David Bowie - All The Young Dudes (Live at the Isle of Wight, 2004)

[highplainsdem]

[ProfessorGAC]

1. Here's The Version That 1st Caught My Ear

I became a huge fan of the band after buying this album. It was their 4th, but first one I bought. After a while I had all their albums. Rare for me.

[highplainsdem]

2. Love that, too, and of course it was the first version heard because David Bowie had given

the song to Mott, after they had turned down (!!!) "Suffragette City." Getting that song stopped the band from breaking up. Bowie literally saved them.

The line about T.Rex references Bowie's friend and rival Marc Bolan, and that reference to TV is interesting, too, since their friend, producer Tony Visconti (TV), had worked with both of them, with Bolan being more successful for a while. There are different versions of that line - "I need TV" and "I don't need TV." You can hear both in the videos above.

Deep dive into the song:

https://gmarlowe.medium.com/all-the-young-dudes-cd03e8436ffe

Love the guitar there, too. The great Mick Ralphs, who later left Mott to found Bad Company with Paul Rodgers. Amazing work with that band as well, including songwriting.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Ralphs Was One Of Those...

…tone guys I referenced in our PM.
His sweet tone always matched the song.

[highplainsdem]

4. True. And I wish past tense weren't appropriate when referring to his music.

Wish that he hadn't suffered that stroke.

[highplainsdem]

5. This is probably my favorite of all the songs Mick Ralphs wrote:

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Mott Fun Fact

When Mick left for BC, Mott replaced him with Aeriel Bender.
His real name was Luther Grosvenor, & he played in Stealers Wheel with Gerry Rafferty.

[highplainsdem]

7. And he got the name Ariel Bender because Mick Ralphs, one day when he

was upset, had walked down a street bending car aerials/antennas. Which I wish I'd seen.

Anyway, that was Ian Hunter's explanation for the name.