🔘 Takes One to Know One – Single: Feb. 1976

A late‑period Mott single from the Drive On era, backed with I’ll Tell You Something.

🔘 – Overview

Released on February 27, 1976, “It Takes One to Know One” arrived as a single by Mott, the post‑Hunter continuation of Mott the Hoople. Issued by CBS/MOTT, the track was backed with “I’ll Tell You Something”, with both songs taken from the band’s 1975 album Drive On, released in October 1975.

The single did not chart in the UK, but the parent album performed modestly, reaching No. 45 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 60 on the US Billboard 200. Drive On marked the band’s first full studio statement without Ian Hunter, showcasing a more muscular, guitar‑driven sound led by Nigel Benjamin and Ray Major, with Overend Watts and Dale Griffin anchoring the rhythm section.

While the single itself made little commercial impact, it remains a key document of the band’s transitional mid‑70s period — a moment when Mott were redefining themselves with new personnel, new energy, and a more contemporary hard‑rock edge.

🔘 – Track List

7" Single — February 27, 1976

Side A

It Takes One to Know One

Written by (band credits vary by pressing)

From the album Drive On

Side B

I’ll Tell You Something

From the album Drive On

🔘 – Variants

• 7", 45 RPM, Single — UK — 1976

• 7", 45 RPM, Promo — UK — 1976

• International variants undocumented or limited

🔘 – Chart Performance

United Kingdom

Did not chart.

Album Context — Drive On

• UK Albums Chart: No. 45

• US Billboard 200: No. 60

🔘 – Context & Notes

• Released during the first phase of the post‑Hunter lineup

• Both tracks sourced from Drive On (October 1975)

• Showcases the harder, leaner sound of the Benjamin/Major era

• Genre: Hard rock, glam‑adjacent mid‑70s rock

🔘 – Visual Archive

Mott – It Takes One to Know One (1976), backed with I’ll Tell You Something.

🔘 – Related Material

• Drive On (1975)

• Shouting and Pointing (1976)

• Mott the Hoople → Mott → British Lions timeline

🔘 – Discography

Drive On — 1975

It Takes One to Know One — 1976

Shouting and Pointing — 1976

🔘 – Mini‑Timeline

✦ October 1975 — Drive On released

✦ February 27, 1976 — Single released

✦ 1976 — Album charts at UK No. 45 / US No. 60

🔘 – Glam Flashback

A snapshot of Mott in transition — tougher, hungrier, and carving out a new identity after the departure of their iconic frontman.

🔘 – Closing Notes

Though not a charting single, It Takes One to Know One remains an essential piece of the Mott story, capturing the band’s reinvention in the mid‑70s.

🔘 – Sources

Discogs

Wikipedia