Born in Owestery, Shropshire and fuelled musically by the likes of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, Ian Hunter Patterson played in various bands throughout the sixties, including The New Yardbirds and, as a bass player, backed Billy Fury, Freddie “Fingers” Lee, The Young Ideas and David McWilliams. He also worked as a journalist and staff songwriter for Francis Day and Hunter before joining Herefordshire band, Silence, in 1969.

Re-named Mott The Hoople by manic mentor and producer Guy Stevens, Hunter became the group’s vocalist, principal songwriter and focal point with visually striking corkscrew hair and omnipresent dark glasses. Mott recorded four crazed but critically acclaimed and highly influential albums for Island Records and possessed enormous live prowess, but poor record sales led to a temporary split and a move to CBS / Columbia. With David Bowie’s “All The Young Dudes” as the launchpad, Mott The Hoople hit superstar status between 1972 and 1974 – seven hit singles, four chart albums (including Mott – still regarded as a seventies’ classic); they were the first rock band to sell out a week of Broadway concerts in New York’s theatreland, and Ian wrote his universally acclaimed book, Diary Of A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.

Various personnel changes in Mott The Hoople ended with the recruitment of the highly talented Mick Ronson as lead guitarist, but, personality clashes and strains within the group resulted in it’s demise after Hunter suffered a physical breakdown in the USA. In spite of the pleadings of their original guiding light, Guy Stevens, Ian traded the safety of Mott The Hoople for unknown and risk-laden solo territory.

On paper, the combined potential of Mott and Ronson was frightening and Ian’s first stunning solo album, recorded with Mick, illustrated the considerable opportunity that was missed. Hunter was soon trail-blazing again and his second LP, released fifteen months later, whilst labelled commercial suicide, was soon mirrored by Sting after he quit The Police and issued his first solo records in a style reminiscent of All American Alien Boy.

Hunter continued to pool his vocal and writing expertise with Ronson’s instrumental and studio capabilities over the next fifteen years, both for recording and production work. The latter included Generation X, Ellen Foley, Hanoi Rocks and Urgent. In 1988, Ian reunited with Mick, when they recorded and toured for the first and only time as “Hunter / Ronson”.

Ian has been cited as a major inspiration and reference point for numerous bands including The Clash, Kiss, Def Leppard, REM, Motley Crue, Blur and Oasis. Hunter’s influence has remained incalculable; accompanied on stage by Ian Astbury of The Cult, Axl Rose and Slash, Roger Daltrey, Meat Loaf and Bryan Adams amongst others (and at their request), there are now over 50 different cover versions of Ian’s songs from artists as diverse as Great White, The Presidents Of The United States Of America, Status Quo, Blue Oyster Cult, Bonnie Tyler, Barry Manilow, The Pointer Sisters, Willie Nelson, Thunder and The Monkees – further evidence, surely, that he is one of our greatest-ever songwriters.

Ian’s new DVD and 2CD set, Strings Attached, released by Universal Music, provides evidence of this quality in abundance, including classic single and album tracks from Ian’s Mott The Hoople and solo years. The breadth of songwriting and lyrical genius on Strings Attached is an astounding barometer of Ian’s musical calibre and a timely reminder that the fad-orientated and decaying music scene needs Hunter more than ever before.

Line Up:
2004 sees Hunter embark on his most ambitious tour in years, bringing with him the celebrated Rant band featuring; Mick Ralphs (Bad Company, Mott The Hoople), Andy York (John Cougar Mellencamp), Ian Gibbons (The Kinks, Roger Chapman), Steve Holly (Paul McCartney, Joe Cocker, Dar Williams) and Gus Goad.

 » Press Photo (JPG)