Mott the Hoople Newcastle City Hall 16th November 2013
Mott the Hoople enjoyed the 2009 reunion at Hammersmith so much that they couldn’t resist doing it again. So four years later, here they are out on tour again, and back at Newcastle City Hall, 40 years since they last played there with support from a new little band called Queen. The City Hall is the only venue on this tour which was also part of their 1973 outing, so last night brought back special memories for crowd and band alike. When Ian Hunter asked us if we were here last time they played, I swear half the crowd shouted “Yes”. And it could well be true; last night was very much about some of us who are now of the lets say “slightly older generation” spending a night reliving our youth. From the first rocking bars of “Rock and Roll Queen” to the last poignant verse of “Saturday Gigs” the crowd was on its feet; and Mott delivered for us, in every way. The set was similar to Hammersmith with a song or two dropped (eg “Ready for Love”) to be replaced by a couple of others drawn from that rich and diverse back catalogue (“Soft Ground” and their version of the Kinks “You Really Got Me”). Stars of the show were Ian Hunter, all of 74 years young (so slim and fit) and still full of rock’n’roll swagger, and Overend Watts, who was like a big kid, stomping around with a massive grin, and silly signs (eg “cost £14.99”) stuck to the back of his large unwieldy bass. Mick Ralphs has lost none of his guitar prowess, and Verden Allen took us back to the 70s with the swirling chords he pulled out of his Hammond organ.
The drum stool is filled by Martin Chambers of the Pretenders, sitting in for Buffin who is sadly no longer well enough to play. When Ian sang, during “The Ballad of Mott the Hoople”, “Buffin lost his child-like dreams” a large picture of the drummer appeared on the screen behind the band. It got the loudest cheer of the night. The hits were left to the end, with Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott joining the band for “Dudes” (like us, he is a big Mott fan). A great night, and amazingly still spot on after all those years. A great “Saturday gig” :).
Setlist: Rock and Roll Queen; One of the Boys; The Moon Upstairs; Hymn for the Dudes; Sucker; Soft Ground; Waterlow; Born Late ’58; Death May Be Your Santa Claus / You Really Got Me; Ballad of Mott the Hoople; Walkin’ with a Mountain; Violence; When My Mind’s Gone / No Wheels to Ride / The Journey; Honaloochie Boogie; The Golden Age of Rock ‘N’ Roll; All the Way from Memphis. Encore: All the Young Dudes (with Joe Elliott); Roll Away the Stone; Saturday Gigs
17 Nov
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Posted by Paul Bakes on November 17, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Just shame the sound Mix was poor,
Posted by vintagerock on November 17, 2013 at 4:55 pm
Hi Paul I agree that the sound was a bit murky at the start but I thought it got better as the night went on. I was pretty close to the front and couldn’t hear the vocals very well. I suspect it may have been better further back. Still a great gig though 🙂 Peter
Posted by petey1004 on November 18, 2013 at 9:43 pm
Mott, at least you experienced something special…………..you saw your favorite band of all time? All the Way From New Lenox!
Posted by dawn on November 19, 2013 at 8:11 pm
Did not even know this band was still together sounds like it was a great gig 🙂
Posted by Kim Brown on November 21, 2013 at 5:56 pm
What a near perfect gig this was last Saturday night. Ironically I was sat in front of Verden where the vocals were crystal clear, but I could barely hear Mick Ralphs which was a shame, whenever he played a solo, the sound became empty. The setlist was spot on with a great mix of ‘pre and post bowie’ tracks. I hope this isn’t the ‘last time . . . ‘
Posted by Michael Brown on November 22, 2013 at 1:29 pm
Saw MTH on the first night of the tour at Birmingham, again the sound wasn’t great but who cares – Its great to see my favourite band of all time again – I thought it would never happen.
Just to say Martin Chambers did an excellent job on drums – perfect (apart from Honaloochie Boogie) which no-one else was ready for. We done to all and thanks for comng back.
Posted by vintagerock on November 22, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Thanks Michael. Agree it was great to see them again Cheers Peter