Set list: Hymn for the Dudes,
Rock n Roll Queen, Sweet Jane, One of the Boys,
Sucker, Moon Upstairs, Original Mixed-up Kid, I Wish
I Was My Mother, Ready for Love, Born Late 58,
Ballad of Mott, Sweet Angeline, Walking with a
Mountain, The Journey, Golden Age of Rock n Roll,
Honaloochie Boogie, All the Way From Memphis.
1st encore Roll Away the
Stone, All the Young Dudes, Keep A Knockin.
2nd
encore Saturday Gigs.
OK, maybe the Led Zeppelin reunion at
the O2 Arena in 2007 was bigger but for fans of Mott
The Hoople, the prospect of a reunion on stage of
the original line-up for the first time in 36 years
was just as momentous.
Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs, Overend
Watts, Verden Allen and Dale Griffin made their
reputation with barnstorming live performances which
electrified crowds on both sides of the Atlantic and
led to them becoming the first rock act to play on
Broadway.
I knew Hunter was as good as ever,
having seen him several times as a solo performer in
recent years, but what about the rest of the band?
A similar question was apparently on
Hunter's mind when plans for the five-night
residency at the Apollo were announced when he said:
"Why are we doing it? I
can't speak for the others, but I'm doing it just to
see what it's like."
Well, I never saw them perform in
their heyday, even though 'Mott' and 'The Hoople'
were, and still are, two of my favourite albums but
on this evidence, I don’t think I’ve ever used the
phrase ‘better late than never’ more appropriately.
"As Jupiter" from the Planet Suite
blared out over the PA, Mott took the stage to a
huge ovation, one that was repeated numerous times
during the course of the evening.
The stately and magnificent "Hymn for
the Dudes" was followed by the strut and swagger of
"Rock n Roll Queen" from the very first album and a
cover of Velvet Underground’s "Sweet Jane." Driven
on by guest drummer Martin Chambers and the rumbling
thunder of Watts’s bass, the band then stormed
through "One of the Boys", "Sucker" and "Moon
Upstairs", the latter dedicated to the late Guy
Stevens, the band's original producer.
It looked like Hunter, a man with a
healthy cynicism about the music business and one
who prefers playing smaller venues, was having the
time of his life. His voice was in magnificent
shape, but clarity and expression were never
sacrificed despite the power of the band behind him.
After the breathtaking opening salvo,
it was time for an acoustic break before Ralphs took
over on vocals for "Ready for Love", a song he also
recorded with Bad Company after leaving Mott in
1973. Time has not been kind to his voice – but the
same could not be said for Watts, who stepped
confidently up to the mic for "Born Late '58."
The spotlight then shifted back to
Hunter for "Ballad of Mott," a song which shows the
honesty and self awareness that sets him apart from
most other songwriters. Ditto "The Journey," a
brilliantly performed song with an equally profound
lyric which, for me, was the highlight of the set.
With Hunter by now having switched
from guitar to piano, it was time for the hits and
they ran through "Golden Age of Rock n Roll," "
Honaloochie Boogie" and "All the Way From Memphis,"
with a line-up of children of various Mott members
including Hunter's daughter Tracie, a fine
singer/songwriter in her own right, and former
manager Stan Tippens providing backing vocals.
But it was the encore which provided
the real emotional highlight as a frail Griffin took
his seat at a separate drum kit alongside Chambers
for "Roll Away The Stone," Little Richard’s "Keep A
Knockin'" and "All the Young Dudes," the David Bowie
song the band made their own and which saw Hunter
share lead vocals with Def Leppard's Joe Elliott.
With Griffin on stage despite serious
health problems, the reunion was complete – well,
almost.
Being a Saturday, it was doubly
appropriate that the show should end with "Saturday
Gigs," the song which sums up the history of Mott
the Hoople and was the last single released by the
band before an exhausted Hunter quit in 1974.
The audience were still singing the
'Goodbye' coda as the band left the stage - but
every single one of them was also hoping the reunion
won't prove to be a one-off. See you next time,
guys.
