Ian Hunter (Official Thread)

[Cosmic Harmony]

Ian Hunter

Ian Hunter Official Website

Solo Discography

Ian Hunter (1975)
All American Alien Boy (1976)
Overnight Angels (1977)
You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic (1979)
Welcome to the Club (1980)
Short Back 'n' Sides (1981)
All of the Good Ones Are Taken (1983)
YUI Orta (1989) – with Mick Ronson
BBC Live in Concert (1995)
Dirty Laundry (1995)
The Artful Dodger (1996)
Once Bitten Twice Shy (2000)
Missing In Action (2000)
Rant (2001)
Strings Attached (DVD and CD) (2004)
Just Another Night (DVD, 2004, US release, 2005))
The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nuthin' But The Truth (DVD and CD) (2005)
Shrunken Heads (2007)
Man Overboard (2009)


Ian Hunter is, in my opinion, the single most underrated songwriter, lyricist, and solo artist in music.



Ian's career in music was actually something of an accident as he never actually intended to be a musician. His first venture into music was playing Elvis Presley's "Blue Moon" as a third of an acoustic guitar trio in a talent show in the mid 1950's. The group one the talent show and decided start a band together called The Apex Group with Ian talking on the roll of rhythm guitarist. He recalls being WAY more animated on stage than his bandmates "Music affected me so much. The rest of them just stood there. It was funny, I had kids who came just to watch me do this, and I can't imagine what it looked like."

He left The Apex Group in 1958 and due to financial problems he was forced to move back home. While there he was in a steady relationship with then girlfriend Diane Coles and formed a harmonica duo. After working himself out of debt Ian returned to Northampton and The Apex Group with Diane accompanying him. The couple got married and had their first child Stephen in 1962.

Ian was becoming increasingly displeased with The Apex's musical direction as they group was wearing matching suits and drifting very strongly toward being an R&B group. In 1963, while still in the band, Ian formed Hurricane Henry and the Shriekers, a band that was in direct competition with The Apex Group. Hurricane Henry was becoming increasingly popular and eventually the other members of The Apex learned of Ian's place in his new band, as bassist, and he was kicked out.

At the suggestion of Hurricane Henry's frontman, Freddie "Fingers" Lee, the band starting playing shows in Germany in the same clubs and bars that The Beatles had first played in just a few years earlier. It was because of these gigs that Ian first realized that maybe he could do this for a living instead of working in factories.

In 1966 Ian moved to London where he joined The Scenery as bassist. It was at this time that he first met his one day best friend, Mick Ronson. The two were introduced by Scenery guitarist Miller Anderson after a show for one of the bands Mick was playing for at the time, The Rats. The two didn't become friends initially but Ian did take notice of Mick immediately.

For the remainder of the 60's Ian played with various groups and artists, such as David McWilliams, Billy Fury, and perhaps most notably a group named "The New Yardbirds". Now the latter caused a bit of confusion as "The New Yardbird" was a name that Jimmy Page had been using for Led Zeppelin before eventually settling on the band's final name. Because of this it lead some fans to believe that Ian Hunter was actually in Led Zeppelin in the band's early years.




Coming soon: Ian Hunter finds success with Mott The Hoople.





(I don't have any songs/videos/pictures to post from this era of Ian career, sorry. There'll be plenty later. I promise. )
​

 

[METALPRIEST]

Re: The Ian Hunter Thread

Beautiful OP!!

Gonne sneak in a quick one here...still my favorite Hunter song since I was about 14!

 

[rtbuck]

Re: The Ian Hunter Thread

Ian is a legend! I was fortunate to see him twice live & once was with Mick Ronson around the time of 'Welcome to the Club' came out (which is one of my favorite Live albums). I seen him again in the mid 80's & he was phenomenal that time as well. I always thought he should have been huge, meaning he should not have been stuck playing in clubs during his solo career. I'm partial to his 'You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic' album but I also loved 'All of the Good Ones Are Taken'

 

[LG]

Re: The Ian Hunter Thread

I always thought Ian deserved a higher profile than he got, both solo and with Mott the Hoople.

I have my two favorite solo albums on CD now one of which has a great title...which I have been known to use myself on more than one occasion.

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

Re: The Ian Hunter Thread

Ian Hunter: The Mott The Hoople Years



One cannot bring up Ian Hunter without bringing up Mott the Hoople...


By the end of the 1960's Ian had fathered two children and wasn't involved in music full time anymore, but he was still hoping to make a living out of it. When a band by the named of Silence and their manager Guy Stevens put out an ad that read "Singer wanted, must be image-minded and hungry", Ian got his chance. By this time Ian's hair was considerably long and he had started wearing dark sunglasses that have since become possibly his most identifiably characteristic as he never performs shadeless and pictures of him without them are few in numbers. The well seasoned musician's curly blonde corkscrews and shades proved to be exactly what Silence was looking for as he got the position and with his addition to the band Guy Stevens changed the band's name to Mott The Hoople, which they initially were not thrilled about. Regardless, the newly renamed band entered the studio to record their self titled debut almost immediately after Ian was added the group. In fact he hadn't even had the chance to play any live shows with them yet.
For "Mott The Hoople" producer Guy Stevens wanted to make the album sound as if Bob Dylan was fronting the Rolling Stones and this was achieved reasonably well. The album was made up of several covers, which were more Dylan-esc, and original compositions written by Ian Hunter and guitarist Mick Ralphs, which were the rockers. Once released the album was mild chart success and was received well by critics but what really became the buzz around the Mott the Hoople name was their reputation for their live shows. Also members of the Clash have cited this album as a favorite of theirs.



Their second album "Mad Shadows" was originally going to be titled "Sticky Fingers" but after hearing that The Rolling Stones planned to use that title for their next album the Mott decided to change it to avoid confusion. This album was both significantly darker and heavier than their debut as well most of the songs on the album written by Mr. Hunter. It charted higher than their debut at #48 (as opposed to #66). Track four "Walkin' With A Mountain" was also a crowd favorite during shows from it's release until the band broke up and even someway into Ian's solo career.





The band's third album "Wildlife" was originally going to be a live album to capture Mott's live energy but due to complications with the recording equipment only one live song, the albums closer "Keep On Knockin'", actually appeared on the album. The overall sound of this album is much softer than their previous two, which has led the band members to nickname the album "Midlife". Unlike the last album which was almost solely composed by Ian Hunter this one is most prominently written by Mick Ralphs. Ian's three compositions for this album are not the rockers that he'd grown to be most well known for. They were all soft, introspective songs as Ian was going through a very painful divorce at the time. One of the three songs he wrote for this album was the sorrowful "Waterlow", which was about the Waterlow Park where he used to take his daughter to play. Ian has cited this song as the best song he feels he ever wrote for Mott The Hoople.



By mid 1971 Mott's commercial success was waning significantly. While the band continued to be met by enthusiastic crowds at venues their albums had dismal sales and after the band's forth album "Brain Capers" failed to chart and a particularly terribly live show in Switzerland the band decided to called it quits.



After the demise of Mott bassist Peter Watts auditioned for David Bowie, as he was looking for a bass player at the time. David, a longtime fan of Mott the Hoople, asked Peter "Why are you here? You're in Mott the Hoople." and after being informed of the split David immediately called the band together to tell them that he'd write them a hit single if they gave it one more shot together. Ian recalls in a 2004 interview: "He offered us 'Suffragette City', which I didn't think was good enough. And then he sat down on the floor, Regent Street it was, in a publisher's office, and plays 'All The Young Dudes' on an acoustic guitar." The band was impressed enough with "All the Young Dudes" that they agreed to record one more album on a sink or swim mentality. Either this next album was going to be a hit or they were hanging it up for real.....and it did just that.
The band's fifth album "All the Young Dudes" (still regarded as a 70's classic) was a success with the title track shooting all the way to #3 in the UK and pushing the band to new heights on their native charts and finally cracking the US market. The album also catapulted Mott, and even more so Ian Hunter, to champions of the glam rock revolution. David Bowie also taught the band some of his studio tricks with Ian, the most seasoned member of Mott, teaching him a few as well. The most well known thing that Ian taught David was the fabled "hand clap in the toilet" technique which can be heard distinctly in both men's work during this era. It was also during this time that Ian was reintroduced with Mick Ronson, who was playing for David at the time, who helped with the guitar sound on this album.
For the band's followup album they were going to record another Bowie penned song "Drive-In Saturday" but when David wasn't satisfied with their arrangement of it the two groups professional relationship ended immediately, however he stayed close with Ian on a personal level. Mott soldiered on just fine without the song though scoring hit singles with "Roll Away The Stone", "Foxy Foxy", "Golden Age Of Rock´n´Roll", "Honaloochie Boogie", "All The Way From Memphis", and "(Do You Remember) The Saturday Gigs" as well as hit albums with "Mott" and "The Hoople".
Ian also released the self penned "Diary of A Rock 'n' Roll Star", which was written as a journal and chronicled a particularly hectic five week period of an American tour in November and December of 1972. Mott the Hoople reached true superstardom when they became the first band in history to sell out a full week of Broadway concerts in New York City.



At the genesis of 1973 guitarist Mick Ralphs left Mott the Hoople to form Bad Company. Ian took over the roll of guitarist until the band found a suitable replacement in Ariel Bender who was with the band just long enough to record "Mott The Hoople Live" which would be the band's final album. When on their final American tour and had a then little known band named Queen open for them. The bands clicked and long friendship formed between Ian and the members of Queen, particularly Brian and Freddie.
Mick Ronson would join the band in 1974 to replace Ariel but shortly thereafter Ian committed "career suicide" by leaving to start a solo career. The remaining original band member tried to soldier on as the British Lions but without their iconic frontman and guitarist, whom were the songwriters for the band, they did not last long. Mott the Hoople was officially over.

The group's final song was the Ian Hunter penned "(Do You Remember) The Saturday Gigs". It is the only song by Mott The Hoople to be recorded with Mick Ronson and was a lyrically retrospective about the band's entire career and serves as a farewell to their fans with the final word "Goodbye" being sung by the entire band over and over as the song fades away.







Coming Soon: Ian's "career suicide"...
​

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

Re: The Ian Hunter Thread

Ian Hunter's Solo Career: The 70's



Keeping Mott The Hoople together would have been the safe move. Ian opted to take the risk laden route of a solo artist instead.


After the official break up of Mott in December of 1974, Ian teamed up with Mick Ronson and started his long career as a solo act and the on and off partnership between the two.
As the new year rang in the two got to work on Ian's self titled debut. The album produced Ian's first and only top 20 single as a solo artist with "Once Bitten, Twice Shy", which would go on to become more well known for it's cover by Great White in the late 80's. The album was moderate success overall and the team of Ronson and Hunter was well received by critics and fans alike. It was not meant to last however as the two parted ways after the albums released, reportedly from Ian refusing to deal with Mick's manager.






(A favorite of mine off the album)

To fill the large, Mick Ronson shaped void Ian brought in guitarist Chris Stainton for his second album to serve as his right hand man and someone whom he could bounce ideas off of. Unlike much of what people had heard from Ian up to his point, which was full of fun rock and roll flair, his sophomore album "All American Alien Boy" was a much softer album, taking on mainly a jazz and soul sound. The album was not a success in terms of sales but it had a warm response critically. The most notable track on the album is "You Nearly Did Me In" which featured backing vocals from Brian May, Freddie Mercury, and Roger Taylor (of course) from Queen, whom were riding high on the success of "A Night At The Opera" released the year before. This is just one of many examples of the bond between Ian and the members of Queen.



After the low sales of "All American Alien Boy" Ian decided to return to rock music, only this time taking on a much heavier style for the album "Overnight Angels". This heavier guitar approach was not well received and the album became the critical "flop" of Ian's solo releases up to and beyond this point. The album also proved to be a commercial disappointment, however this was partially due to Columbia records refusing to release the album in the US. The reason for this was not because they were unsatisfied with the recordings on the album but because Ian had fired his manager on the English promotional tour just before the album's release in the states and Columbia refused to release the album until Ian hired a new manager. Inevitably Ian parted ways with Columbia records over this. Despite Ian himself calling "Overnight Angels" a "mistake" there is one song to make note of from the album. While not on all pressings and mostly used as only a B-side the album was home to the song "England Rocks" which would be rerecorded on his next album and become arguably his best known song, especially in northern Ohio, where I'm from.

After leaving Columbia Ian drifted around without a contract for a bit but eventually got with Chrysalis records. He also reunited with Mick Ronson who would play lead guitar on and co-produce Ian's next album "You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic". Ian recalls his predicament prior to recording on the live album "Welcome To The Club":

"See, about 18 months ago I was down stiff alley. I wasn't doing anything, I didn't have a contract, all your groovy American labels didn't wanna know, ya know. And uh....everybody passed but in the end I got with Cleveland International, which is a great management company and I got to push this record, which is fine."

This album would go on to be one of Ian's finest. Using several of the same musicians that recorded Meat Loaf's "Bat Out Of Hell" (which were actually members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band) "You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic" became a surprise success and was very well received by music critics who particularly made note of the strong song writing across the entire album. Each song minus the opening tack "Just Another Night" (which has shared credit between Ian and Mick) being written solely by Ian himself. The song writing was so strong that two of the songs from the album were later covered and met with large success. "Ships" was covered by Barry Manilow in the late 90's where it became a top 10 hit in the US and the most memorable song from the album "Cleveland Rocks" was covered by The Presidents of the United States of America and used in the opening sequence for the hit comedy The Drew Carey Show. "Cleveland Rocks" (originally titled the previously mention "England Rocks") has become the anthem for Cleveland, Ohio with Ian even being given the key to the city in June 1979, less than four months after the song was released. When asked about the origins of "Cleveland Rocks" Ian has stated that he remembered hearing all the time how "uncool" Cleveland was and how much "cooler" cities like Los Angeles and New York City were so he decided to show Cleveland how much he loved it. The reason for this is actually because back when Ian first toured the US with Mott it was states like Michigan and Ohio that welcomed them with open arms, with Cleveland being especially enthusiastic. This was repeated once again when he first went solo as Cleveland embraced him once again right away.

(Since PRIEST already posted "Cleveland Rocks" I'll post "Ships" and another rocker that really displays Mick Ronson's guitar playing, "The Outsider")





Because of the unpredicted success of "You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic" Chrysalis Records pushed for Ian to capitalize on it's success by releasing another album to continue his renewed momentum. However since Ian never writes new songs while touring they instead released his first live album entitled "Welcome To The Club". This double live album captured the energy of the smaller club venues that Ian had been playing in for the past few years. It was a modest success with critical reaction being higher than than commercial reaction, as with all of his albums. Along with the live material there were four new songs on side four of the vinyl, written special for the album. The most significant of these is "We Gotta Get Out Of Here", a rare duet for Ian, which featured Ellen Foley on co-lead vocals. Ellen is most remembered for her part in Meat Loaf's "Paradise By The Dashboard Lights".






Coming Soon: The 80's, the lose of Mick Ronson, and beyond...
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[ladyislingering]

Re: The Ian Hunter Thread

Not to steal any attention from the rhythmic manner in which miss Harmony writes, but to add an extra twist to the thread that deserves much more attention than it's gotten:

This is the part where the older sister comes in and offers an extensive review for each song posted thus far. Have patience and an open mind; listen and prepare to have it blown to bits by the tremendous skill of Ian Hunter.

Beginning with MP's pick: "Cleveland Rocks".



If Cleveland didn't rock before this song, I'm sure it did after. There is definitely a glam quality to this track. It fits right in with the likes of Hello, early Bowie, and even Alice Cooper to some extent. Though I'm reminded of Drew Carey whenever I hear this track, I must admit it only crosses my mind during the chorus. Ian's vocals are a bit cold, but strong as anything. There's even room for a piano, synth, and one hell of a roaring guitar in this track. Why? Because Cleveland is supposed to be rocking. Not nodding lazily waiting for the song to be over.

"At the Crossroads" is a little lighter in tone.



Though I'm still personally getting used to the sound of Ian's voice when it's low and brooding, he gives feeling to his lyrics with this voice. It has a folk-rock vibe. It's a bit like the Byrds, a bit like Bob Dylan, and reminds me very much of Milkwood (a very early version of The Cars - a folk rock trio). The tenderness of the song is one thing; the theme of the lyrics escapes me and might require a few more listens before one solid opinion is built. It's something to listen to over tea after a long day, with the lights low and your heart in tow.



"No Wheels to Ride" is up to something the minute you begin listening. It fades in, to the aching soul of Ian's serenade. It's very similar to the former song, "At the Crossroads", it has more of a ballad feel to it. I'm waiting for the buildup. Before too long it picks up some; the tone of Ian's voice and the way the instruments reflect this suggest that life was difficult at this point for him (as noted). Hell, it's been one of those days for me. This is just what I need. I'm sure, someone looking at this thread is having one of those days where the end of it has made them ache with the vertigo and fatigue of hopelessness. The guitar and piano of this track will grab them, first and foremost - and they won't let go.

This live version of "Walkin' With a Mountain" is a rock masterpiece from the get-go.



I can't tell if there's guest vocalists, but I think I hear David Bowie in there. I could be mistaken. Ian's voice is a bit strained and suffers against the efforts of the other musicians on-stage. Someone, however, is absolutely going to town on the piano, if one listens closely. And someone with lightning fingers on the guitar. Either way you've got a bunch of incredibly talented musicians together just having a jam session. It's the stuff rock dreams are made of. And there's a riff I remember from somewhere; it reminds me of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" (correct my spelling if I'm wrong). Dear lord, the guitar solo about midway through. The drums have their moment of glory as well - and rightfully so!

I correct myself: this is the stuff Ian Hunter dreams are made of.

"Waterlow" always makes me cry.



Perhaps it is because I know the backstory of this track. Or maybe it's just because of the agony in Ian's voice. His soul bleeds through this track; what ails his heart is suddenly so clear. In terms of composing the peril of heartache for all to experience, Ian is ranking up there with Janis Joplin. I'm tearing up just hearing this again. The tenderness of the quiet guitar and what sounds like a string section will pull at your heartstrings until you have no choice but to shed a tear. Everything inside of you will die; it will curl up and sob on its own knees. "Waterlow" is a beautiful experience.

I'll be doing five at a time for space and time efficiency. Carry on.

 

[METALPRIEST]

Re: The Ian Hunter Thread

Thanks for the review of Cleveland Rocks (and the others LIL)...that has to be one of my favorite tunes by Ian. There was one version of that song....that was played on the LOOP out here ALL THE TIME years ago when I was a teen.

It was a live version and near the end he changed the words to Chicago Rocks....in fact I believe I bought a 45 single back then and that version was actually the B-side!!

I tried searching youtube for this version with no luck...any help anyone??

BTW Harmony...this thread looks GREAT! Like an Ian Hunter Art Gallery!

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

Re: The Ian Hunter Thread

@Lady: Just a couple things: I focused aimed not to upload the hits as I wanted to put up some really cool lesser known tracks like the ones I've put up so far and more to come.
No, David Bowie isn't singing backup on "Walkin' With A Mountain". The rocking guitar is provided by Ariel Bender and the piano is from Morgan Fisher on that same song.
Ian was told to try and sound like Bob Dylan in Mott's early days so that's why it comes across that way in "At The Crossroad".
Also I that riff from that same song (still) is very common in Chuck Berry's songs but I think it most closely resembles "Roll Over Beethoven".
I think "No Wheels to Ride" is an absolute gem of a song that I went out of my way to make sure made it's way in here.
I'm glad you love "Waterlow" so much. It's a very emotional piece.

Thanks for taking the time to actually listen to all of the songs in here. Not a lot of people do and I put some time into uploading a lot of these songs myself just for this thread.

I tried searching youtube for this version with no luck...any help anyone??

BTW Harmony...this thread looks GREAT! Like an Ian Hunter Art Gallery!

I'm not familiar with that version Priest, sorry. It might be a bootleg or something but I don't know of any official release that changes it to Chicago at the end. I do think this is a good live version....though it's a few decades too late to be the one you're thinking of.



Also, thank you very much. This thread is like my baby. I'm pulling rare pictures from all corners of the internet, putting videos up on Youtube myself just for this thread since they don't have a lot of songs that I was looking for, and I'm absolutely saturating my noggin meats for everything. And we haven't even gotten to my absolute favorite era in Ian's career yet.

 

[METALPRIEST]

Re: The Ian Hunter Thread

Very cool...just so you know..I am right now 99.9 % positive that it was the flip side of the Cleveland Rocks 45 I used to own when I was like 14...it may have been a Chicago only release...but I tell you the LOOP would play the crap outta that one and the original was less and less during this time.

It is a much heavier song as LIL wished it would be when given a live treatment.