Booking Ian Hunter

Ian Hunter Biography

The English musician Ian Hunter was born in 1939 and grew up in Shrewsbury. Long before Hunter rose to fame as the front man for the rock band Mott the Hoople in the early 1970’s, he worked as a songwriter and musician. After a chance meeting with members of the Apex Group, Hunter moved to Northampton and joined the group as the band’s guitarist. He remained with the band only until the early 1960’s, but the experience was integral in setting the stage for his career to come.

In 1963, Ian Hunter formed Hurricane Henry and the Shriekers, with whom he remained until forming Matt the Hopple in 1968. Matt the Hopple was Hunter’s first genuine taste of success; the band became a critical and commercial success in the UK, giving audiences such notable albums as: Mad Shadows (1970), Wildlife (1971), All The Young Dudes (1972), Mott (1973), and The Hopple (1974), featuring singles such as “The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “One of the Boys,” “All the Young Dudes.”

Matt the Hopple disbanded in 1975, at which time Ian Hunter launched a solo career, with a self-titled debut album. The album featured the hit single “Once Bitten Twice Shy,” which would later go on to be recorded by Great White and become a smash hit in the 1980’s. Since Ian Hunter’s debut, he has released over twenty solo albums, the most recent of which is When I’m President, recorded with the Rant Band and released in 2012.

Ian Hunter recently reunited with three other members of Matt the Hopple; the group launched a reunion tour in 2012, and another in 2013. Now in his mid 70’s, Ian Hunter continues to perform and record, both as a solo artist and as a member of Matt the Hopple.