Ian Hunter
For most musicians, a steady career is something they can only dream about. For some musicians, success comes at the end of a long, hard road. But for a few musicians, a rock and roll life seems like destiny. Just take a look at Ian Hunter.
Born on June 3, 1939, Ian Hunter is a musician and songwriter with a diverse career. Ian's life in music began at summer camp, where he met Colin York and Colin Broom. The three boys entered a talent competition, and won, and Hunter went on to join York and Broom as a member of the Apex Group.
Although the Apex Group had steady gigs all over the region, Hunter disliked the group's formality. He started Hurricane Henry and the Shriekers, a music act that competed directly with Apex for gigs, and he secretly played with them until he got caught. After the leader of the Apex Group found out, Ian was kicked out of the band.
Eventually, Ian made his way to London, and spent the 1960's cobbling together a living from a variety of jobs. He played with a variety of musical artists, worked as a studio staff songwriter, wrote for a newspaper, and even dug ditches for a local council. But in 1969, Hunter decided to go back to making music fulltime, and he joined Mott the Hoople as frontman.
The band was critically successful in the UK, and they established a dedicated fan base that included a few musicians who would later go on to form The Clash. In spite of their cult following, Mott the Hoople had a hard time commercially, and they decided to give up.
Until David Bowie came calling.
A longtime fan of the group, David offered them one of his own songs. That single, "All the Young Dudes", shot to #3 in the UK charts, and Mott the Hoople was born again. The post-Bowie incarnation of Mott enjoyed a much better reception, and after the success of their albums All the Young Dudes (1972), Mott (1973), and The Hoople (1974), the band finally started to find financial success.
Ian Hunter decided to leave the band in 1974, and in March of 1975, he joined forces with a talented musician he'd noticed while Mott was working with Bowie. The resulting collaboration between Mick Ronson and Ian Hunter would continue until Ronson's death in 1993.
Since then, Ian Hunter has remained active in the music scene, connected to acts like Queen and The Clash, as well as rock stars like David Bowie and Todd Rundgren. His most recent release, Shrunken Heads, came out in 2007, and we can't wait to see what's next.
Our Ian Hunter T-shirts are fully licensed, endorsed and made from the softest, prewashed and shrunk cotton jesery. We faithfully reproduce the original article as tracked down by Worn Free from archive images.
Vintage Rock T-shirts for today.
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