Legendary UK Band Mott The Hoople

David Bowie Wrote 'All The Young Dudes' for England's Hoople

Mar 20, 2008

David Bowie, Morrissey, Brian May and Mick Jones are some of Mott The Hoople's greatest fans. Find out more about one of the UK's most influential bands.

Mott The Hoople, a short-lived but highly influential English band of the late 60s and early 70s, rose to fame in 1972 with the David Bowie penned ‘All The Young Dudes’.

David Bowie

Bowie, a big fan of the band, had earlier offered them ‘Suffragette City’ when it was rumoured the band were on the point of splitting. They perhaps naively refused this offer, but ‘All the Young Dudes’ was just too good to turn down.

“We went to this office in Regent Street,” said singer Ian Hunter. “David said he had a song for us. He sat on the floor and played 'All The Young Dudes'. It was a great feeling. Your life’s about to change. You knew it. I’d worked in factories, I’d just done about everything, and to sit there and hear this song. I thought we can’t mess that up.”

The fact it got to number 3 in the UK singles chart and proved to be their only top 40 placing in the US proved they didn’t.

After this success, Hunter gained confidence in his own song writing, which was well timed as Bowie decided "Drive In Saturday" belonged on Aladdin Sane and not the next Mott The Hoople album.

Hunter had been heavily inspired by Bob Dylan, not only in lyrical imagery but also by vocal delivery. He felt Dylan epitomised the democratic nature of performance. You didn’t need to be a ‘good’ singer to express yourself.

Mott

Their next release was Mott, for which Hunter wrote 2 more hit singles, "Honaloochie Boogie" and "All the Way from Memphis", to continue their chart success.

The album also contained a disarming mix of romantic yearning, "I Wish I Was Your Mother", epic production, "Hymn For The Dudes" and pre-punk street life, "Violence".

To many, this was the pinnacle of the band’s achievements. Effortlessly combining lyrical depth, hard-hitting rock and melodic savvy.

The Hoople

The following year saw The Hoople spawn further single success with "Roll Away the Stone" and "The Golden Age of Rock ’N ’Roll".

It had a different sound to its predecessor. Keyboards dominated after guitarist Mick Ralphs left to form Bad Company and his replacement, Luther Grosvenor (stage named Ariel Bender), had difficulty transferring his live sound successfully to the studio.

So began the beginning of the end. Former Bowie cohort Mick Ronson replaced Ariel Bender and played on the band’s final single, "Saturday Gigs", released in 1974. However, relations began to crumble and Hunter suffered exhaustion on tour in America and the cancellation of a pre-Christmas UK tour saw the end of the band.

The Legacy of Mott The Hoople

Mott the Hoople burned bright from 1972 to 1974 and their influence on the UK music scene in particular should not be underestimated. Just check out some of their biggest fans: David Bowie, Brian May of Queen, Mick Jones of the Clash and Morrissey. As Hunter said himself… “The Golden Age Of Rock ‘N’ Roll Will Never Die…”

The Albums

Sources

All The Young Dudes: Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter by Campbell Devine (Cherry Red Books)

All the Way to Memphis - The Story of Mott The Hoople by Philip Cato (ST Publishing)

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