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Rating: 
Summary: The most honest rock'n'roll book ever written?
Review: "Diary" stands head-and-shoulders above every other rock music book for several reasons. It's not ghost-written, and you can tell -- the rhythms of speech will be familiar to fans of Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople. It's remarkably free of false glamour -- it's full of cancelled shows, travel hassels, hangovers, digestion problems -- as well as the magic moments that make rock'n'roll worthwhile. It also doesn't seem to have been edited very much, which gives it a very loose, conversational feel -- you're sitting with Ian at the bar, both of you more than half drunk, and he's just telling you about the tour, y'know? And advice to touring musicians that's still good today in the bargain. There's no ghost of political correctness informing the writing, though (the book was originally published in '74) and while i thought it was a blast, i suppose some people might be offended.
Rating: 
Summary: Calling a Spade a Spade
Review: A slight but engaging snapshot of a time and situation: being in a struggling British journeyman rock band touring the States in the early 70s. The details concerning pretour pet care, bandmate flying phobia and pawnshop adventuring give us the real behind-the-scenes of life in a working rock band. So now we know what Hunter meant when he sang "It's a mighty long way down rock'n'roll". Some not very pc nomenclature may snap your head back once in a while, but it's an historical document of another time, another place, worth visiting for anyone interested in the rock'n'roll life.
Rating:
Summary: THAT '70S BAND
Review: An unpretentious true 'diary' from 70's British glam rocker ( for want of a better description ), Ian Hunter of "Mott The Hoople" during his band's successful 1972 tour of the States. He reveals a historically fascinating 'behind the scenes' look at the rock and roll concert circuit of the early '70s, where in Hunter's humble view, sex, drugs, and rock and roll take a back seat to wry observations on American life, a compassion for music, and a compulsion for old guitars found in American junk shops. The reader goes along for the ride as Hunter and the rest of 'Mott The Hoople' tramp across America like kids in an amusement park. Personal revelations and run-ins with a host of rock and roll celebritys give this book an insider's edge and there is a rewarding final entry which finds Hunter questionably inside the high security gates of Elvis Presly's mansion, creeping about like the obsessed fan he reveals himself to be.
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Summary: Those Were The Days...
Review: I bought this book when it came out back in 1974, when I was in 10th grade, and was just captivated by Hunter's backstage and onstage tales of an often turbulent band that always seemed to fall just short of superstardom (at least in America). Of course I may not be the most objective person to recommend this tome. I've always worshipped both Ian Hunter and Mott The Hoople to such a degree that if they reunited and recorded a cover album of Alannis Morrisette songs, I'd probably buy it. A near-perfect trip back in time to an era when you wouldn't find a bunch of musicians sitting around discussing the artistic merits of their latest video.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the Best Rock Book Ever!
Review: Ian Hunter proves himself to be one of the most articulate and intelligent personalities in rock in this diary of Mott's late '72 US tour in support of their All The Young Dudes album. It is a humble, egoless tale of the steps and stumbles of a band trying to break into the American market, lovingly and honestly told through the eyes of a young aspiring band leader. Refreshingly free of the self-cogradulatory tone of most autobiographies and the slathering praise of too many band books by fan-...-journalists, this modest (read: short) work starts and ends with the reader inside the day-to-day workings of a mid-level journeyman band, warts and all. Best of all (or, worst of all, depending upon your point of view), this isn't so much a book about Mott The Hoople and their music as it is a look at the human realities of what life on the road was like for the guys in the band, or most bands like them at that time. It captures perfectly the tone of the time and the atmosphere prevailing in the early '70's. It strips away the facades and breathes life into the rigors, rewards and frustrations of chasing the musical Holy Grail. I first bought this book in London in 1975, and have read and re-read it more times than I can remember. Raw, spontanious and unpretentious, it is funny, sad, touching and rewarding, especially with the hindsight of the band's history immediately after the end of the book. A must read for any music fan, and essential for any one who wishes to understand the period when the music became secondary to the business concerns. I love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Just rock'n'roll
Review: It's 1972. David Bowie pens 'All The Young Dudes' for Mott The Hoople, a British band on the verge of splitting up. The single becomes an enormous hit. Before embarking on a US tour that same year, Ian Hunter (Mott's lead vocalist) decides to keep a journal. The odyssey begins with him cleaning up after the cat and swilling a bottle of Medoc in preparation for his transatlantic flight to the USA. Over the next five weeks, he fends off the unwanted advances of groupies, hangs out with Zappa, Bowie and Keith Moon, searches pawn-shops for vintage guitars, and breaks into Graceland in hopes of meeting THE KING.As Ian Hunter explains in his introduction, Diary was not "meant to have any literary merit, nor be a journalist's delight," rather it's intended as "a letter to a fan in the front row at the Rainbow...a buzz for the people who dig us." Diary is one of the most entertaining, candid insights into the rock'n'roll world you will ever read. Hunter comes off as neither world-weary, pretentious nor self-serving. Highly recommended for anyone who loves rock'n'roll, not just Mott fans.
Rating:
Summary: Just rock'n'roll
Review: It's 1972. David Bowie pens 'All The Young Dudes' for Mott The Hoople, a British band on the verge of splitting up. The single becomes an enormous hit. Before embarking on a US tour that same year, Ian Hunter (Mott's lead vocalist) decides to keep a journal. The odyssey begins with him cleaning up after the cat and swilling a bottle of Medoc in preparation for his transatlantic flight to the USA. Over the next five weeks, he fends off the unwanted advances of groupies, hangs out with Zappa, Bowie and Keith Moon, searches pawn-shops for vintage guitars, and breaks into Graceland in hopes of meeting THE KING. As Ian Hunter explains in his introduction, Diary was not "meant to have any literary merit, nor be a journalist's delight," rather it's intended as "a letter to a fan in the front row at the Rainbow...a buzz for the people who dig us." Diary is one of the most entertaining, candid insights into the rock'n'roll world you will ever read. Hunter comes off as neither world-weary, pretentious nor self-serving. Highly recommended for anyone who loves rock'n'roll, not just Mott fans.
Rating:
Summary: Read and enjoy
Review: This isn't the usual tale of sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll. Sex is singularly lacking and drugs aren't really Mott's cup of tea. What they are passionate about is rock and roll and it is this passion plus the integrity of Ian Hunter's thoughts and jottings on a 1972 US tour that make this such a good read. With Mott just about to make it big with 'All The Young Dudes', this is a warm and amusing glimpse of a band on the road. Follow the fortunes of Ian Hunter's splitting velvet loons, his weight concerns, and the band's insatiable desire to seek out pawn shops in the quest for a vintage Gibson amp or Epiphone guitar. A fledging rock scene is sketched, hurriedly put together concerts, no soundchecks and a gallery of 1972 rock stars ... Roxy Music, David Bowie, Jethro Tull ... A snapshot of an era when the music did the talking. Read and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Calling a Spade a Spade
Review: This isn't the usual tale of sex and drugs and rock `n' roll. Sex is singularly lacking and drugs aren't really Mott's cup of tea. What they are passionate about is rock and roll and it is this passion plus the integrity of Ian Hunter's thoughts and jottings on a 1972 US tour that make this such a good read. With Mott just about to make it big with `All The Young Dudes', this is a warm and amusing glimpse of a band on the road. Follow the fortunes of Ian Hunter's splitting velvet loons, his weight concerns, and the band's insatiable desire to seek out pawn shops in the quest for a vintage Gibson amp or Epiphone guitar. A fledging rock scene is sketched, hurriedly put together concerts, no soundchecks and a gallery of 1972 rock stars ... Roxy Music, David Bowie, Jethro Tull ... A snapshot of an era when the music did the talking. Read and enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Synopsis of this book...
Review: WORSHIPPED, HATED, ENVIED, EXPLOITED - WHO ARE THEY, THESE ROCK STARS? Ian Hunter, lead singer of the rock phenomenon that is MOTT THE HOOPLE, strips away the glittering facade of the pop scene and lays the life-style of today's rock star on the line. In these eye-opening pages you'll meet the groupies, the muscle-men, the hangers-on and the fans. You'll find out how the music business really works: how an album is made and a tour comes together. You'll also meet the behind-the-scenes businessmen, the managers and the promoters, as well as the stars who are Ian's personal friends - glam-rock superstar David Bowie, demon drummer Keith Moon, the inscrutable Frank Zappa and many more. Read Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star - and your idols will never seem the same...
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