When Mott the Hoople told Brian May to quit music: “You’re in the wrong business”
Arguably, nobody is more equipped with what it takes to be a rock ‘n’ roll star than Mott the Hoople’s Ian Hunter. He literally wrote the book on it, as Diary of a Rock N Roll Star became a best seller adored by wannabe musicians worldwide, especially within the rock community. Not to mention, their music resonated with a huge audience, to the point that we are left wondering how big they might have become had they never broken up.
“They should have been bigger if they hadn’t broken up,” said Brian May, reflecting on when he and Queen supported the band on tour. “I think they would have been like The Stones or whatever.”
That early tour came at a great time for Queen; they were finding their feet as musicians and songwriters but had yet to go on tour. So much of their legacy came down to how engaging their live shows were. Freddy Mercury is still considered one of the best live performers to ever take to the stage, and they needed to experience life on the road to cement themselves as such a tour de force.
What better place to learn about life on the road than following one of the biggest bands in the world? Mott The Hoople were a massive inspiration for Queen, so the group used their time together as a big learning experience.
“I mean, we had big ideas. Even then, we were precocious boys. But I remember watching Mott the Hoople burst onto the stage, and the whole audience would erupt because it was just engineered that way,” said May. “I say engineered because you do work on an audience you want to make contact”.
He continued, “You don’t just stroll on and plink away and hope something will happen… You know, you have that opportunity to excite, to impassion, to inspire an audience. And they did that.”
While Queen might have learnt a lot from Mott the Hoople on that tour, some lessons didn’t resonate quite as much. For instance, one day after a show, Ian Hunter and Brian May had some time together, and Hunter told May that the rock n roll lifestyle might not be for him. Can you imagine?
“Miserable old sod he is, but I love him dearly,” said May, “We’re in the middle of the tour. I think we’re in Memphis, Tennessee. My jaw is dropping; my eyes are wide open; I’ve never seen anything like this. It was mayhem. It was like… I don’t know how to describe it. It was like indulgence personified. It’s like you imagine a rock tour to be, the gig, the hotel, everything.”
While sitting and trying to take in everything life on the road as a rock star offers, Hunter sat down next to May to gauge his feelings. “He says, ‘Are you missing your home life at all?’ I said, ‘Well, actually, you’re right.’ So I said, ‘I miss the things around me. I miss my things, I miss my people and everything’.” With that, Hunter gave May advice that could have changed the trajectory of Queen forever: “He said, ‘Brian, if you miss your things and your people, you’re in the wrong business.’”
Naturally, May didn’t take on Hunter’s advice, and we are grateful for it; if he had quit music before he even started, Queen, one of the biggest bands in recent decades, wouldn’t have come to proper fruition. It’s always a good idea to take expert advice, but remember they’re only human, so they will make mistakes in what they tell you.
