Morgan Fisher, Ian Hunter, Ariel Bender (Tia Haygood; Ross Halfin; Trudi Knight)
Morgan Fisher, Ian Hunter, Ariel Bender (Tia Haygood; Ross Halfin; Trudi Knight)Fresh off his guest performance with Def Leppard at the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony Friday, Ian Hunter hits the road tonight with a revised version of his old group Mott the Hoople.
The band’s first U.S. tour since 1974 features eight dates, running from a show this evening in Milwaukee through an April 10 concert in New York City. Performing as Mott the Hoople ’74, this incarnation of the band features guitarist Ariel Bender and keyboardist Morgan Fisher, who were part of Mott the Hoople’s 1974 lineup, as well as several members of Hunter’s longtime solo outfit, The Rant Band.
Ian tells ABC Radio that part of his inspiration for doing a tour with this version of Mott the Hoople was because Bender and Fisher didn’t get to take part in the band’s 2009 and 2012 European reunions, since those events showcased the band’s original lineup.
“I really felt that if I could find a window, they were owed it,” Hunter explains. “So we picked up some gigs in the U.K. [last year], and then [we were offered] a night here and it was a reasonable offer, enough to build [on]. So now we’re doing a few.”
Meanwhile, with original Mott drummer Dale “Buffin” Griffin and bassist Pete “Overend” Watts having died, respectively, in 2016 and 2017, and founding guitarist Mick Ralphs sidelined by a stroke, Ian looked to his Rant Band to fill out the lineup.
Hunter notes that the sets will focus on songs from the latter part of Mott’s catalog, including 1974’s The Hoople album. He says it will be interesting playing certain songs from that era, like “Marionette,” “’cause that’s never been touched, nor was it touched at the first two reunions.”
Here are Mott the Hoople ’74’s U.S. dates:
4/1 — Milwaukee, WI, Miller High Life Theatre
4/2 — Minneapolis, MN, First Avenue
4/3 — Chicago, IL, Chicago Theatre
4/5 — Detroit, MI, The Fillmore
4/6 — Cleveland, OH, Masonic
4/8 — Glenside, PA, Keswick Theatre
4/9 — Boston, MA, Orpheum Theatre
4/10 — New York, NY, Beacon Theatre
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.