By: Brad Gallagher
Mott The Hoople was a rock band from England that formed in 1966 under the name “The Doc Thomas Group”. They changed their name to Mott the Hoolpe in 1969 at the insistence of Guy Stevens, a producer at Island Records. This new name came from the title of a novel written by Willard Manus in 1966, which Stevens had recently read. Their debute album, “Mott The Hoople” was released in 1969 and was a cult success. However their subsequent albums did not fare as well, and in 1972 they were ready to break up and go their separate ways. So what saved them you ask?
As the story goes:
David Bowie was a big fan of the group, and after hearing from one of the band members, Overend Watts, that the band was about to break up he stepped in. Bowie sat down with Mott The Hoople to persuade them not to break up and offered them a song that he had written but not yet produced called “Suffragette City”. They listened to the song and discussed it at length, but in the end decided that it wasn’t really their style, so Bowie then offered them “All The Young Dudes”, which also had not yet been released. The band recalls David Bowie sitting cross legged on the floor in the studio playing the song on his acoustic guitar. They were totally blown away by it, and immediately agreed to record it.
“All The Young Dudes” became Mott The Hoople’s biggest hit, and became the glue that kept the band together. It was released in the UK on July 28, 1972 and became an instant hit. It went on to reach #3 on the UK Singles charts, and #37 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also reached #253 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.
Prior to their recording of the song, David Bowie had recorded a guide track for the band to assist them with the melody and tempo, and years later they remixed the original recording to include that guide track. So, the next time you hear “All The Young Dudes’, listen carefully for David Bowie’s voice. More likely than not, the remixed version is what you will be listening to.
On a side note, Bowie went on to produce his song “Suffragette City”, and released it in 1972 as a single. He also released it later that year on his album “The Rise and Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars”. “Suffragette City” went on to reach #11 on the Billboard charts. And, Rolling Stone magazine called “Suffragette City” Bowie’s “supreme moment as a rock & roller”.
So now you know the story behind “All The Young Dudes”. Come back and see me soon on As The Story Goes.
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