:”Some people are born rockers, some achieve rock stardom, and some have rock stardom thrust upon them”
William “the rocker” Shakespeare
IN HIS CLASSIC AUTOBIOGRAPHY “DIARY OF A ROCK AND ROLL STAR”, IAN HUNTER DESCRIBES HIS INITIAL TOUR OF THE US WITH HIS BAND MOTT THE HOOPLE. THE STORY IS A MIX OF AN ARTISTS TRYING TO PERFECT HIS CRAFT WITH THE MIX OF A MAN BROUGHT UP IN A WORKING CLASS ENVIRONMENT SIMPLY TRYING TO MAKE A VIABLE LIVING.
IT IS THIS MIX OF ART AND BLISTERED FINGERS THAT HAS MADE THE CAREER OF HUNTER SO FASCINATING. HIS FIRST ERA, AS SINGER/GUITARIST WITH MOTT THE HOOPLE, INCLUDED SOME CLASSIC SONGS AND ALBUMS, SUCH AS “ALL THE YOUNG DUDES” AND “ALL THE WAY TO MEMPHIS”.
AFTER THAT BAND BROKE UP, HUNTER HAD A RENAISSANCE OF SORTS WITH A CATALOGUE OF SOLO ALBUMS THAT WERE EVEN STRONGER THAN HIS PREVIOUS MATERIAL. TWO OF THE ALBUMS, YOU’RE NEVER ALONE WITH A SCHIZOPHRENIC AND SHORT BACK & SIDES, HAVE RECENTLY BEEN REISSUED ON CD AND VINYL AND STAND UP REMARKABLY WELL OVER TIME.
WE FIGURED IT WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO CHECK IN ON MR. HUNTER, AND SEE HIS PERSPECTIVE ON THESE ALBUMS AS WELL AS HIS CAREER.
WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
In Connecticut
HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED IN THE US?
Since 1975
SO IT WAS SHORTLY AFTER YOU WROTE YOUR BOOK (DIARY OF A ROCK STAR) ABOUT YOUR FIRST US TOUR
No, I wrote the book during our first tour in 1973
AT THIS STAGE, DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF MORE A MEMBER OF THE UK OR AS AN AMERICAN?
You can still hear my accent. (chuckles)
YOUR BOOK WAS VERY INTERESTING. IN RETROSPECT, ARE YOU SORRY THAT YOU SOLD ALL OF THE GUITARS THAT YOU BOUGHT DURING THAT TOUR AND DIDN’T WAIT TO SELL THEM NOW, AS THOSE GUITARS COULD NOW FETCH A LOT MORE MONEY?
Guitars are the weapons of choice.
I still don’t have many; I was never that way. Overend Watts and Mick Ralphs were the big guitar people. I would just go along.
The thing was, guitars were so cheap in America. A Gibson SG was $75, so you just pay a little bit at customs when you declare them and then sell them back home.\
We weren’t making any money on tour back then, so selling guitars was a nice little sideline.
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“Guitars are the weapons of choice”
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BACK IN 1975, YOU WERE HEADLINING WITH AEROSMITH AT THE SANTA MONICA CIVIC. YOU HAD A TERRIBLE SORE THROAT, AND YOU DID TWO CONCERTS THAT NIGHT. YOUR BOOK REMINDED ME OF YOUR DUAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS MUSIC.
ONE IS THAT YOU’RE EXPRESSING YOURSELF AS AN ARTIST, BUT THE OTHER IS THAT YOU HAVE A PRODUCT THAT YOU MUST DELIVER LIKE A PROFESSIONAL
I remember being in the dressing room at that gig, but not the gig itself.
YOU SAID SOMETHING DURING THE SHOW THAT MADE AN IMPRESSION ON ME AT THE TIME. BEFORE PLAYING “ALL THE YOUNG DUDES” YOU SAID SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT THAT A HIT SONG IS LIKE A FISH THAT YOU’RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR, BUT WHEN YOU CATCH IT YOU ARE TRYING TO FIGURE WHAT ALL OF THE FUSS WAS ABOUT
(Chuckles) Yes, because you’re always worrying about the next fish.
YOUR WRITING ALSO SEEMS TO HAVE DIFFERENT ASPECTS. ONE IS THE DEEPLY INTROSPECTIVE AND ANALYTICAL MATERIAL, AND THE OTHER A SIMPLE AND ROWDY VIEW ON LIFE.
Originally, getting into writing was simply Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Buddy Holly. It was all of those daft songs. They were all amazing singers and performers, but their lyrics left something to be desired.
And then along came Bob Dylan. Jerry Lee, Little Richard and Buddy were my initial influences, but when I heard Bob Dylan, the lyrics came into play.
So, it is a little bit of both. Like on (DEFIANCE PART ONE) there’s a lot of rocking, but there’s also quite a bit of lyric, too. Some people prefer simple, but there’s also a lyrical part
YOUR LYRICS CAN BE VERY PENETRATING. WHAT DID YOU MEAN WHEN YOU WROTE “ROCK AND ROLL’S A LOSERS GAME”
I was referring to my life at the time
If you do get lucky enough to get a “hit”, you get into this pattern that goes “album, tour, album, tour, album, tour, album, tour”, and the powers that be want the albums and tours to be identical because the original one was selling and they want everything else to be exactly the same
That’s what I was talking about. I didn’t like doing the same album; I wanted to do opposites.
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“I didn’t like doing the same album; I wanted to do opposites”
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I’VE NEVER READ WHERE YOU TALK ABOUT THE SONG “I WISH I WAS YOUR MOTHER”. COULD YOU GO INTO THE THOUGHT BEHIND THAT ONE?
Some of these songs are merely in the eye of the beholder. I’d rather leave it like that.
LIKE ALL ARTISTS THAT HAVE LONG CAREERS HAVE VARIOUS STAGES. YOU HAD THE “EARLY MOTT” STAGE, THEN CAME YOUR PERIOD WITH GLITTER ROCK AND ALL OF THE HITS, AND THEN YOUR SOLO CAREER. YOUR WRITING SEEMED TO CHANGE WITH EACH STAGE.
DID YOU EVER HAVE MOMENTS WHERE YOU FEEL THAT YOUR WELL RAN DRY AND YOU HAD RE-INSPIRE YOURSELF?
You don’t inspire yourself.
I was off for seven years; I started again when I was fifty. It was not a clever career move.
I’m lazy. If it’s not coming, it’s not coming. If it is coming, it’s great. But I’m not looking for it.
BESIDES DYLAN, WAS THERE ANY COMPOSER OR AUTHOR THAT INSPIRED YOUR WRITING?
Chuck Berry. He was essentially my first inspiration.
He wrote some great lyrics. He was slightly older than I was. He’d been around, so he injected a bit of intelligence into the situation. He wrote great stuff in just twelve bars. I still find myself singing to it, it’s so far superior to anyone else’s
He ended up playing gigs where he was first banned from as a kid because he was black, which was great.
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“I was off for seven years; I started again when I was fifty. It was not a clever career move”
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YOU HAD A LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE OF THE MOST OVERLOOKED ARTISTS OF THAT ERA, MICK RONSON. WHAT DID HE BRING TO THE TABLE ON YOUR ALBUMS
He was a great arranger and a great singer. He was a cellist before he played the guitars, which is why he played the way he did. Very deep.
He was my best friend for 20 years. He was funny and daft. It’s hard explain somebody like that in just a few words, because he was so many things to me.
YOU HAVE TWO OF YOUR SOLO ALBUMS BEING REISSUED. WERE YOU SURPRISED AT THE RENEWED INTEREST IN THEM? WAS IT YOUR IDEA TO HAVE THEM PUT OUT?
It had nothing to do with me. I have no idea what goes on in that area
People ask me about my old albums. I have no clue. All I’m concerned about is what I do next.
But it is really great when the label pulls them out, because it’s been 45 years. Anyone who still has people want to listen to an album they did 45 years ago would consider it a complement.
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“Chuck Berry) wrote some great lyrics… He’d been around, so he injected a bit of intelligence into the situation. He wrote great stuff in just twelve bars. I still find myself singing to it, it’s so far superior to anyone else’s”
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WHAT DO YOU THINK TODAY’S GENERATION WOULD THINK OF THAT STYLE OF MUSIC?
**I don’t think they’ll listen to it; they’re too busy with their own stuff, which is crap (laughs)
I say that because obviously the people that came before us thought that we were crap.
ON THESE SOLO (SCHIZOPRENIC AND SIDES) ALBUMS, DID YOU PICK THE MUSICIANS?
On Schizophrenic, I started in the Wessex studios in London, and they weren’t working out. So, my manager at the time (Steve Popowicz) said that if I came back to New York with Mick, the Power Station was there for me. They had an amazing engineer, Bob Clearmountain. We had John Kyle, Rory Dodd and others, so we just got lucky
With Sides, it had my first attempt at a reggae song and we weren’t quite sure how the drums went, or the groove underneath. So Rick Jones was around and we asked him
Mick and I had just come off a long tour and were tired. Rick just took over the rest of the record. Topper was brilliant on that one and just took over
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“People ask me about my old albums. I have no clue. All I’m concerned about is what I do next”
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THE ALBUM THAT PRECEDED IT, ALL AMERICAN ALIEN BOY, HAD A BUNCH OF JAZZ MUSICIANS LIKE JACO PASTORIUS
What happened was that Bobby Columbia was the drummer for Blood, Sweat and Tears and had the same manager as I. We were at a restaurant in Florida, “ the waitress walks up to us and says “I’m married to the best bass player in the world. His name is Jaco Pastorius”
Bobby found out the following day when Jaco came in and auditioned. Bobby called me up ***to come and meet this bass player. I go to meet him, and Jaco’s a Stones fan; we’re getting on great!
Jaco came and lived with us, and it all kind of started from there.
I can’t remember how we got all of those musicians
There used to be a club on 85th Street on the West Side, Electric Lady. We used to go in there, and there would be all of the jazz guys who would be there after their session work and jam. A lot of the guys on that album we got from there. Again, it was just a bunch of flukes.
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“We were at a restaurant in Florida, the waitress walks up to us and says “I’m married to the best bass player in the world. His name is Jaco Pastorius”…I go to meet him, and Jaco’s a Stones fan; we’re getting on great!”
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THAT ALBUM HAD DAVE SANBORN, DON ALIAS AND CORNELL DUPREE. THAT’S A HEAVY LINEUP.
Cornell was sitting there; I thought he was working on the tapes! He was just sitting there quietly and he finally asked “do you need me for anything?” I had heard him play, but I just didn’t recognize him. It was so embarrassing.
When Dave Sanborn played, It was so amazing what they were doing with the harmonies. They had been on a plane, and my wife Trudy had been on the plane with them. We had all just been in Electric Lady that night and they came down to put down the tracks.
Those records, as well as DEFIANCE 1 & 2 are flooky. They weren’t like I went up and asked somebody to do them. It just happens, and it’s lovely
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“(Mick Ronson) was my best friend for 20 years. He was funny and daft. It’s hard explain somebody like that in just a few words, because he was so many things to me”
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YOUR FIRST SOLO ALBUM WAS A MAJOR STEP FORWARD IN YOUR CAREER. WAS THAT ALL NEW MATERIAL, OR ALSO SONGS FROM YOUR DAYS WITH MOTT THE HOOPLE?
It was all new
What I wanted to do was work with Mick (Ronson)
I was in a hospital in New Jersey, and Mick came over to visit. He said “you should do a record”. That’s how it came about.
IS THERE A SONG IN YOUR CATALOGUE THAT MOST REPESENTS YOU?
They’re all my babies; they are all me. You can’t pick out one, because the others will get jealous! (laughs)
YOUR POEM “SHADES OFF” JUXTAPOSED WITH THE SONG “IT AIN’T EASY WHEN YOU FALL” WAS A MAJOR STEP FORWARD IN YOUR CAREER.
I have fancied myself as a bit of a poet, and I sent that poem to a couple of publishers, but they said “No. This is no good” so we just put it on the record because the band liked it. They were cool with it.
THAT SONG ENDS WITH “SOMETIMES WHEN I WRITE A SONG, IT’S ALL RIGHT”. ARE YOU MORE SATISFIED WITH SOME SONGS THAN OTHERS?
I don’t know. Sometimes you write something special, and you know that it’ special , ***Sometimes you get a little twist in a song and you think “Yes! That’s it”. I had one of those quite recently, and that’s what makes it worthwhile.
YOU HAD A COUPLE PUNK ROCKERS ON YOUR SIDES ALBUM (MICK JONES). DID YOU EMBRACE THAT FOLLOWING GENERATION OF ROCK, AND HAVE THERE BEEN YOUNGER ARTISTS THAT HAVE IMPRESSED YOU?
Mick Jones and a bunch of them had a little army that followed us around. That’s how I got to know him. He later formed Clash. I was stuck on this reggae tune, and I asked him to help out.
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“I really started out as a fan. I liked the bass, but I never thought that I’d be a professional”
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IN YOUR DAYS WITH MOTT, DID YOU FEEL THAT THE IDENTITY OF YOU BAND CHANGED WHEN DAVID BOWIE PRODUCED YOUR ALBUM AND “GLITTER ROCK” BECAME POPULAR?
Not more than what The Who did when the “mod” thing came out. We just figured “let’s do that” and put a couple extra bums in the seats
I really started out as a fan. I liked the bass, but I never thought that I’d be a professional.
I’m not someone who bangs on peoples’ doors; these things just happened. I didn’t know that I was going to be the one writing songs for Mott, but then I became noted for that. Mick Ralphs was supposed to do that. Pete just said, “You do it” not realizing that was where the money was! (laughs). But Mick did all right, going with Bad Company.
I READ AN ARTICLE THAT SAID THAT ONLY MOTT THE HOOPLE AND THE KINKS WERE THE ONLY TRUE “WORKING CLASS BANDS” OF THAT GENERATION. DID YOU CONSIDER MOTT “A WORKING MAN’S BAND”?
Absolutely.
I was 29 when I joined Mott.
I was in Germany playing bass with a band Funny Fingers and things like that, and then begging around for work for a month. You’d only have a job playing Saturday night at some hole, so you had to get a job.
I had a wife and kids; I HAD to get a job. So for 2-3 years I’d go to Hamburg or (Kiel or Lindberg, Duesenberg) some other town and come back and go to the employment office in Granville, and say “I’d like to work for you again”. He’d say “but you left” and I’d tell him it would be different this time. Then a few weeks later I’d be off playing again.
So I had several jobs. I was working class.
The thing with it was bands like The Kinks came out of school and then got into a band. I was in a band after doing j obs for 9 years.
That was a “plus” lyrically. I was a help with the lyrics because I had something to talk about
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“I had several jobs. I was working class…That was a “plus” lyrically. I was a help with the lyrics because I had something to talk about”
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WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE DONE IF YOU DIDN’T JOIN A BAND?
One of the reasons I was in the band was because I was experienced at day jobs.
I started listening to music on juke boxes where I was working with my mates. I thought the music was something special. I thought that I’d love to do that. I got a bass, so worked on one note until I realized that there was more than one note and then started meeting other people
My father hated my playing, so there was no musical upbringing about it
WAS THERE AN ARTIST THAT YOU SAW PERFORM THAT YOU USED AS A TEMPLATE?
It was Dylan. I copied him royally for a couple of years.
There was another guy, Sonny Bono. From Sonny and Cher.
I liked him; he was a lot better than people thought he was. People thought of him just as Cher’s husband, but I thought that he was pretty good.
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“(Bod Dylan) said, ‘You know what I like about you?… You hang in there’”
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IS THERE ANYONE THAT YOU WOULD LIKED TO HAVE SAT DOWN WITH AND PICKED HIS OR HER BRAIN?
I did talk to Bob Dylan on a few occasions, but I would have liked to have done it more. It was brief and in company
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“The thing with it was bands like The Kinks came out of school and then got into a band. I was in a band after doing jobs for 9 years”
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WHAT’S THE BEST CAREER/LIFE ADVICE THAT SOMEONE GAVE YOU?
Actually, it was from Bob Dylan. He said, “You know what I like about you?” My first thought was “you know who I am?” And he said” You hang in there”
If you hang in there long enough, the phone rings.
THAT WORK ETHIC HAS BEEN PART OF YOUR UPBRINGING
But there’s never been a plan. With the band Cream, there was a plan. With Roxy Music, there was a definite plan
YOU’VE TOURED WITH A LOT OF BANDS. IS THERE ANY BAND THAT YOU WOULD HAVE PAID $1000 TO SEE PERFORM?
On a great night, The Who. I saw them when Elton John opened for them
You know how you talk about the gig after the gig in the car park. Nobody was talking; everyone was speechless
HAS THERE BEEN ANY BOOK OR PHILOSOPHY THAT HAS INSPIRED YOU IN YOUR WORLDVIEW?
No. I read a lot at one point, but nothing impressed me. Like a rolling stone
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“If you hang in there long enough, the phone rings”
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AT THIS STAGE, WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST JOY IN LIFE?
Writing. I’m always looking for that one thing.
My wife’s great; she puts up with it
WHAT’S YOUR NEXT GOAL?
I’ve done Defiance Part One and Two, so how about Three?
DO YOU EVER LISTEN TO YOUR OLD ALBUMS?
No. My son has a stereo, and he would listen to it. But I don’t listen; I just work at it.
IS THERE ANY MUSIC THAT YOU LISTEN TO RIGHT NOW?
Nothing.
Because, when I first started out, I started writing like other people like Dylan, and that never does you much good. You’ve got to have a bit of individuality. Otherwise, how is anyone going to know who you are?
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“You’ve got to have a bit of individuality. Otherwise, how is anyone going to know who you are?”
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LIKE ALL TRU ARTISTS, IAN HUNTER IS NOT LOOKING BACK, BUT STILL, IN HIS 80S,IS LOOKING FORWARD. ISN’T THAT WHAT MADE HIM A MAN OF VISION, EVEN BEHIND HIS TRADEMARK SUNGLASSES, IN THE BEGINNING?