Jane #1

We don't know an awful lot about Jane. She wears a vest. She's a clerk. She saves her money. She may or may not like to go out dancing. Oh, and she's sweet; that much we do know.

It's a Lou Reed song he recorded many times, solo and with the Velvets, but I've gone for Mott's version. It's taken from their All the Young Dudes album. Ian Hunter always knew which way the wind was blowing and, by inference, which songs to appropriate. (It was released as a single in 1973 in America, Canada, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain. But not in the UK for some reason. Expect to pay up to £30 for a copy. Sweet.) 

Mott the Hoople - Sweet Jane (1972)

Beware of imitations

It's common knowledge that Ian Hunter and his Mott the Hoople pals were just about ready to pull stumps before Bowie came along and bequeathed them All the Young Dudes in 1972. A great rock and roll yarn for sure. But where's Leon Russell in Mott's back story? Russell's place in the rock pantheon is every bit as assured as Bowie's but his benevolence to Hunter barely gets a mention.

I'm referring to a track he stuck on side two of his eponymous debut album from 1970. Not only did Roll Away the Stone give Hunter the material for one hit single it also provided the foundations for a second. I'm talking about Roll Away the Stone (obvs) and All the Way From Memphis. I do hope that Mott did the honourable thing and bunged Russell a few coins of the realm but I doubt very much they did. Leon Russell was the real deal. Mott the Hoople? Coat tails. Beware of imitations.

Leon Russell - Roll Away the Stone (1970)

★ 

 Leon Russell (1942-2016)

'ow do!

I'm a sucker for the spoken word intro. Who can forget Ian Hunter's laconic "'ello" on Once Bitten, Twice Shy or Brian Connolly's now legendary " Are you ready, Steve?" heralding the Sweet's Ballroom Blitz? Not me, that's for sure. 

I'll wager you'll have your favourites too tucked away in the recesses of your record collections. The Damned have got a couple that spring to mind. Can it really be 45 years since the Damned's Dave Vanian's uttered the immortal "Is she really going out with him?" before Rat Scabies fell into his drum kit marking the start of New Rose?

I said they'd got a couple; here's the other one.

The Damned - Love Song (1978)

And here's the source material. It comes from a series of music hall monologues recited by the actor Jack Howarth. Howarth, best known for playing the miserable Albert Tatlock in Coronation Street kicks off proceedings with a very dry "Ladies and gentlemen, 'ow do."

Jack Howarth - 'ow do (1971) 

Jack Howarth (1896-1984)

Hunter gatherer

Ten things you need to know about Ian Hunter:

* He was 29 when he joined Mott The Hoople.

* That's why he's 77 now - nearly as old as my dad. Just for the record, my dad was never in Mott The Hoople.

* He sings in a fake Cockney accent - hailing, as he does, from Herefordshire. That's nearly in Wales.

* His sunglasses are fixed to his head with No More Nails.

* Hunter is actually his middle name. I think it's got something to do with tax.

* He's prickly. Very prickly.

* He invented the Sex Pistols. Seriously. Listen to this if you don't believe me.

* I saw him play The Running Horse in Nottingham the day after Diana died, and he insisted on a minute's silence before the gig started.

*   'Ships', the song he wrote about his father, was recorded by Barry Manilow. I know, hard to get your head around, isn't it?

* Hunter has just released an eye watering 30 CD anthology. It's called 'Stranded in Reality'. You really should go out and buy a copy. Apart from 'Once Bitten, Twice Shy' and a booklet containing 841 photographs of him in his sunglasses (most of them taken indoors and/or at night), you'll find this favourite of mine:

Ian Hunter : Death of a Nation

For Steve