Find complete Ian Hunter news and information at Ian's official site: www.ianhunter.com.
(07 Aug 2012) As leader of ’70s British rock legends Mott the Hoople and as a hugely influential solo artist, Ian Hunter is widely revered as one of rock’n’roll’s most compelling performers and one of its most articulate songwriters.
On September 4, 2012, Hunter will release When I’m President, his 20th album of original songs, and the latest highlight in a storied career that’s produced immortal anthems like ‘All The Young Dudes,’ ‘All the Way From Memphis,’ ‘Once Bitten, Twice Shy’ and ‘Cleveland Rocks.’
The new album’s 11 Hunter originals include such infectious, personally charged numbers as the wry, socially conscious title track, the gently introspective ‘Fatally Flawed’ the bittersweet ballad ‘Black Tears,’ the chugging rocker ‘Wild Bunch,’ the swaggering ‘I Don’t Know What You Want’ (which features a guest vocal by Hunter’s son Jesse) and the vivid, haunting ‘Ta Shunka Witco (Crazy Horse)’—all of which showcase the jagged immediacy of Hunter’s one-of-a-kind voice and the punchy authority of his longstanding all-star backup combo the Rant Band.
‘The songs seem to be more upbeat this time round,’ Hunter notes. ‘The last two albums were pretty political, just because I thought the Bush years were horrible, and thankfully that’s passed. But I don’t go looking for songs; I have to wait for them to come to me. I had a spurt there in the summer of 2011, and that grew into this album. I’d get up every day with something ringing in my head, so I’d try to catch it and get it down. Songwriting’s always been a mystery to me in that way. Now and again you’re nearer the sun, and you have to be ready to capture it.
The qualities of musical depth and emotional honesty that distinguish When I’m President have been constants in Ian Hunter’s expansive body of work. Hunter was already a young veteran of London’s burgeoning rock scene when he joined Mott the Hoople in 1969, and recorded four iconoclastic albums with the quintet by the time it rode the glam-rock wave to international superstardom with the David Bowie-produced 1972 album All the Young Dudes and its Bowie-penned title hit. The band’s artistic and commercial success continued with 1973's Mott and 1974's The Hoople and Mott the Hoople Live, helping to set the stage for the rise of British punk and new wave before the group disbanded in 1974.
Like such acclaimed recent Hunter releases as Rant (2001), Shrunken Heads (2007) and Man Overboard (2009), When I’m President — his first new recording since Mott the Hoople’s historic 2009 reunion shows at London’s Hammersmith Odeon—ranks with Hunter’s most impassioned and insightful work.
Hunter’s creative rebirth has produced some of the best music of his lengthy career, and When I’m President continues the remarkable resurgence of this true believer in rock ‘n’ roll’s transformative power.
(06 Aug 2012) Ian Hunter and the Rant Band will be playing dates in the USA, UK, Scandanavia, and Italy in the fall of 2012. The updated list now includes:
01 Sep 2012 Portland OR – Aladdin Theater
02 Sep 2012 Seattle WA – Bumbershoot Festival
07 Sep 2012 Catanzaro, Italy – Settembre Al Parco Festival
13 Sep 2012 Philadelphia PA – World Cafe Live
14 Sep 2012 New York NY – Highline Ballroom
15 Sep 2012 Washington DC – The Howard Theatre
27 Sep 2012 Cleveland OH – Beachland Ballroom
28 Sep 2012 Chicago IL – City Winery
29 Sep 2012 Chicago IL – City Winery
05 Oct 2012 Stockholm, Sweden – Nalen
06 Oct 2012 Falkenberg, Sweden – Falkenhallen
08 Oct 2012 Oslo, Norway – John Dee
09 Oct 2012 Malmo, Sweden – Kulturbolaget
12 Oct 2012 Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England – Tyne Journal Theatre
13 Oct 2012 Glasgow, Scotland – 02 ABC
14 Oct 2012 Holmfirth, England – Picturedrome
16 Oct 2012 Leicester, England – Y Theatre
18 Oct 2012 Manchester, England – HMV Ritz
19 Oct 2012 London, England 02 – Shepherds Bush Empire
20 Oct 2012 Birmingham, England – Town Hall
23 Oct 2012 Bath, England – Komedia
25 Oct 2012 Harrogate, England – Royal Hall
26 Oct 2012 Brighton, England – Concorde 2
27 Oct 2012 Northampton, England – The Roadmender
23 Nov 2012 Mt. Tabor, NJ – At The Tabernacle
24 Nov 2012 New Hope PA – Havana
01 Dec 2012 Boston MA – The Paradise Rock Club
(01 Aug 2011) Ian Hunter and the Rant Band will be on tour this fall:
08 Sep 2011 The City Winery, New York NY
09 Sep 2011 The City Winery, New York NY
15 Sep 2011 The City Winery, New York NY
16 Sep 2011 The City Winery, New York NY
17 Sep 2011 The Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville PA
23 Sep 2011 (Acoustic) South Milwaukee Performance Arts Center, Milwaukee WI
24 Sep 2011 (Acoustic) Old Town School of Folk, Chicago IL
25 Sep 2011 (Acoustic) Old Town School of Folk, Chicago IL
15 Oct 2011 Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown NY
27 Oct 2011 Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh PA
28 Oct 2011 Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland OH
29 Oct 2011 Magic Bag, Ferndale MI
03 Nov 2011 Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton MA
04 Nov 2011 Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA
05 Nov 2011 Flying Monkey, Plymouth NH
18 Nov 2011 Havana, New Hope PA
2011 USA Rant Band Dates: 28 Jan-The Fillmore, San Francisco CA; 29 Jan-The El Ray, Los Angeles CA; 30 Jan-The Galaxy, Santa Ana CA. Tickets are on sale now! See the Tour Dates page on ianhunter.com for details.
2010 USA Acoustic Dates: 10 Dec-Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling NY; 11 Dec-Narrows Center, Fall River MA; 19 Dec-Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling NY. Tickets are on sale now! See the Tour Dates page on ianhunter.com for details.
Ian Hunter and the Rant Band have announced three dates in the Northeastern USA for November 2010: The Highline Ballroom in New York City on the 11th, Havana in New Hope PA on the 12th, and At The Tabernacle in Mt. Tabor NJ on the 13th. See the Tour Dates page on ianhunter.com for details.
Ian Hunter and the Rant Band have scheduled a number of shows in the UK in October 2010. 01 Oct - Ocean Room, Scarborough England; 02 Oct - Bridgewater Hall, Manchester England; 03 Oct - The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow Scotland; 05 Oct - Komedia, Brighton England; 08 Oct - The Stables, Wavendon England; 10 Oct - Union Chapel, London England (Special Acoustic Evening); 11 Oct - The Journal Tyne Theatre, Newcastle England; 12 Oct - Town Hall, Birmingham England; 14 Oct - 02 Academy, Bristol England. See the Tour Dates page on ianhunter.com for details.
Ian Hunter joined Joe Elliott and the Down n' Outz during their at the High Voltage Festival in Victoria Park, London UK on 25 July 2010. Joe Elliott has taken a short break from Def Leppard to record an album of Ian Hunter, Mott, and British Lions songs with his solo project the Down n' Outz.
Please join us at the Palace Theater, Danbury CT on Friday, 17 Sep 2010 at 8PM for a benefit to celebrate the life of Stevie Buccini. Stevie bravely battled cancer for two years until July 7, 2010, when he finally succumbed to the disease at the far-too-young age of 40. This special night features musical legend Ian Hunter, front-man for the iconic group Mott the Hoople with special guests The Doug Wahlberg band opening the night. Tickets are on sale now! See the Tour Dates page on ianhunter.com for details.
Ian Hunter and the Rant Band played a number of April, May, and June 2010 shows in the USA, UK, Scandanavia and Europe.
21 Apr 2010 - The City Winery, New York NY
23 Apr 2010 - The City Winery, New York NY
24 Apr 2010 - The City Winery, New York NY
25 Apr 2010 - Sellersville Theater, Sellersville NJ
01 May 2010 - HMV Picture House, Edinburgh Scotland
02 May 2010 - Barbican Hall, London England
04 May 2010 - Later with Jools Holland TV show
05 May 2010 - Alcatraz, Milano Italy
07 May 2010 - Silja Rock, Stockholm Sweden
08 May 2010 - House Of Culture, Helsinki Finland
04 Jun 2010 - Mizner Park Amphitheater, Boca Raton FL (Supporting Jethro Tull)
06 Jun 2010 - Chastain Park Amphitheatre, Atlanta GA (Supporting Jethro Tull)
Man Overboard was issued on 21 July 2009 by New West Records, and is Ian Hunter's 13th solo album since his eponymous debut in 1975. Recorded in late 2008 in Pawling NY, the 11-song set is a stunning follow up to the overwhelmingly critically acclaimed Shrunken Heads album. Man Overboard was produced by Andy York (veteran guitarist for John Mellencamp) and Ian Hunter and features a backing band of superstar talent comprised of Steve Holley on drums and percussion (Wings, Joe Cocker), Paul Page on bass (Dion), Jack Petruzzelli on electric guitar (Rufus Wainwright, Joan Osbourne), James Mastro on electric guitar (Patti Smith, John Cale), Andy Burton on piano and organ (The Db's) and Producer Andy York on guitar and backing vocals. Many of the band members are returning from the Shrunken Heads sessions. Regarding Man Overboard, Ian Hunter stated, 'When we did Shrunken Heads, I felt like we had a good thing going so I wanted to revisit the experience before anything changed, and that's what we did.' (New West Records)
As part of the New Yorker Festival, Ian Hunter, Graham Parker, and Ben Greenman were featured at an event called Ian Hunter and Graham Parker talk with Ben Greenman: A Conversation with Music. This was a public discussion, followed by short live performances by Ian Hunter and Graham Parker. The show was held at October 17, 2009 at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, New York NY.
Ian Hunter played at the City Winery in New York City on 23 July 2009 to launch his new album Man Overboard. Ian and his band (Mark Bosch and James Mastro on guitar, Paul Page on bass, Andy Burton on keyboards, Steve Holley on drums) played a 90 minute set that included seven songs from the new album. Amy Speace opened the show.
Ian Hunter played an outdoor concert at Rockerfeller Park in New York City on 24 June 2009 as part of the River To River Festival.