Ian Hunter 1975

I loved Mott the Hoople. Most of all I loved Ian Hunter's voice. Many times I've tried to emulate it when singing. When he left Mott I thought it was all over but then he came out with this terrific record. Before he released it we first heard the single "Once Bitten Twice Shy" which was right up there with the Mott stuff. The album was just as good. Me and future Murders roadie Alan Barnard would play the thing to death on our stereos then tape it onto a cassette and play it in the car. Knew every word. Yes, some of it was a bit over the top but this was the mid-seventies.
Alan was a bit of a handyman. He had a station wagon and he actually built a timber overhead shelf for all his cassettes. He was the first person I knew to go to Bali and come back with cheap cassettes. He managed to get every album I could think of. He also had these great mixtapes with amazing themes and covers.  It would be a few more years before  I got to one of those cheap cassette stalls.  With such a collection and his woodwork skills, he installed a library in his car. 

One Easter we drove to Sydney listening to all the latest albums.
He was also handy with the motors helping me buy my first car, a Datsun Bluebird for 400 bucks then helping to keep it on the road. Eventually, I learned to keep it going with a piece of chewing gum holding together the carburettor. In the end, I sold it for 12 dollars to a mate of Bruce Milne's.