Jimmy Attends BFI Festival - Mott The Hoople Film

[kenog]

From Ross' Diary yesterday 16/10. I loved Mott the Hoople. Ian Hunter looks amazing, and still out there performing live!

Ian and Trudi Hunter had invited me to the BFI Festival on the Southbank at Waterloo to see the film Mott The Hoople, so I invited Jimmy Page and off we went. The BFI is a nice venue with a good shop selling books and DVDs on all the Art House films that I love and the films are cheap - go and have a look. I'm going to have a longer look tomorrow. Mick Ralphs was there and Verden Allen, Blue Weaver and the annoying Luther Grosvenor who still seems to think he is the biggest rock star on planet earth. The film took me back to being a teenager again - Mott The Hoople, you can't help but love them. The sound was excellent, it made me want to go home and play The Moon Upstairs and Mad Shadows.

The Ballad of Mott The Hoople

Mon 18| 15:30| NFT1BOOK NOW

Tue 19| 19:00| STUDIOFULLY BOOKED

The Ballad of Mott the Hoople

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  'The rock'n'roll circus is in town...'
  
  
  There were a number of remarkable things about Mott the Hoople's celebrated reunion concerts of 2009. The band hadn't played together in 35 years and some members hadn't spoken to each other for 30. Their presence on the Juno soundtrack and their lingering influence through generations of British rock meant that the gigs were attended by genuine young dudes as well as those who identified with the band's most famous song back in 1972. Verden Allen, Dale Griffin, Mick Ralphs, Overend Watts and Ian Hunter had been the original line-up when the band first signed for Island; 40 years on and all past 60 (in Hunter's case, 70), that they were still around after lives devoted to rock'n'roll was a story in itself. Chris Hall and Mike Kerry (Love Story) present that story with the passion and affection of genuine fans. All the interviewees here are open and fascinating; Hunter is a dazzling raconteur, displaying total recall; and the archive footage, much of it rare, shows the band in their 70s pomp, including hits such as 'All The Young Dudes', 'Roll Away the Stone', 'All the Way to Memphis' and more, displaying what a singular, special band they were.
  
  Michael Hayden
  
  Director Chris Hall, Mike Kerry Country UK Running time 105 min Year 2010