Mott
The Hoople, a five-piece English Rock group of the
early 70s, had already released four very good albums before 1972. Yet none of
them cracked neither the UK Top 40, nor the US Top 200. Frustrated, the group
was seriously contemplating calling it quits. David Bowie, who was a fan,
caught wind of this and offered a helping hand. His first offer was a song of
his that we examined a couple of days ago, called Suffragette City. The band
turned it down, so David, undaunted, sat down and wrote another song just for
them. The song, which will be today's subject, was All the Young Dudes and it
was a Top 3 UK hit.
Not
only that, David Bowie also produced their album of the same name and it too
was a hit. However, the band's keyboard player, Verden Allen, left after its
release. The next album was an even bigger hit, but that's when they lost their
guitarist, Mick Ralphs, to Bad Company. Their following one would be an equally
big hit, but, after it, the main singer/songwriter, Ian Hunter, left to start a
solo career. The bass guitarist and drummer, the only members left from the
original line-up, changed the name to just Mott and made two more albums, but
the public didn't respond, so that was that.
Back
to the song: All the Young Dudes is at #256 in the 500 Greatest Songs of All
Time compiled by the Rolling Stone magazine, which calls All the Young Dudes
the ultimate Glam-Rock hymn. It was also, at the time, a gay anthem. There are
a couple of lines in the 2nd verse that were the cause of that: the verse, in
Bowie's own version from "David Live" opens with "Now Jimmy
looks sweet 'cause he dresses like a queen, but he can kick like a mule"
(in Mott's version it's the same except for "Jimmy" is replaced with
"Lucy", but is still reffered to as "he"). Then there's the
line common in both versions: "Well I drunk a lot of wine and I'm feeling
fine, gonna race some cat to bed". At the lingo of the time, cats were
guys and chicks were girls.
On
a personal note: when I was 25, I was having a difficult year and I used to
listen to the song practically every day. Somehow, the line "Don't wanna
stay alive when you're twenty-five" actually helped keep me alive.
Mott
the Hoople's version:
David
Bowie's version:
I remember the name Mott the Hoople (who could forget that name! But what does it mean?). Also remember ATYD but did not put them together. Fascinating lyrics, especially for the time. And I am especially glad that a particular line resonated enough with you to keep you going during a difficult period!
ReplyDeleteThanks M421, my friend! The name Mott the Hoople originated from a novel of the same name by Willard Manus, concerning a eccentric who works in a circus freak show. It was given to them by Guy Stephens, who was their manager and sometime producer. He was also the one who gave Procol Harum their name.
ReplyDeleteNice to know. This Guy Stephens certainly had a talent for coming up with interesting monikers. Mott the Hoople and Procol Harum are great band names. Certainly beats The The.
DeleteSo right, RM, so right! :)
ReplyDelete