I HAD always liked Ian Hunter’s music – right from his time with Mott The Hoople right up until his solo career. I first saw him on a solo tour in 1997 and caught up with him a couple of times since then. But it is always a wake up moment when you realise that your heroes are the same age as your dad…
I FIRST saw Ian Hunter on a solo tour in a small club in the north east of England 20 years ago and it was one of those classic, intimate gigs — with a good mix of new material and crowd-pleasing favourites, WRITES IAN DUNCAN.
Fast forward through two decades and history repeated itself in one of the north west’s newest venues, a similar-sized converted fire station.
The former Mott The Hoople singer, and acquaintance of a certain David Bowie, is one of rock’s survivors who is still delivering regular performances — in this case just days after his 78th birthday.
Support came from a quirky female duo called the Worry Dolls which seemed an odd choice with their own particular brand of bluegrass-tinged Americana.
Nevertheless, they seemed to keep the crowd occupied until the man himself arrived on stage.
It would be fair to say that the band amble on to the stage, with Mr Hunter making us wait for his arrival, before the band kicks off with a stonking version of That’s When The Trouble Starts and the perennial favourite Once Bitten Twice Shy.
A soulful rendition of Fatally Flawed was quickly followed by When I’m President and I could not help but think if Trump can do it anybody can — could we have witnessed the start of his campaign?
The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nuthin But The Truth, with its swilrling guitar solos, nicely complimented the barroom bravado of Just Another Night with Hunter easily making the transition from guitar to keyboards.
It was a surprise to see he included All American Alien Boy, which he even described as a career destroyer, but it was classic tracks such as Roll Away The Stone or All The Way From Memphis which received the biggest cheers.
You could tell he was having a good time and the Rant Band are a tight unit, ranging in style from full on rock grunge to the funky vibes of Bastard — and there was an emotional point with Dandy which was Hunter’s personal tribute to his old mate Bowie.
They definitely saved the best until last, with a rousing rendition of All The Young Dudes, which was the gift from Bowie which saved Mott The Hoople back in the day, before all the old dudes left the stage to the chanted chorus of Goodnight Irene.
On the whole it was a good night, and not just for Irene, and I don’t think anyone left disappointed.
- Ian Hunter and the Rant Band at the Old Fire Station, Carlisle, Wednesday, June 14, 2017.
From The Cumberland & Westmorland Herald on Saturday, June 24, 2017.
No young dudes at brilliant Hunter concert
Ian Hunter and the Rant Band at The Spa. Review by Gilly Collinson
When Hunter walked onto the stage there were all the familiar trademarks – the sunglasses, the mass of blond hair – but this wasn’t Ian this was daughter Tracie, whose band was the support act at Friday’s Spa gig.
The group performed a short acoustic set, and you could consider it a brave thing to do, playing in front of an audience that was there to hear someone else. But that’s a problem faced by every support act in history and the difficulty here was that lots of people felt that this act was there purely by virtue of family connections.
The songs were full of teenage angst, although Tracie grew up in the 70s, when dad was frontman for Mott The Hoople. Ironically, I kept getting flashbacks to Four Non Blondes.
Audience applause was erratic, and it’s hard to see why anyone who wants to establish themselves as an artist in their own right would adopt family trademarks, never mind play support. It wasn’t particularly bad, but I couldn’t find any member of the audience to enthuse about it either.
The contrast when Ian Hunter and the Rant Band came on was instant. Not only was the sound bigger: the professionalism was absolute.
Most of the songs came from the post-MTH years. Given the appalling weather conditions outside, Rain seemed particularly apt, and is a fine example of Hunter’s songwriting talents.
Michael Picasso, written in honour of Hull’s late great Mick Ronson – who played extensively with Hunter over many years – was a favourite with the audience.
But you could tell that everyone was hoping for one of the original Mott The Hoople hits.
The band was superb, with some great guitar work. Hunter himself started off on keyboards, then swapped to guitar. He didn’t talk a great deal: “I would have liked to have a chat, but I’m busy”. But it was an affable non-communication, with none of the charisma-void projected by the Van Morrisons of the business.
It wasn’t until the long-clapped-for encore that we finally got one of the best-known, ex-top-ten songs, with All The Way From Memphis getting people cheering. Here at last was what many of us had come for.
When the band left the stage for the second time, most really believed that it was over, and a great set was marred by a disappointment that we hadn’t heard the really big numbers. But no: back they came to huge applause and this time they ticked all the boxes, with a great rendition of Roll Away The Stone – with daughter Tracie helping out on vocals – followed by All The Young Dudes.
It was a brilliant second encore and when the band left the stage for the third and final time, everyone was satisfied.
Long-time fan Steve Millward, 50, from Leeds has followed Hunter since the early days, and reckoned it was one of the best performances he’s ever seen from Hunter.
He also gave the Spa’s Ocean Room a big thumbs-up. He said: “I’ve seen him perform many times, often in front of thousands, and it’s really good to be this close, in such an intimate venue.”
Hunter is now 71, and this was a great set from a consummate artist.
I’d have liked even more of the oldies – but then I remember loving All The Young Dudes in my teens. Most of the audience clearly did too: there were no young dudes in sight at all. But thanks to a brilliant second encore, we all went home happy.
From the Scarborough Evening News on Wednesday, October 6, 2010.
Ian Duncan Media 