mott the hoople

70年代重要的華麗搖滾樂隊，主唱是Ian Hunter，主吉他手是被稱為“華麗搖滾吉他之父”的Mick Ronson，後者在David Bowie的《Ziggy Stardust》中有非常精彩的表演。

1969年Mott The Hoople在美國成立的時候，直到一九六九年之間發行四張專輯都不成功，雖然那年樂團還在全美進行全美演出但是在1972年3月瀕臨解散，第一次聽Mott The Hoople專輯是從69年的那張《Mad Shadows》唱片開始，六十年未至七十年代出樂團發布的唱片還是有一定的影響力，但沒有紅著發火，問題主要是當時的環境流行因素造成。

該樂隊成立於1969年，雖然很有自己的風格水平，但是商業上總是不太成功，結果到了1972年就已經面臨解散的危機。這時他們的一位fans挺身而出，為他們創作了一些優秀的歌曲，這個fans就是大名鼎鼎的David Bowie。1972年的All the Young Dudes讓樂隊暫時走出了危機，不過由於主打歌是David Bowie所作，有人甚至誤以為Mott the Hoople是David Bowie領導的樂隊。Ian Hunter等樂隊成員對此當然很有想法，到了1973年，這張厚積薄發的Mott終於在英美兩地都獲得成功，All The Way From Memphis成為美國電台熱播的歌曲，在英國也進入了Top 10，同時樂隊也贏得了一些國際聽眾。

The early years

In 1968, Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Pete "Overend" Watts and Dale "Buffin" Griffin formed a band called Silence, playing near Hereford, England. Adding then lead singer Stan Tippens in 1969, the band recorded early tracks at a studio in Monmouth, later dominated by Love Sculpture and Dave Edmunds. Stan was injured soon after joining the band and was unable to continue singing, but the band rallied and eventually signed with Island Records, moving to London to record with Guy Stevens as producer.

Stevens changed the band's name to "Mott the Hoople" from a novel of the same name by Willard Manus; the book is about an eccentric who works in a circus freak show. The band also recruited a new singer and boogie piano player, Ian Hunter. Hunter had replied to a music magazine advertisement which read "Singer wanted, must be image-minded and hungry." Tippens became the road manager for the band. Their debut album, Mott the Hoople (1969), was a cult success, and their repertoire included memorable cover versions of "Laugh at Me" (Sonny Bono), and an instrumental version of "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks).

The second album, Mad Shadows (1970), sold poorly and received generally negative reviews; as did Wildlife (1971). Even though the group was building a decent following, Brain Capers (1971) failed to sell well, and the band was close to breaking up.

The glam years

David Bowie had long been a fan of the band, and heard that they were about to split. Bowie persuaded them to stay together, and offered them "Suffragette City" from his then yet-to-be-released Ziggy Stardust album. They refused the song so Bowie wrote "All the Young Dudes" for them instead. Released as a single in July 1972, it was a major success in the UK, with the band using Tippens - who by this time was the band's tour manager - to sing backing vocals during live gigs. A Bowie-produced album, also called All the Young Dudes, sold well. Late in 1972 the band was going to record another Bowie song, "Drive-In Saturday", but their intended arrangement dissatisfied the composer, and their professional relationship effectively ended. Another casualty in the wake of All the Young Dudes was Verden Allen, who departed before the release of their next album, Mott.

Mott climbed into the Top Ten of the UK album charts, and became the band's best seller to date in the US. It yielded two UK hits, "Honaloochie Boogie", and "All the Way from Memphis", both featuring Andy Mackay of Roxy Music on saxophone. "All the Way From Memphis" is also featured in the movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.

Mott the Hoople's new-found popularity ultimately helped lead to the band's break-up, perhaps helped along by an exposé in New Musical Express of Tippens' role in singing the chorus of "All the Young Dudes", from a hidden microphone backstage. Ralphs left in 1973 to form Bad Company and was replaced by former Spooky Tooth guitarist Luther Grosvenor. For contractual reasons, he changed his name to Ariel Bender at the suggestion of singer-songwriter Lynsey De Paul for his stint with the band. At the same time, former Love Affair member Morgan Fisher joined as keyboardist.

In the afterglow of The Hoople (1974), a live album was quickly released, after which Mick Ronson replaced Bender. The end was nigh when both Ronson and Hunter left the group to form a duo. Ray Major and Nigel Benjamin were added to continue the group, which abbreviated its name to "Mott".

The post-Hunter years

This lineup released two more albums, Drive On (1975) and Shouting and Pointing (1976), offering a heavy, less Dylanesque taste on the Mott sound, and both of which sold poorly.After Nigel Benjamin quit in 1976, Mott added John Fiddler and became British Lions in 1978, but they soon split as well, similarly without any chart success. Hunter and Ronson worked and toured together sporadically until Ronson's death in 1993. Hunter has continued his solo career.

No Mott the Hoople reunion has ever occurred, though negotiations for one were attempted in 1985; all parties have shown some interest at various times in the idea over the last 25 years or so, though recently Hunter has ruled out a full Mott reunion. A full reunion currently seems unlikely, although in 2002 and 2004, Mick Ralphs toured with Ian Hunter, as part of Hunter's backing band.

In 2005 it was reported in the publication Classic Rock, that Hunter had received the offer of a seven-figure number to re-form the band