tue 19/03/2024

Mott The Hoople, Hammersmith Odeon | reviews, news & interviews

Mott The Hoople, Hammersmith Odeon

Mott The Hoople, Hammersmith Odeon

Who needs TV when we've got Mott the Hoople?

If Bowie, Bolan, and Roxy Music were the shimmering glam triumvirate of early 1970s British pop, then what were Mott the Hoople? Surely they don’t belong with the likes of the Sweet, Suzi Quatro and… er… Gary Glitter. In fact with their R&B and rock 'n' roll roots they’ve more in common with some of the decade’s more credible rockers such as the Faces or even the New York Dolls. It was in their ragged swagger and the stylised arrogance that vocalist Ian Hunter projected while implicitly inviting every teenager in the land to join his gang rather than that bacofoil-clad impostor’s gang.

If Bowie, Bolan, and Roxy Music were the shimmering glam triumvirate of early 1970s British pop, then what were Mott the Hoople? Surely they don’t belong with the likes of the Sweet, Suzi Quatro and… er… Gary Glitter. In fact with their R&B and rock 'n' roll roots they’ve more in common with some of the decade’s more credible rockers such as the Faces or even the New York Dolls. It was in their ragged swagger and the stylised arrogance that vocalist Ian Hunter projected while implicitly inviting every teenager in the land to join his gang rather than that bacofoil-clad impostor’s gang.

There is no sign whatsoever that he might be flagging, despite the fact this is the fifth night in a six-night run

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I like your categorization of Hunter as the working man's answer to the glam rock gods of the day -- though I wouldn’t slag off the Sweet or even the craven Gary Glitter, who made some brilliant singles, after all. And yes, Hunter may now be slightly less hirsute but he was no way diminished as a performer. I flew back to the UK from the States to see the last two nights in London, and it was everything I’d hoped. Well, except no Midnight Lady.

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