Providing Disco & Karaoke Since 19770113 266 8963 0113 266 8963

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

Posted by: In: Other 26 Apr 2022 Comments: 0

THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

334-Mott the Hoople-All the Young Dudes.

1972-Number 3 single.

Best Bit-At 0.53. A dude is a term of address for a young man. In the late 19th Century a dude was a person who dressed outlandishly. In the 1970’s Glam Rock gave people the opportunity to cross dress, maybe giving Aerosmith a good idea for a song title.

Mott the Hoople were formed in 1969, in Hereford, Herefordshire, England, initially playing Hard Rock music. It was the Island Records employee Guy Stevens (1943-1981) who gave the band the name ‘Mott the Hoople,’ after reading the Wilard Manus novel ‘Mott the Hoople,’ incidentally Stevens was also responsible for the naming of Procol Harum (see also best songs 434.) In total there have been 17 band members come and go, with the classic line up recognised as Ian Hunter (vocals) (see also best songs 661) Mick Ralphs (guitar and keyboards) Verden Allen (organ) Pete Overend Watts (1947-2017) (bass) and Dale ‘Buffin’ Griffin (1948-2016) (drums.) As Mott the Hoople they released seven studio Albums between 1969-1974, and a further two as ‘Mott’ in 1975, and 1976. They released 14 singles between 1969-1974, with six of them reaching the UK top 40, while in America this song remains their only charting song when reaching Number 37. The band officially split in 1980, but reunions have occurred in the 21st Century, and as of 2022 they still tour.

By 1972 Mott the Hoople had recorded four studio Albums, and although they were critically acclaimed, they had met with poor sales, and the band were on the verge of splitting up. David Bowie (1947-2016) was a friend of the bands bass player Pete Overend Watts, as well as a long term fan of the band, and wanting some of his songs to be recorded by other artists offered Mott the Hoople his song ‘Suffragette City’ from his not yet released ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust’ Album. Mott the Hoople considered the song not the style they were looking for, so Bowie went away and quickly wrote ‘All the Young Dudes.’

On first hearing the song Ian Hunter recalled,’He just played it on an acoustic guitar. I knew straight away it was a hit. There were chills going down my spine. It’s only happened to me a few times in my life, when you know this is a biggie.’ Drummer Dale Griffin said,’We couldn’t believe it. In the office at Regent Street he’s strumming it on his guitar and I’m thinking, he wants to give us that? He must be crazy. We broke our necks to say yes, you couldn’t fail to see it was a great song.’ Bowie would go on to produce the Album of the same name, as well as providing backing vocals. Bowie (see also best songs 807-440-302-209-186-118-47-31 and 5) would later offer Mott the Hoople ‘Drive-In Saturday’ for the follow up single, but the band declined as they wanted to pursue with their own material.

‘All the Young Dudes is considered a ‘Glam Rock’ classic, with David Bowie recording his own studio version in December 1972 during the sessions for the ‘Aladdin Sane’ Album, but the song went unreleased until appearing in 1995 in mono on the compilation Album ‘Rarestonebowie.’ Had Mott the Hoople not recorded the song then it would have appeared on ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust.’ The ‘All the young dudes carry the news’ line refers to part of Bowie’s story where there is no electricity, and Ziggy Stardust uses songs to spread the news. Bowie said,’All the Young Dudes is a song about the news. It’s not a hymn to the youth, as people thought, it is completely the opposite.

‘Lucy looks sweet ’cause he dresses like a queen, but he can kick like a mule, it’s a real mean team. And my brother’s back home with his Beatles and his Stones, we never got it off on that revolution stuff, what a drag too many snags.’