Ariel Bender - guitar, vocals
Mick Bolton - organ
Morgan Fisher - piano, vocals
Dale Buffin Griffin - drums, vocals
Ian Hunter - lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
Pete Watts - bass, vocals
This recording kicks off with Mott the Hoople breaking into "The Golden Age of Rock & Roll," the opening track from the band's The Hoople LP, which was the British band's new studio album at the time. By the time this show was recorded on Broadway, at New York's Uris Theater, the future of Mott the Hoople had already been cast. Hunter, the band's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, had already made the decision to depart, though he would stay in the band for another year. He had decided to keep his decision between himself and the band's manager, so although this tour was heralded as yet another successful Mott road trip, in reality it was the band's swan song.
Formed in the U.K. in the late 1960s, Mott the Hoople gained a reputation as a brilliant live band, but one that could never quite capture its magic in the studio. They had worked with famed U.K. studio whiz Guy Stevens, but it was not until they discussed splitting up that two of their biggest fans decided to step up and save the day. Those fans would be David Bowie and his guitarist/ sidekick, Mick Ronson.
It was 1971 and Bowie had become a superstar in the U.K. and Europe, although his star in the U.S. was still rising. He first offered Mott "Suffragette City," which the band turned down (it would later become the cornerstone track of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars and launch Bowie into superstardom in the U.S.). The song they did settle on was "All The Young Dudes," which Bowie had written as a gay pride anthem. Although no one in Mott was gay, Hunter recognized it as a hit single and adapted it for Mott.
Produced by Bowie and Mick Ronson, the album, which was also titled All The Young Dudes, would give Mott their first worldwide hits, a deal with Columbia Records (which got deeply behind the promotion of the band), and renewed life as a sold-out act. The band was thrown into the glam-rock genre (they did, after all, wear their share of glitter and six-inch platform shoes), but they were just a terrific rock 'n' roll band, and this mini set proves it.
By the time of this show, the lineup had changed. Hunter's co-leader, guitarist Mick Ralphs, had departed to form Bad Company with Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke from Free and Boz Burrell from King Crimson. He was replaced by former Spooky Tooth guitarist Luther Grossvenor, who was now calling himself Ariel Bender. The band had also added a new keyboard player, Morgan Fisher, from Steve Ellis' Love Affair.
Among the tracks featured here are "One Of The Boys" (which would re-appear after Mick Ralphs left Mott the Hoople as "Can't Get Enough" by Bad Company), and "All The Way From Memphis," an anthem that tells the history of rock in one of the best tracks the band ever recorded.
