Ian Hunter's 1997 UK Tour - Cambridge 6th May 1997

I just thought I would let the rest of the list know about Ian's gig at the Junction, Cambridge, May 6, 97.

The all standing Venue was attended by about 2- 3 hundred people. This was enough to fill up most of the space, but not enough to make it seem full. It would seem Ian is not doing this tour for the money ????

Support group was a local 4 piece whose name was not disclosed. This would seem to suggest that no single support group is booked for the rest of the tour.

The audience consisted of the locals plus a small number of Mott/Ian fans. I make this statement based on T shirts and crowd comments.

As usual Ian opened with the hello, hello, hello song. At this point I cannot give a full set list ( I have not got one of those brains :-( ) but I can remember these songs Walking With A Mountain, ( the dogs testicles, or very good for the none UK readers ) Roll Away The Stone, (great to sing along to ) From the Artful Dodger CD, Now Is The Time, Resurrection Mary, 23A Swan Hill, Michael Picasso ( this has lost a lot of its power since I first heard it in Leeds where Ronno's mum was in the audience ).

The band were tight but did not seemed to interact very well together. Hopefully this will improve as the tour progresses. The only character of note seems to be Darrel Bath. He seems content to let Ian be the 'Star' but exhibits a character of his own. I cannot remember another lead guitarist sitting down on stage ( on the stage, not on a chair ) during a set. This looks to me like a partnership that could sparkle.

During the set Ian delivered those spontaneous audience inspired comments that makes him so likeable. For example while tuning a guitar for the second time he said "that's near enough" which made me laugh. Darrel replied that "the guitar was in tune when he bought it".

When Ian went to the electric piano to play Memphis several people in the audience shouted obscure Mott titles. This was the highlight of the gig for me.

Ian played the first few bars, and the audience sang along with, Foxy Foxy, Saturday Gigs plus some other songs I can't remember. The encore consisted of Irene Wilde, Artful Dodger and Dudes.

This was not a brilliant gig but it does make me look forward to London gig. One of my friends at the gig took some photos which he assures me have come out really good. When I get a copy of them I will try to find some way of sharing them with the rest of the list ( Adrian or Justin might be able to help ??) Someone at the back of the audience shot a video, maybe this will surface in the future.

This may not be a full account of the second date of the tour but it is the best I can do for now. Hope I have not wasted anyone's time, cheers Kev.

(Kevin Medcalf)