First off, let’s get one thing straight: Ian Hunter is a rock ‘n’ roll legend. His work in making Mott the Hoople the band they were, plus his stints with the Rant Band and as a solo performer, as well as being the author of what Q magazine described as ‘maybe the best rock book ever’ (1974’s Diary Of A Rock ‘n Roll Star), not to mention his intelligent insights into the music business, all of this is more than enough to ensure his legend will live on.
Ian Hunter Patterson came into the picture in 1969 when the band Silence met up with Island’s Guy Stevens. He liked the band but not the singer, so auditions were held. Hunter was chosen, and Stevens named the band Mott the Hoople after a novel by Willard Manus about a circus freak show. Hunter was then almost 30 when he joined the band, married with children and a seasoned frontman, having sung with various bands throughout the late fifties and sixties.
After four albums in three years, Mott hit the jackpot with David Bowie‘s ‘All The Young Dudes’. They had a few more hits before Hunter left the band in 1974 as a bona fide rock star.
His career comes in two parts. Initially, after making his name with Mott, he teamed up with Mick Ronson for a short period before finally deciding to go it alone. His work has been described as ‘setting a benchmark for literate, emotionally charged rock’, with his lyrical content praised by no less a judge than His Bobness.
Through it all, he’s rightly achieved cult status. At 86, he’s still writing and playing, a revered and well-respected elder statesman of rock. Bands like The Struts cite his influence on them, Def Leppard‘s Joe Elliott (who wrote the foreword) says he’s a ‘rock god’, and Springsteen called him ‘one of the great rock voices’.
The book, compiled by legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin (who describes Hunter as ‘one of my all-time heroes’ and pens his own eulogy to the man), looks at Hunter’s career through the years, beginning in 1969 and almost up to the present day. It features many rare and previously unseen pictures given to Halfin by Hunter. There are pictures of Hunter with the various bands and other artists he’s recorded and performed with, some possibly quite surprising, plus memorabilia, posters and more.
It comes in varying formats, with the super deluxe edition featuring a lithograph hand-signed by Hunter, Halfin and Johnny Depp. The lithograph is based on a picture taken of Ian Hunter in Boston, and it’ll set the buyer back a cool £599. Limited to a print run of only 100 copies, for fans of Ian Hunter, this book is the Holy Grail. Ross Halfin concludes with ‘I asked Ian for a quote and, after looking at it, he said, ‘buy the book’.’
The book can be preordered from https://www.rufuspublications.com.
