page had used for his post-Yardbirds band before he discarded it in favour of 'Led Zeppelin'. This led to a confused fan to believe that Hunter was a Led Zeppelin supporter. "See, this is garbage, but people read it and believe it," Hunter said. Hunter served as a journalist and staff songwriter for Francis, Day & Hunter Ltd., as well as doing road proving for a local newspaper.

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Career

Hunter had two children by 1969, but he was still waiting for a return to full-time playing music. In comparison, guitarist Mick Ralphs joined organist Verden Allen in Jimmy Cliff's backing band, The Shakedown Sound. Ralphs, Allen, drummer Stan Tippins, bassist Overend Watts, and drummer Dale Griffin all met together to form Silence, who auditioned for British impresario Guy Stevens. After Willard Manus' 1966 book Mott the Hoople, Silence renamed themselves. The band lacked a credible singer with stage presence, and the veteran Hunter, who had adopted his trademark sunglasses by this time, was given the opportunity to audition on a lark. They were a huge success in the United Kingdom, where some of their most devoted early supporters included former Clash veterans. However, they could not maintain their commercial success, and their American tours were slow to begin building a following. Despite Mott's svengali-like leadership and promotion of Stevens, the band and television audience embraced enthusiastic live audiences. The band's tour ended in 1972 after a 1972 concert in a "gas cylinder" in Switzerland.

David Bowie, a fan of the band, then gave them a song he had just written. "He gave us "Suffragette City," which I didn't think was appropriate" in a 2004 DVD interview, as Hunter recalled it. He sat down on the floor, Regent Street it was, in a publisher's office, and appears on "All The Young Dudes" on an acoustic guitar. It's now No. 104. The band, who were appreciative of Bowie's rescue, was ranked 3 in the UK Singles Chart and revived the band. Bowie taught Mott studio tricks, according to guitarist Ralphs, but one of the period's most popular sounds was a 'handclap-in-the-toilet' regimen that relied more on Hunter's vision than Bowie's, who was obviously more experienced in studio techniques. Mick Ronson, a Bowie guitarist who would later collaborate with Ronson a great deal, also contributed to Mott's sound, a fact that was not revealed by Hunter.

The post-Bowie Mott had a commercial success with the 1972 compilation All the Young Dudes (1972, Bowie), Mott (1973) and The Hoople (1974). The band's songs, "Roll Away The Stone," "Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll," "All The Way From Memphis," "All The Way From Memphis," "Saturday Gigs," and especially "All The Young Dudes," were among its hits. Hunter chronicled the highs and lows of touring in Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star, his journal of a whirlwindling five-week tour in November and December 1972. Ralphs left in 1973 to form Bad Company, and Hunter began playing guitar until Luther Grosvenor took over. Hunters were increasingly under pressure to write hits for the band at the same time.

Following the unveiling of a live album following The Hoople, Grosvenor, aka Ariel Bender, was briefly replaced by Ronson, formerly the leading member of Bowie's backing band The Spiders from Mars. Hunter left the group in December 1974. The remaining members of the Mott and British Lions continued to march under the name Mott and British Lions.

Multiple sources, including Hunter's own website, announced that Mott the Hoople would reunite for two concerts at London's Hammersmith Apollo on October 2 and 3. These two dates were sold out, and three additional dates were added. In the end, Mott the Hoople performed 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 in November. Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, and Manchester, which had been released on CD and DVD, culminated in a last night at The O2 Arena on November 18, 2013.

Hunter began with Mick Ronson in March 1975, his most faithful collaborator until Ronson's death in 1993. "Once Bitten Twice Shy," Hunter's first single from his eponymous solo album "Once Bitten Twice Shy" was the UK Top 40 hit "Once Bitten Twice Shy." Hunter and Ronson then split apart academically, owing to Hunter's refusal to work with Ronson's boss, Tony DeFries.

All American Alien Boy (1976), Hunter's second solo album, was a more soul-infused work with saxophonist David Sanborn and bassist Jaco Pastorius. The Queen, who had performed in the opening act for Mott the Hoople, gave vocal support on a single track.

Overnight Angels (1977), Hunter's next album, was produced by Roy Thomas Baker and featured a heavier guitar sound thanks to former Bowie sideman Earl Slick. "Overnight Angels was not released in the United States because I fired my boss, Fred Heller, during the English promotional tour, just before it was to be released in America." Columbia said they didn't want to announce it until I had new leadership, but it didn't want to open it until it became "too late."

Hunter also produced Generation X's second LP Valley of the Dolls (1978).

Ronson appeared on Hunter's 1979 album, You're Never Alone, which also featured John Cale and several members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Two songs from...Schizophrenic made it to the top ten US hits in late 1979, and "Cleveland Rocks" by Barry Manilow was one of the show's theme tunes. "Cleveland Rocks" is possibly Hunter's most popular solo song, a de facto anthem in Cleveland, Ohio, where it is often used as a victory song for the city's sports teams. On June 19, 1979, Cleveland mayor Dennis Kucinich gave Hunter the keys to the city. Hunter co-produced with Ronson, Ellen Foley's Night Out album, where he also performed keyboards, guitar, and percussion.

The best-selling status of...Schizophrenic led Hunter's record company, Chrysalis Records, to order the release of the double album Welcome to the Club (1980). It was primarily a live album, but it also had some original studio work on display. On Hunter's eleven-show 1980 US tour, Todd Rundgren played lead guitar, but does not appear on the live album.

Short Back 'n' Sides (1981), Hunter's first studio album of the 1980s, was released in collaboration with Ronson and Clash guitarist Mick Jones. All of the Good Ones Are Taken (1983), Ronson's next album, was limited to playing guitar on a single track. Since MTV brought the song's video into heavy rotation, the title track became a minor hit in the United States. Ronson travelled to Canada in the same year as the Payolas' Hammer on a Drum, to which Hunter contributed backing vocals.

In 1990, YUI Orta was released as a joint album by Hunter and Ronson, and the pair appeared 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 fond tribute address. Hunter wrote and performed "Michael Picasso," a tribute to Ronson 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 appeared at the first Mick Ronson Memorial Concert in April 1994.

In 2000, Hunter appeared on a few live dates in the United Kingdom and the United States to promote Sony's 2-CD anthology, Once Bitten Twice Shy. Darrell Bath (guitar), Paul Cuddeford (guitar), Paul 'Trevor' Francis (keyboards), and Steve Holley (drums) performed for the UK dates. Andy York (guitar), John Conte (bass), Tom Mandel (keyboards), and Steve Holley (drums) appeared on his first US date for the lone US date.

Hunter and his All-Starr Band performed in North America in 2001 as part of a tour featuring Ringo Starr, Sheila E., Greg Lake, Howard Jones, Roger Hodgson, and Mark Rivera. Hunter's debutant was released the same year and was followed by two live albums: Strings Attached with a 20-piece orchestra in 2004, and 2005's The Truth Is True, The Truth is a compilation of King and Joe Elliott of Def Leppard (and Queen and Joe Elliott of Def Leppard's Althought The Truth is not a song). In October 2005, Hunter received the Classic Rock Magazine's Songwriter Award. Shrunken Heads, his studio album, was followed by a three-song bonus CD, and Jerkin' Crocus, Europe, and Yep Roc Records in the United States, Incidentally. By New West Records, a man Overboard was announced on July 21, 2009.

When I'm President was released in the United Kingdom on Proper Records on Prosper Records on Prose, and on the following day on Slimstyle Records in the United States, Hunter's 20th solo studio album When I'm President was released in the United Kingdom on Proper Records.

On June 3, 2015, Hunter and his Rant band appeared at the City Winery in New York. Ian Hunter & The Rant Band – Live in the United Kingdom 2010, was released on Hunter's own label Rant Records on October 20. Hunter continues to tour around the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America. He spent three nights in Tokyo in January 2015. Hunter's experiences about his trip to Tokyo were chronicled in a story entitled 'Diary of a Rock 'N' Roll Star, Part 2' in the Mojo's June 2015 issue.

Fingers Crossed, a new studio album, was released on Proper Records worldwide on September 16, 2016. Hunter wrote about and dedicated to late David Bowie's album "Dandy."

Def Leppard and other musicians appeared onstage during the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame appearance on March 29, 2019. To close the night, the group performed "All the Young Dudes."

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. Hunter's 2019 US tour was postponed because he had a severe case of tinnitus, and his doctors advised him not to continue performing until it was over.

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