The Complete History of Mott The Hoople

IN THE WAKE of their first hit single, Mott The Hoople have begun to generate a publicity splash of sorts. It hasn't hurt that rock media darling David Bowie wrote, produced, and harmonized an 'All The Young Dudes', and now people are even talking about Bowie/Lou Reed/Mott The Hoople axis, "Hoople Hoopla", and similarly bombastic bon Motts. But while the publicity spotlight isn't exactly unwelcome, a band's identity tends to get lost in the glare; and Mott The Hoople are no overnight surreal seventies sensation, to be trumpeted instantly into Warholian super-stardom and forgotten just as quickly. They're an immensely talented group with a solid history and a quantity of exemplary music behind them, and the sensational aspects of their current celebrity should not deter anyone from investigating their previous efforts.