Ian Hunter
a.k.a.
Ian Hunter Patterson
KICK OUT THE GLAM
Mott the Hoople Front Man Ian Hunter Revisits a Classic Rock Career
Ian Hunter wasn't the most likely rock star of the early '70s -- an unkempt, stocky, and gravel-voiced man in an era of androgyny, glamour, and polish. But the Mott the Hoople front man nonetheless gave glam a shot of regular-bloke dissonance, as well as a healthy dash of street smarts. After splitting from that band in the mid-'70s, Hunter embarked on a solo career that produced a handful of hits -- "Cleveland Rocks" and "All American Alien Boy," to name a pair -- but concentrated on succinct, consistent albums. His trademark blend of old-school (pre-Beatles) rock and Dylan-styled wit garnered a sizeable following that grew each time he hit the stage -- particularly if he was accompanied by longtime other half Mick Ronson on guitar. Ronson's death in 1993 pushed Hunter into an extended vacation, but with a return to the touring arena and a rarity-laden two-CD retrospective of his solo career, Once Bitten Twice Shy, the veteran rocker was ready to tell Barnes & Noble.com Rock editor David Sprague all about the man behind the sunglasses.
Barnes & Noble.com: Is there an overriding reason for your keeping a rather low profile in recent years?
Ian Hunter: I don't know, really. Mick [Ronson] died, and I had no guitar player, no one to collaborate with. With Mick, we were mates even when we weren't playing, but more than that, he played totally without ego. It's very hard to find players that put the song first.
B&N.com: Now that you've put together a new band, are you working on new songs as well?
IH: Yeah, we're working on an album that has a lot of rockers. Everyone is so desperate to be on the cutting edge that they lose sight of what's good. I don't change with the times, and I think there are a lot of people who appreciate that. The nicest thing anyone has ever said about my music is that it's timeless. I quite liked that.
B&N.com: Some of your best-known songs are all about the power of rock itself. Do you still think that rock 'n' roll has that compelling quality, that rebellious edge?
IH: It certainly offers freedom -- the freedom in my case not to work in a factory. Yes, I was drawn in by the whole image of people like Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, but it didn't take me long to realize that they had great singing voices and I didn't. Still, I'm certainly grateful to have gotten a free pass. If there's one talent I do have, it's being able to put the antenna up and sense what's going on.
B&N.com: Out of all the -- pardon the expression -- old farts of British music, you were one of the few that the first wave of punk rockers actively embraced. Why do you think they liked you?
IH: Probably because I was as bad as they were. [laughs] If you draw a line, really, the Who came first, we came second, and the Pistols after that. It's easy to see the evolution. Mott wasn't really compartmentalized all that easily. We had one foot in glam, one foot in metal. And I grew up with the original rock 'n' roll and stuck with that.
B&N.com: In recent years, have you seen anyone you'd consider to be a torchbearer, either in sound or in attitude?
IH: Well, I hated the '80s -- absolutely couldn't stand 'em. But then came Guns N' Roses, where you definitely got the attitude, one big "fuck you." Of course, there was Nirvana, who would have been a truly great band in any decade, because those songs were so amazing. Lately, Oasis and Blur both have their moments. They write some very good songs, but they wouldn't have been considered with the top bands in the '60s.
B&N.com: "Cleveland Rocks" is probably your best-known solo song, particularly since it's been used on The Drew Carey Show. What prompted you to write that back in the '70s?
IH: The idea came to me when I started spending more time in the States and started hearing comedians using Cleveland as the punch line for jokes -- basically calling it the asshole of the U.S. I couldn't imagine that, because when we first started coming over here in '69, Cleveland was the first city to really grasp us, to grasp the whole glam thing. So I started thinking, if Cleveland is supposedly so unhip, why are the people there so far ahead? I guess I wrote it to instill a sense of pride -- although I don't know if people living there needed an outsider to do that.
B&N.com: You probably get asked this all the time, but why have you kept those trademark sunglasses on for all these years?
IH: It goes back to sitting on a bus in Blackpool, squinting. I was going to audition for Mott, and I had this totally unhip corduroy suit on -- I was a bit overweight, and that was bad enough. I figured if I went in squinting like an old man, because I couldn't afford a prescription, I'd have no chance. So I went to Woolworth and bought a cheap pair of sunglasses to cover it up.
July 25, 2000
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