All we need is a bloke to sing the songs: 1975

YET MORE (YAWN) HOOPLE POOPLE

Mott The Hoople's Gritty Survival Spirit

The article on the Thrills page in New Musical Express (February 1, 1975) by Charles Shaar Murray profiled the remaining members of Mott The Hoople — Overend Watts, Morgan Fisher, and Buffin — after the departure of Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson. It described their resilience as true inheritors of British grit and Dunkirk spirit, noting they were not depressed or stunned but picking themselves up to salvage something from the ruins. The piece captured them in their publicist’s office, fielding identical questions from journalists, and quoted them on the split: it had been in the offing for a long time, Bender’s departure took a lot of the band’s spirit, MainMan infiltration via Ronson did no good, and the suddenness of Ian’s phone call to say they couldn’t carry on. They were writing new songs (about twelve on tape), seeking a name, a singer, and a guitarist who could handle heavy and quiet numbers with taste. Pete Watts hoped for a singer who was incredible, acknowledging Ian’s vocal limitations and Mick Ralphs’ unfulfilled songwriting contributions.

Article Overview

Publication Details

Magazine: New Musical Express (UK).

Date: February 1, 1975.

Format: Thrills page article.

Article Text

SPEAKING AS an Austro-Hungarian, Sething got admit is that these : tons sure got grit. True grit. That old Dunkirk bulldog spirit still lives on, even in such a namby-pamby profession as the rock and roll business.

Take Overend Watts, Morgan Fisher, and Buffin from Mott The Hoople f'rinstance. They've just had a reasonably solid future torn out from underneath them by the departure of Hunter and Ronson but are they depressed? Are they stunned? Are they planning to off themselves and leave poignant little notes saying "Ian did it, Inspector pinned to the stove door?

No way. They just pick themselves up, dust themselves off and start all over again like true inheritors of their national tradition. Without a lead singer or a lead guitarist, they're getting down to work and attempting to salvage some thing from the ruins of Mott The Hoople. So over to our archeology department.

The scene is the office of the band's publicist. An endless cavalcade of journalists is wheeled in, most of them asking identical questions and get-ting (logically enough) identical answers. Result: a bunch of near-identical articles.

So anyway, seated in their publicist's office (where somebody with an illegible signature who is apparently a member of Queen had scrawled "O.A.P." over a poster of Ian Hunter), Overend (who, for reasons of brevity will be referred to as "Pete), Dale Griffin (who, for old time's sake will be referred to as "Buffin") and Morgan Fish-er (who for no reason at all will be referred to as "Morgan") prepare to Reveal All. Or some of it, anyway.

"It had been in the offing for a long time," declaims Pete, sprawled rather incongruously on a darling little bedspread. He is answering one of the reporter's patented searching, tricky ques hoppen?" "We thought that with Mick joining we'd probably keep things going longer, but it didn't... did it?"

"I think when Bender left, a lot of the band's spirit went," volunteers Morgan languidly from beneath one of those elegant po' boy caps that stylish rock stars use when they're trying to prevent their scalps from blinding their companions with too much reflected sunlight.

"Bender was a great guy to have in a group," resumes Watts.

"Mick Ronson's a great player nice guy and everything, but there wasn't the same sort of feeling there as a band. We did some good gigs, though... it was enjoyable, wannit? There were a lot of other things, though; lan's been wanting to do a solo album for a long time now."

"I think he just wanted a complete change. He had a nervous breakdown in America, and he just wanted to get away from everything to do with Mott... which I can understand actually."

"It's just that it all happened so suddenly," muses Pete, "which made it a bit... sudden. We were about to go to America, and Ian 'phoned up and said, "I don't think that we can carry on.""

"The infiltration of MainMan into the camp via Ronson," (Morgan again) "didn't do any good. Mick's way of thinking, for a start, is MainMan thinking."

Pete: "The split management had a lot to do with it, too. There wasn't enough liaison between the two managements or anything." (Jolly old T. DeF. looks after Ronno, whereas Mott's affairs were (and are) handled by H&H Enterprises) ck's thoroughly into MainMan he's been with them for a long time and every time we "Mick's thoroughly went out to supper it'd end up as a business discussion."

Once the initial shock had worn off, the Titanic Trio "just jumped straight in head-first." "It's going great. I've been writing a lot of songs. We've got about twelve on tape now," chips in Watts, "All we need is a name and a bloke to sing the songs. And a guitarist, someone who can play heavy but handle quiet numbers with taste as

well. Mick Ralphs is still my favourite guitarist. We seem to have found a direction, even with just the three of us, and we need people who can fit in with that. Someone who's good with ideas and can put little pieces in and come up with nice tunes. I can sing a couple of numbers, but I don't think I can really carry the vocals, so I'd like us to get a singer who's incredible.

"Ian's a great character, but it was a bit limit ing sometimes because of his vocal range. Mick Ralphs wrote 'Can't Get Enough' and 'Movin' On' and a lot of that Bad Company stuff when he was with us, but we couldn't do 'em very good."

Ian Hunter's departure may be some kind of godsend for Pete Watts, as it 'appens. A self-confessed lazy sod, the crisis has forced him to buckle down to some intensive songwriting, and if he possesses any real creativity then now is the time that he's going to have to prove it.

CHARLES SHARE MURRAY

Did you have this NME Thrills page article in your archive? Were you ready for the Hoople rebuild? Share in the comments!

thrills page new musical express february 1, 1975

SPEAKING AS an Austro-Hungarian, Sething got admit is that these : tons sure got grit. True grit. That old Dunkirk bulldog spirit still lives on, even in such a namby-pamby profession as the rock and roll business.

Take Overend Watts, Morgan Fisher, and Buf-fin from Mott The Hoople frinstance. They've just had a reasonably solid future torn out from underneath them by the departure of Hunter and Ronson but are they depressed? Are they stunned? Are they planning to off themselves and leave poignant little notes saying "Ian did it, In-spector pinned to the stove door?

No way. They just pick themselves up, dust themselves off and start all over again like true inheritors of their national tradition. Without a lead singer or a lead guitarist, they're getting down to work and attempting to salvage some thing from the ruins of Mott The Hoople. So over to our archeology department.

The scene is the office of the band's publicist. An endless cavalcade of journalists is wheeled in, most of them asking identical questions and get-ting (logically enough) identical answers. Result: a bunch of near-identical articles.

So anyway, seated in their publicist's office (where somebody with an illegible signature who is apparently a member of Queen had scrawled "O.A.P." over a poster of Ian Hunter), Overend (who, for reasons of brevity will be referred to as "Pete), Dale Griffin (who, for old time's sake will be referred to as "Buffin") and Morgan Fish-er (who for no reason at all will be referred to as "Morgan") prepare to Reveal All. Or some of it, anyway.

"It had been in the offing for a long time," declaims Pete, sprawled rather incongruously on a darling little bedspread. He is answering one of the reporter's patented searching, tricky ques hoppen?" "We thought that with Mick joining we'd probably keep things go-ing longer, but it didn't... did it?"

"I think when Bender left, a lot of the band's spirit went," volunteers Morgan languidly from beneath one of those elegant po' boy caps that stylish rock stars use when they're trying to prevent their scalps from blinding their companions with too much reflected sunlight.

"Bender was a great guy to have in a group," resumes Watts. "Mick Ronson's a great player nice guy and everything, but there wasn't the same sort of feeling there as a band. We did some good gigs, though... it was enjoyable, wannit? There were a lot of other things, though; lan's been wanting to do a solo album for a long time now."

"I think he just wanted a complete change. He had a nervous breakdown in America, and he just wanted to get away from everything to do with Mott... which I can understand actually."

"It's just that it all happened so suddenly," muses Pete, "which made it a bit... sudden. We were about to go to America, and Ian 'phoned up

All we need is a bloke to sing the songs

YET MORE (YAWN) HOOPLE POOPLE

and said, "I don't think that we can carry on.""

"The infiltration of MainMan into the camp via Ronson," (Morgan again) "didn't do any good. Mick's way of thinking, for a start, is MainMan thinking."

Pete: "The split management had a lot to do with it, too. There wasn't enough liaison between the two managements or anything." (Jolly old T. DeF. looks after Ronno, whereas Mott's affairs were (and are) handled by H&H Enterprises) ck's thoroughly into MainMan he's been with them for a long time and every time we "Mick's thoroughly went out to supper it'd end up as a business discussion."

Once the initial shock had worn off, the Titanic Trio "just jumped straight in head-first." "It's going great. I've been writing a lot of songs. We've got about twelve on tape now," chips in Watts, "All we need is a name and a bloke to sing the songs. And a guitarist, someone who can play heavy but handle quiet numbers with taste as

well. Mick Ralphs is still my favourite guitarist. We seem to have found a direction, even with just the three of us, and we need people who can fit in with that. Someone who's good with ideas and can put little pieces in and come up with nice tunes. I can sing a couple of numbers, but I don't think I can really carry the vocals, so I'd like us to get a singer who's incredible.

"Ian's a great character, but it was a bit limit ing sometimes because of his vocal range. Mick Ralphs wrote 'Can't Get Enough' and 'Movin' On' and a lot of that Bad Company stuff when he was with us, but we couldn't do 'em very good."

Ian Hunter's departure may be some kind of godsend for Pete Watts, as it 'appens. A self-confessed lazy sod, the crisis has forced him to buckle down to some intensive songwriting, and if he possesses any real creativity then now is the time that he's going to have to prove it.

CHARLES SHARE MURRAY