Ian Hunter – Why Isn’t He Playing Stadiums?

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Comment by Bruce Brodeen on October 21, 2011 at 2:55pm

Very cool to hear of folks mesmerized by his ballads - took me a few years to appreciate them, honestly.  I was a young rocker when I 'discovered' MTH in '74 - I just wanted to rock.  "3000 Miles From Here" floored me though when I first heard it - still does 35 yrs later....

Comment by ALAN K. CRANDALL on October 21, 2011 at 2:48pm

Had the pleasure of seeing Mssr. Hunter in Santa Clara in 1986.  One of the best shows I ever saw.  Had the crowd going nuts on the rockers, mesmerized by the ballads ("Ships" - 100 times better than the version on the album).  Very funny, very cool guy.  

Comment by Bruce Brodeen on October 5, 2011 at 11:50am

Man, what a great walk down my own personal memory lane.   I was a crushed MTH fan who missed seeing them live before their demise(and had tickets to see them - then he had a breakdown).   When his solo album arrived and I put it on, I was like "Man..this is gonna be great!"

 

It was.

 

To me, I had solo Ian now - and then what left of MTH w/ "Mott", whose two albums I will defend to my last dying breath....Brother JB and I had the pleasure of seeing him at SXSW a few years ago and he was still vital...and I will never tire of picking up another new Ian album, ever....I own 'em all and, importantly, visit a good majority of them often....

Comment by Discount Romance on September 21, 2011 at 12:15am

All the Good Ones are Taken is just a fabulous album.  He should be in the Hall of Fame. But that's a whole other area of frustration.

Comment by Vic Paric on September 21, 2011 at 12:02am

I've been an Ian Hunter fan for a long time, and "All of the Good Ones" is one of my favorites. I think that's a hilarious video, I haven't seen it in about 25 years.

It's never bothered me that he's never filled stadiums (and at age 72, he probably thinks it's just as well now). Unique talents like Hunter rarely do.

Comment by Harry on September 15, 2011 at 5:50am

Are you thinking of the Overnight Angels?  That was a truly horrible album>>

No but you are on the track, somebody please help me.

It was one of these one-off superstar combos (....like Keith Richards and the New Barbarians, anybody remember those days?...)  Like I said Todd, Ian Hunter, Jim Carroll and WHO?...the 4th guy was a real big name and I can't believe I'm forgetting it.

 

Could the Beatles be as huge as they showed up now?

Well....what kind of rock landscape (w/r/t all the music that came before them) would they be entering?

They kind of invented it, along with others, but mostly them for awhile.

We have a chicken and egg type question here ;<)

Comment by Stan Schwieger on September 15, 2011 at 5:32am

Amen!  Introduced to Mr. Hunter in the college radio days, by a very cool radio prof, back in the day.  His coolness reigns today, as he recently sung back up on one of my favorite folkies, Amy Speace.

Comment by Discount Romance on September 14, 2011 at 11:25pm

I just feel that quality work should be rewarded and Ian has a huge catalogue of top notch material.  While I prefer to see artists in smaller venues (and I saw Ian twice at the Key Club), it would be nice if they got the recognition and money they deserve. My lament is that talent isn't recognized.  (not by the majority)  Could the Beatles, if they were starting out, fill statiums?  I doubt it.  Their kind of tuneful music has no worth today.  There are some wonderful pop bands that don't draw flies. 

Are you thinking of the Overnight Angels?  That was a truly horrible album. 

Comment by Harry on September 14, 2011 at 7:44pm

I'm drawing a blank now, help me fellow geezers.

It was a 4-man band: Ian Hunter, Todd Rundgren, Jim Carrol (r.i.p.) and someone else.  And they had a name for the band, what was it?

It was one of thsose 1-off summer tour type things, and it came to the Dr Pepper Pier stage on the west side of NYC, early 80s-ish... 

Comment by Harry on September 14, 2011 at 7:34pm

Ian Hunter's great and all, but I find the "how does he not fill stadiums" to be a curious lament on a few levels.

A) very few of the CURRENT best rock bands can fill a stadium or even an arena

B) Ian's a good few decades past his prime though I love his work.  Could you not make the same lament about HUNDREDS of his contemporaries?  To pick one guy who briefly played in a live band with Ian....how about Todd Rundgren.

C) Do you WANT to actually attend a show in a stadium? Wouldn't you prefer a nice bar?

D) Check out where even the Who played on their last reunion tour....places like Mohegan Sun, a good bit smaller than the old arenas, never mind stadiums...