Mott’s All The Way Back

Apparently Mott singer Ian Hunter was recently offered seven figures to re-form the band – so maybe two shows won’t be enough. The original lineup is celebrating its 40th anniversary with shows at the London venue Feb 2-3, so maybe it’s just a matter of how well received the shows are.

Hunter, Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Dale Griffin and Overend Watts have not performed together for 35 years. Post-Mott years saw Ralphs forming Bad Company and Hunter writing tunes like “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” which became a 20-year meal ticket for Great White, and “Cleveland Rocks,” which got Drew Carey dancing.

Mott’s always been a band for the audiophiles. Their first two albums didn’t do so well but they had a fan in David Bowie, who went so far as to offer them a song to record, one that the band turned down. Bowie went on to record the song, “Suffragette City,” himself. Too bad, but he did toss them a throw-together ditty called “All The Young Dudes,” which went on to be a rock classic.

The album of the same name didn’t sell well either. It was only with Mott in 1973 that the band saw true success. The album included U.K. hits “Honaloochie Boogie” and “All the Way From Memphis.”

Bowie lost interest in the band when they didn’t properly arrange his song “Drive-In Saturday.” It was promptly taken out of their hands, but Bowie maintained a working relationship with Hunter.