Rock 'n' Roll Sweepstakes Vol 2

Fully revised and updated, this fabulous Hunter biography covers his solo career from 1975 to the present day.

Review

Published by Omnibus Press; ISBN 978-1787602502

The Ian Hunter story is now far too big to fit in a single volume, and so is split into two. Volume one covered his formative years and his time in Mott The Hoople until their disbandment at the end of 1974. This volume covers Ian's solo career from 1975 to the present day.

Much has happened in Ian's career since 1998 (when All The Young Dudes - The Biography was published), not least the revival of Ian's career through an astonishing succession of albums so we were due an update to bring the story up-to-date. As such, this should be looked upon as a completely new work and not simply a re-hash of what has gone before.

This is as good a read as the first volume. There are fascinating insights at every turn, and since 1998 many more people have come forward to add much-needed background to the story. There is the initial euphoria of his solo debut, the seemingly cursed Overnight Angels sessions in 1977 and the fabulous Schizophrenic album and subsequent tour in 1979. The 1980's saw Ian and musical partner Mick Ronson feeling uninspired, while the 1990's saw Ian effectively sidelined following Ronson's too-early passing. Since then, Ian has rebuilt his career and recording and touring band starting with 2001's Rant album. Further highly-acclaimed albums followed, culminating in When I'm President (2012) and the brilliant Fingers Crossed (2016). With Steve Holley in tow, his fortuitous meeting with Andy Yorke allowed Ian to build the Rant Band into possibly the best band he's ever worked with.

What comes across most strongly, however, is just what a thoroughly decent bloke Ian Hunter is. If you're looking for lurid tales of debauchery, groupies, drugs and the like then go read Lemmy's autobiography (it's full of it) - you won't find any of that here. Ian is instead a decent family man who is held in high regard by critics and fellow musicians alike and the number coming forward to pay tribute is astonishing.

All in all, a fascinating read. If you have the 1998 biog, well it's kinda out-of-date now (being now only half complete). As such, you need this.