Mott The Hoople

I've always been a huge David Bowie fan, and when I first heard the song "All The Young Dudes", many years ago, I initially thought that it might have been Bowie singing because the sound was definitely reminiscent of Bowie.....but I found out later that it was performed by a band called Mott The Hoople.  After doing a little research, I found out that the band was on the verge of breaking up in the early 70s, and Bowie found out and persuaded them to stay together, and even offered them "Suffragette City" from his then yet-to-be-released album "Ziggy Stardust".  Turns out that Bowie was a huge fan for several years, and hated to see them break-up.  The band ended up not using the song, but instead used another Bowie tune called "All The Young Dudes", which turned out to be their biggest hit.  You can definitely hear Bowie's influence on this song.








Using the glam rock craze as their launch pad, the band straddled the widening gap between the teen-pop market and the college circuit.  It yielded two UK hits, "Honaloochie Boogie" and "All the Way from Memphis".  "All the Way From Memphis" is also featured in the movie, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.  Sadly, Mott the Hoople's new found popularity ultimately helped lead to the band's break-up.  It such a shame, because these guys really rocked and I loved their sound.

In the 90s, Ian Hunter, lead singer from MTH, had gained popularity with his song "Cleveland Rocks", which was used in the opening for the "Drew Carey Show".  In 2009, the band reunited for several reunion concerts and they were well received, with sold out shows.  If they ever decide to perform in the U.S., I would definitely be going to that show!