Mott the Hoople ( B8 )

2019 dates

In January 2019, the band announced the "Tax the Heat" tour, a brief six-show UK tour in April 2019, preceded by an eight-date tour of the US as "Mott the Hoople '74" (which began on 1 April and concluded on 10 April at the Beacon Theatre in New York City). This was the first time in 45 years that Mott The Hoople had toured the US. Indeed, the core '74 members Ian Hunter, Ariel Bender and Morgan Fisher celebrated the 45th anniversary of their 1974 US tour (hence the name of the bill), as well as the original release of The Hoople and Live, the final albums of the classic Mott The Hoople era. The band includes Ian Hunter (vocals and guitar), Ariel Bender (guitar) and Morgan Fisher (keyboards) joined by James Mastro (guitar, saxophone, mandolin), Steve Holley (drums, backing vocals), Mark Bosch (guitar), Paul Page (bass) and Dennis Dibrizzi (keyboards, backing vocals).

The band were due to tour the US in October and November 2019, performing 11 shows. The tour dates were cancelled due to Ian Hunter's tinnitus.

Personnel

Classic line-up Pete Overend Watts – bass, vocals, guitar (1969–1976, 2009, 2013; died 2017) Dale "Buffin" Griffin – drums, backing vocals, percussion (1969–1976, 2009; died 2016) Ian Hunter – vocals, guitar, piano, bass (1969–1974, 2009, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020–present) Mick Ralphs – guitar, vocals, keyboards (1969–1973, 2009, 2013) Verden Allen – organ, vocals (1969–1972, 2009, 2013) Later members Morgan Fisher – keyboards, backing vocals (1973–1976, 2018, 2019, 2020–present) Ariel Bender – guitar, backing vocals (1973–1974, 2018, 2019, 2020–present) Mick Ronson – guitar, backing vocals (1974; died 1993) Ray Major – guitar, backing vocals (1974–1976) Nigel Benjamin – vocals, guitar (1974–1976; died 2019) Steve Hyams – vocals, guitar (1976; died 2013) continuare