Widowed by Mott the
Dog
Made by Ella Crew
After
their hugely successful tour of Britain, Mott the Hoople, with brand-new
guitarist Ariel Bender in tow, entered Trident studios to record the
follow up to the previous year’s smash hit album ‘Mott’ (1973). At
first all was well. Ian Hunter, after having established his position as
leader of the band again, was chock-a-block full of songs.
The first song to be put down on tape was ‘The
Golden Age Of Rock ‘n’ Roll’, a superb slice of glam rock. All
Ariel Bender had to do was slip in a crazed guitar solo in the middle
section. When the single was released it went Top Ten on both sides of
the Atlantic. Ariel Bender’s contribution was the talk of the town.
The next two months in the studio did not go so well.
On stage Ariel Bender was the perfect sword for Mott the Hoople, but in
the studio the guitarist was still Luther Grosvenor, who was not a Mott
the Hoople guitarist. A great guitarist - yes, but not the man to lay
down recordings of Ian Hunter songs. So, with mounting tensions the ten
songs for Mott the Hoople’s next album (‘The Hoople’ 1974) were
laid down with the songs becoming more and more keyboard orientated as
Ariel Bender found it more and more difficult to get to grips with Ian
Hunter’s structured songs. When the album was released it was still
met by universal critical and commercial success. The great rock ‘n’
roll public had no idea there was such turmoil going on in its favourite
band.
‘The Hoople’ went straight to the top of the
charts all over the world, and Mott the Hoople set off on another
headlining tour of America. Although everything was fine on stage, Ian
Hunter’s concern mounted about recording more material with their
mercurial axe slinger. When the tour was over, Mott the Hoople went back
into the studio to record the next single ‘Foxy Foxy’. The results
were disastrous and the single failed to chart. A follow-up single was
planned, but results were equally as troublesome. Thus, although
friendships had been formed, it was decided by both sides that a parting
of the ways would be beneficial to all concerned.
Ariel Bender left a huge impression on Mott the
Hoople, but left a year after he arrived. In a splash of publicity Mick
Ronson replaced Ariel Bender, but the game was up and Mott the Hoople
folded in another six months.
Posthumously a live album from Mott the Hoople was
released with the Ariel Bender line-up, featuring on one side songs from
the Hammersmith Odeon Christmas gigs, and one side from the Uris Theatre
on Broadway. It is pure unadulterated rock ‘n’ roll with the guitar
playing of Ariel Bender being the major feature. The Hammersmith Odeon
closing medley of classic standards and Mott the Hoople signature songs
coming in at over seventeen minutes is spectacular. It contains some of
the greatest guitar pyrotechnics ever put down on tape.
This band should have conquered the world. At least
those of us who were lucky enough to see the band can refresh their
memories by listening to the musical drama unfold on these recordings.
Mercifully, the complete recordings from both concerts have been
released in their entirety, with a re-release of the Live album (May
2004) on a double CD. Slip the disc into your player, turn the volume up
to eleven, and let Ariel Bender blow away your brains.
After a brief recuperation Luther Grosvenor decided
to keep the Ariel Bender persona and formed a new band, a rock ‘n’
roll band that would fit the monster that Ariel Bender had become. After
several false starts ‘Widowmaker’ made their public debut. What a
band!
Ariel Bender still held down lead guitar
responsibilities and spotlight in live concert, backed by Hugh Lloyd
Langton, ex Hawkwind, on second guitar; Steve Ellis, the voice behind
the hit single by Love Affair ‘Ever Lasting Love’; Bob Daisley on
bass, who was later with Ozzy Osbourne, Uriah Heep, and Rainbow; plus
powerhouse drummer Paul Nicholls, ex Lindisfarne. The band got
management through Don Arden, father of Sharon, wife of Ozzy Osbourne.
Widowmaker set out on the road with support slots for
the Who, Electric Light Orchestra, Aerosmith, and two headlining tours
of Britain. The first album was recorded and released (1976) under the
band’s moniker. The musically explosive band on stage was also
musically explosive off stage, and before somebody ended up in hospital,
Steve Ellis left the band after the first American tour. He was replaced
by John Butler and another album was recorded aptly titled ‘Too Late
To Cry’ (1977). Tours of Europe and the States were completed before
more internal strife and the arrival of punk rock left the band nowhere
to go. So they split up. After leaving the stage at Carlisle Winter
Gardens, the band members never spoke to each other again.
Ariel Bender then shed his skin and became Luther
Grosvenor again. Taking a good long look at the rock ‘n’ roll world,
Luther Grosvenor on his thirty second birthday decided enough was
enough. Luther Grosvenor gave up the Ariel Bender business and started a
painting and decorating business. For the next fifteen years Luther
Grosvenor did not even pick up a guitar, a tragic waste of such a
stunning talent. But although having contributed to some of the most
legendary concerts in rock ‘n’ roll’ history, and having been
involved in two of its classic albums with Spooky Two (1969) and ‘The
Hoople’ (1974), still being broke and unemployed, who can blame him?
Luther Grosvenor went home to Evesham. It was not
until local friend and workmate John Ledson coaxed him into forming an
ad hoc blues band called ‘Blues 92’ (after the year) to play the
local pubs that Luther got his fingers back. They grabbed the attention
of record executive Bob Laul, who then spent three years plotting and
scheming to get Luther Grosvenor back into the spotlight. Luther himself
was not keen on the idea and resisted all sorts of enticements. But
everybody has a chink in their armour; his was found when asked to play
on a Peter Green tribute album. At first Grosvenor was reluctant, having
been away from the recording studio for such a long time. However, he
finally decided to go for it when he found himself surrounded by old
friends like Mike Kellie, ex-Spooky Tooth, and record label mate Jess
Roden. They recorded two tracks for the ‘Rattlesnake Guitar’ album,
‘Crying Won’t Bring You Back’ and ‘Merry Go Round’.
The results were stunning and Luther Grosvenor was an
instant star again. Then Bob Laul asked Luther to record his second solo
album. Luther took a year to think about it, but eventually agreed, and
the studio was booked.
Would the magic still be there? Would Luther
Grosvenor be able to control Ariel Bender back in the studio? All will
be revealed next week.
Albums featuring Ariel
Bender in this period
The Hoople - Mott the Hoople
Live - Mott the Hoople
Albums with Luther Grosvenor
Rattlesnake Guitar
Peter Green Tribute album
I
was honored to receive a very early copy of Bertil Lintner’s latest
book, Great Leader, Dear Leader, Demystifying North Korea under the Kim
Clan. Published by Silkworm Books (Chiang Mai) this year (ISBN
974-9575-69-5), it is a timely publication, with North Korea being very
much in the news these days with its stand on nuclear armament.
Mott’s CD review: From Luther Grosvenor to Ariel Bender and Beyond