Ian Hunter

After starting work as an apprentice with Rolls Royce, Ian Hunter's (3 June 1939) music career began via the rhythm guitar with The Apex Group, who made a name for themselves playing at US military bases. Frustrated by their regimented R&B style, however, he formed a rival group Hurricane Henry & The Shriekers, who went on to develop their own style playing the same Hamburg clubs that had shaped The Beatles. In 1966 the Oswestry, Shropshire-born Ian Hunter moved to London and joined The Scenery, going on to play with bigger names, including The Young Idea, Billy Fury, David McWilliams and The New Yardbirds. Struggling to make ends meet, he took a series of day jobs before joining Mott The Hoople, who changed their name from Silence after Hunter joined as lead singer. Taking their name from a Willard Manus novel, they still struggled for several years and even announced they were splitting in 1972 due to lack of success; then in stepped David Bowie, a longstanding fan, who offered them his song "All the Young Dudes." It became a Number 3 UK hit and launched a solid run of successful albums. Ian Hunter left at the end of 1974 and teamed up with guitarist Mick Ronson to launch his solo career with the hit single "Once Bitten Twice Shy." He pursued a more soulful direction on his second solo album All American Alien Boy, featuring Queen on one track; and had further success in 1979 with the album You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic, produced by Mick Ronson and heavily featuring John Cale and Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. He continued to work with Mick Ronson, releasing a duo album YUI Orta in 1990 and, after Mick Ronson's death from cancer in 1992, Ian Hunter wrote and recorded a tribute song, "Michael Picasso," on his 1996 album The Artful Dodger. He later joined Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band and in 2004 linked up with a 20-piece orchestra for Strings Attached. He continued to tour and record, releasing the 2012 album When I'm President with the Rant Band and the follow-ups Live in the UK 2010 (2014) and Fingers Crossed (2016), also made in collaboration with the Rant Band. He drafted in a boatload of legends for his 2023 album Defiance, Pt. 1, including Robert Trujillo and Slash ("Defiance"), Ringo Starr and Mike Campbell ("Bed of Roses"), Todd Rundgren ("Don't Tread On Me") and many more. Defiance, Pt.2: Fiction arrived in April 2024 and also featured an all-star cast of contributors: Cheap Trick, Joe Elliott, Jeff Beck, and other artists.