SteveAJones Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Mott The Hoople, with former Bad Company guitarist and Swan Song label mate Mick Ralphs on guitar, has reunited for five performances at the Hammersmith Apollo this week. At the end of their second show, on Friday night, singer Ian Hunter gave a special mention to a couple of people in the audience - Jimmy Page and Mick Jones (of Foreigner). The show Jimmy attended was originally meant to be the first of two gigs, but popular demand led to three additional dates. First Night: Mott the Hoople, The Apollo, Hammersmith (Rated 4/ 5 ) You can teach old dudes new tricks The Independent Friday, 2 October 2009 Eyebrows were raised when Mott The Hoople's initial reunion shows at the Hammersmith Apollo sold out so fast that further dates had to be added, and then some more. One expects the likes of Led Zeppelin to inspire fond affection on a sizeable scale, but dear old Mott? Who knew there was such a collective yearning for the glam boogie monsters? Well, everybody here tonight, for starters. I've seen a few reunion shows in recent years, including the Cream and Zep shows, and I can honestly say that none elicited quite the genuine waves of joy – as opposed to reverence or awe – as Mott did tonight. Their fans clearly view them more as mates than rock gods, an attitude which Ian Hunter's bluff, self-deprecating banter does nothing to dispel. Not that their repertoire didn't rely heavily on the classic rock mythos, with louche anthems such as "Rock'n'Roll Queen" and a cover of The Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" greeted with huge roars of acclaim, and the hit "The Golden Age Of Rock'n'Roll" pivoting on the principle "gotta stay up, never grow old". For the audience, this is a principle best realised on foot: unlike other reunion shows, Mott's audience stays stood up from the moment the band step onstage, causing Hunter to observe that it was the first time they'd had a standing ovation for the entirety of their set. Though best known for their glam-era successes, the band were originally formed in the late '60s by producer Guy Stevens, who wanted to create a group that sounded like Dylan being backed by the Stones. They were just about to throw in the towel when David Bowie threw them the lifeline of "All The Young Dudes". But that original formula continued to dominate their live shows, best represented tonight by the "Jumpin' Jack Flash" chant which concluded the anthemic "Walkin' With A Mountain", seguing into a minute or two of "Like A Rolling Stone". One of the great misconceptions about glam-rock was that, being built on gender uncertainty, it was somehow soft and fluffy. This was far from the truth: there were plenty of '70s glam hardnuts just itching for lairy fun, and Mott The Hoople offered them plenty of no-frills boogie, exemplified by the swaggering "Honaloochie Boogie" and "All The Way From Memphis" that close tonight's set with a sort of sledgehammer grace. But it's a few lines from "One Of The Boys" that perhaps sum up Mott's appeal best: "I'm one of the boys that don't say much, but I make a big noise." Mott the Hoople: Hammersmith Apollo, review Mott the Hoople storm back to London for a dazzling night at the Hammersmith Apollo. Rating: * * * * * By Andrew Perry The Telegraph Published: 12:27PM BST 02 Oct 2009 The stakes in heritage rock reunions are getting so high that, soon, only the exhumation of some demised old stager will up the ante. This latest one, however, was pretty far-fetched. Mott the Hoople were titans of mid-Seventies glam. In their early career, they struggled as unreconstructed rockers, until David Bowie, no less, remodelled them in satin suits and platform boots. He donated them a fabulously dissolute glam anthem, 'All the Young Dudes', and thus began their tenure in the Top Five. This, however, was a band destined to fail. They didn't handle whirlwind fame well at all, and quickly disintegrated, only to be championed retrospectively by fans such as Morrissey, for their raunchy, wry take on the rock 'n' roll life. Forty years on from their inception, and thirty years since some of the members had actually spoken to each other, Mott stormed back into London for the first of five sold-out nights at the Apollo. Their singer, Ian Hunter, agelessly shrouded in corkscrew curls and face-blotting sunglasses, led straight into a ballad, 'Hymn For the Dudes', his gnarly, Dylan-esque voice roaring at the high notes. This was not to be a half-hearted canter through the hits. The first hour was mostly devoted to the band's pre-Bowie, high-voltage rock 'n' roll material. Hunter, a busy solo artist for more than three decades, and the silver-topped lead guitarist, Mick Ralphs, riffed vigorously, in active defiance of Time's subsequent intervention. The partisan crowd — at least eighty percent of whom, gloriously, unrepentantly, were old enough to remember it all from the turn of the Seventies — responded with commensurate enthusiasm. The electricity crackled to a new intensity, however, when Hunter moved to a piano stage-left, and finally unleashed a dazzling run of glam classics — songs about little more than rock itself. Glam, originally, existed purely to overturn prog-rock's tedious virtuosity, to revive the raw, sexy thrill of Fifties rock's simple, thumping beats and clanging riffs. Perhaps it was daft, witnessing a seventy-year old man with a blond afro singing, "I get my kicks from guitar licks", but also fabulously empowering, given his heedless dedication to the cause. The sense of lifelong commitment was heightened during the encore, when the band's original drummer, Dale Griffin, entered the fray. Griffin has Alzheimer's, and had to be led by the hand to a drum kit alongside his substitute for the evening, the Pretenders' Martin Chambers. Soon, he was pounding away the rhythm to 'Roll Away the Stone', grinning from ear to ear. 'All the Young Dudes', then, was simply breath-taking, with Def Leppard's Joe Elliott joining in for a verse. And the rockin' went on, unrestrainable, deafening, totally life-affirming. All the old dudes: the return of Mott the Hoople Joe Elliott interviews Ian Hunter The Independent Thursday, 1 October 2009 Mott the Hoople were one of the dominant bands of the early 70s glam rock era. They split in 1974 but are about to embark on a series of reunion concerts. Joe Elliott, lead singer with Def Leppard, is one of the many musicians inspired by Mott the Hoople. He talks to the reformed band's frontman Ian Hunter before they begin their five night comeback at London's Hammersmith Apollo. Joe Elliott supports Mott The Hoople on the final night, 6 October. Joe Elliott: The question on every Mott the Hoople fan's lips is why now and what prompted a yes that didn't when it was mooted in the 80s and the 90s? Ian Hunter: I don't think we were ever considering doing it and then Phally [Verden Allen] opened his mouth and said "if we don't do it now, we never will" which was a bit of a shock to me because I'd never really thought of it like that. And I said "if it's easy and uncomplicated" and he said "well, Pete [Watts] and Buff [Dale Griffin] want to do it" and I rang Mick [Ralphs] and he said "yeah, fine" and it was as simple as that. For some reason it never was before - somebody was busy, Pete didn't want to do it, whatever. JE: There's been a general thawing over the last 10 to 12 years. Remember when the box set came out and you and Mick were there and then you did a gig after the Mott Convention in Bilston and Verden got up with you then? IH: When he came out with me he began to realise "well, I can trust this bloke" and that's a big thing with Mick. There was never any ill feeling with Pete. Me and Buff didn't totally get on for a while then. These things happen. JE: You mentioned to me after the second show in Monmouth that you guys were "getting on like a house on fire". Was that something you expected or was it something you hoped and prayed for? IH: No, I expected it because Pete had rung me a few times by that time, Phally, Mick, they were all highly excited and it seemed it was going to be all right. I wasn't losing any sleep over that nor the music, actually. It was exactly as if we'd stopped last week and started again this week. Except Buff's up and down with his illness. Martin's doing a great job [The Pretenders' drummer Martin Chambers is sitting in for Buff]. JE: So you're back together, you've done two warm up shows in Monmouth. Would you like to do more? I'm thinking specifically of headlining Glastonbury next year or at least being on the bill? It would be inspiring for a lot of fans that can't make it to London to think that there might be more to it than just these shows. IH: I really can't answer that. I can't speak for the band because we haven't spoken about it. We've been trying to learn songs. JE: But in your heart would you like to or is it something you wouldn't be interested in? IH: If it was like it has been down in Monmouth then I wouldn't mind, but I don't think they're up for tours or anything like that. If they did something it would probably be the same as this. I don't see this band touring, I don't think it would tour well. JE: Do you think this would open you guys up to making new music? In this day and age you could do two or three songs and put them up as a download. IH: There are a few things to be sorted out before we can get into that. It's not easy business wise. JE: Taking political questions out of it, would you be up for doing new material with Mott the Hoople? Do you believe that, stood in a room with those four other guys, you'd start becoming more laddish if you approached the songwriting as opposed to what you'd be doing as a solo writer? IH: Well, the one thing I noticed is it's a damn sight more powerful than I'd remembered it. This band is an extremely powerful band so it's in its early days - I actually wrote one when I was down there with them but we can't do it because we haven't got time to learn it. JE: Trust me, everybody like me will be chomping at the bit to hear this. I've noticed from watching out front that when you front a powerful band you behave differently. You act more like the frontman of a rock band. I wonder if, mentally, you'd be a different songwriter writing for Mott than for yourself? IH: I really don't know because we've only done a couple of gigs and the rehearsals basically learning all the old stuff. But you're right when you say it changes your persona - it's ballsier, it's a democratic situation. They're all stars. JE: You yourself have been pretty prolific over the last few years compared to, say, in the 80s or part of the 90s. Why all of a sudden are we getting an album every 18 months from you when we used to get one maybe every six or seven years? What do you put that down to? IH: The American political situation, probably. The last eight years have been insane. And the 18 months between this one and the last one is because the band played so well on Shrunken Heads [Hunter's solo album] I just thought we've got to go back and do this again. JE: So do you just start jamming away and making yourself feel better? Is that how you do it? IH: That's the last thing I want to do. It's a process of getting to the point of self hatred where nothing else will help. You've got to go down in order to feel better about yourself when you come up. JE: If I remember rightly, wasn't "Apathy for the Devil" a result of you having seen the Stones and they just didn't do it for you that night? IH: Dylan asked me what did I think of the Stones and I said I hadn't liked them they seemed desultory at that particular time. I've always loved the Stones but that particular time, no. And he said "yeah, apathy for the devil". JE: To us fans of Mott there's been an overwhelming outpouring of positivity regarding the band's decision to reform. Have you actually begun to accept or even understand the value of Mott the Hoople and do you embrace it now? I know in the past it appeared the five years that Mott were together you didn't quite understand why it meant so much to a small bunch of people. IH: I still don't. There are a lot of things going on with this band and to tell you the truth it bemuses me. Because when you're in it, all you're thinking is Pete's late, you just think they're normal things. The buzz quite amazes me. I hope it lasts. Man Overboard [Hunter's last solo album] came out three or four months ago and it's obliterated in my mind by this. It's a very powerful band. JE: You have obviously been drinking from the fountain of youth and I would like to know where it is. A lot of people have commented on how well the band looks. IH: You've got to get out and about and exercise. In my 40s I was doing 12 mile walks one day and swimming two the next, because I wasn't doing anything else. There's plenty of time on your hands when you're a songwriter. JE: I'm opening for you guys on the last night at Hammersmith. And amongst some of the songs that I'm playing I'm going to be doing some of your solo stuff that you've openly admitted to me that you don't like very much. It's my job on that night just to convince you that you're wrong. Do you think you'd be able to hear it and think that's a really good song? IH: No, I'd probably still think it was a lousy song, just a better singer doing it. JE: Do you prefer the audience to be more reserved these days or do you still like the idea of a riot? IH: I think it's too dignified. Most of the audience are probably in their 50s and 60s, and I don't know what that would look like. I'm not bothered. You saw what happened in Monmouth. I'm perfectly happy for the whole place to be going nuts - that was the whole idea in the first place. But I don't know if they will, and there's quality in the music so if they don't want to go crazy that's fine. Mott The Hoople play Hammersmith Apollo tonight (Thursday 1 October) until Tuesday 6 October. YOUR EXCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITY TO PRE-ORDER THE LIVE CD OF THE REUNION GIG OF THE YEAR! October 1st sees the live return of one of the best loved Rock & Roll bands of all time: Mott The Hoople. It has been 40 years since this highly influential band formed in 1969, and over 35 years since the original line-up has played together. It is with great pleasure that we announce that we are recording the band at the Hammersmith Apollo on the 1st October to create an instant CD for fans to take home straight after the show. This limited edition live CD is the ONLY recording of the Mott The Hoople reunion show. Presented in bespoke artwork, this is an exclusive 3 CD set featuring songs from their classic albums, Mott The Hoople, All The Young Dudes, Mott and many more. Concert Live will be recording the band's show on the 1st October, selling this live CD directly at this show and at the following 4 dates the band are playing at the Hammersmith Apollo. Pre-order this live CD for collection at concert to be posted to you directly after the show. Order now to avoid disappointment! http://www.concertli.../tour.php?id=80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUCK'EYE' DOC Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 From Ross' Diary It looks like Ross had a great time and really enjoyed the show. It is fun reading his comments on various concerts from the vantage point that he has, and his descriptions are always witty and insightful. Maybe he will post some photos of Jimmy and Joe Elliot at the concert? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave to zep Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 From Ross' Diary It looks like Ross had a great time and really enjoyed the show. It is fun reading his comments on various concerts from the vantage point that he has, and his descriptions are always witty and insightful. Maybe he will post some photos of Jimmy and Joe Elliot at the concert? ross has put up a few pics, 3 with jimmy. he looks GOOD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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