We've Got A Great Future Behind Us

Now here's a conundrum. Gather together zillions of press clippings, seen and unseen photos and much other memorabilia (all from the band's personal archive) and present it in book form. A must-buy for all Mott The Hoople fans, yes?

Here's the catch: the book is large (too large for most bookshelves), weighs a ton and costs 200 quid. This puts it out of reach of the casual fan, and indeed most of the die-hards as well.

Lovingly compiled and presented as luxuriously as you'd expect for 200 smackers, it is presented pretty much in chronological order. And yes, the memories come flooding back of the time when Mott were very much a current (and heppening) band. Rave press reviews (both albums and concerts) and live photos showing over the fullness of time a band moving up from small clubs into larger venues.

Yes, there could have been more live photos from (say) 73, 74 but let's not quibble. This is much more than we ever dreamed possible only a few years ago (and let's not forget this is a band that split up nearly 40 years ago).

That said, this is not a speculative purchase. You have to ask yourself if this is really worth what is quite frankly an awful lot of money.

The book includes a DVD of "Mott The Hoople in 1974". This is in fact the footage shot by Morgan Fisher in his hand-held cine camera. 40 minutes long, it was shot on the road and is a fascinating glimpse of early-70's America. The footage was originally silent, but incidental music as been dubbed on by Morgan. Sadly, there is no live concert footage.

Probably only for the dedicated (and well-heeled) fan, but fascinating none the less.