Fans thank Mott the Hoople for the music, magic and memories!
Mott the Hoople fans have thanked one of rock’s friendliest bands by contributing their own personal stories and pictures to You Are One of Us, a book written by fans for the fans.
Few groups managed to connect with their followers in the way Mott the Hoople did when they first formed in 1969. Despite splitting up in 1974, the band’s fans have stayed loyal to the original group members and their subsequent music and creative careers, including acclaimed reunion tours in 2009, 2013 and 2019.
Music journalist and Mott’s former Sea Divers fan club president Kris Needs described Mott as the approachable face of rock, transforming it ‘into a thing we could reach out and touch’.
The book’s title was inspired by a Mott the Hoople song from the Mad Shadows album that encapsulated the self-reflecting bond between the group and their fans, feelings echoed by megafans like Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Mick Jones from The Clash who have always championed the band.
‘This book is our chance to thank the entire extended Mott family for the music and the magic with our cherished memories,’ said Hit the North publisher and the book’s co-editor Andrew Field, who privately published Phil John’s We Rocked, You Rolled, a road crew’s diary of Mott the Hoople’s final European tour in 1974 in 2013 to coincide with a UK reunion tour.
This is the definitive fans perspective, written by the fans for all the other fans and the surviving band, the crew and their families,’ said Andrew, worked with fellow Mott fans Andrew Whalley, Colin Powell, David Crisfield, Keith Hollinshed and Simon Rowberry to compile and edit You Are One of Us. ‘It is an emotional read from start to finish as fans explain why Mott the Hoople means so much to them.’
The book’s 242 colourful pages are full of fan-packed personal stories and reflections with 120 contributors from across the globe. It features over 200 rare and never-seen-before images and a superb introduction from Kris Needs, the foremost authority on Mott the Hoople who was there right at the beginning.
‘Mott the Hoople kept me sane when I was at military boarding school in the seventies. They were the big brothers with attitude I never had. I thought they’d been virtually forgotten about until the internet revealed loyal fans were still very much in love with everyone in the Mott wider family. Concerts not only celebrated the group, but also became great social gatherings in their own right … two fans from either side of the Atlantic met at a concert and are now happily married,’ he said.
Mott the Hoople originated from Herefordshire and stayed loyal to their roots and their fans — even when they were playing Broadway in New York City, on Top of The Pops showcasing hit singles like All the Young Dudes, Roll Away the Stone and All The Way from Memphis, or socialising all over the world with pals like David Bowie, Queen, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, Keith Moon, The Clash and Def Leppard. Hugely influential, the band has been name checked in songs by Queen, REM and the Mambo Sons.
You Are One Of Us was published this Autumn by Hit the North to coincide with MottFest 2025 (which took place in Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, on 3rd to 4th October 2025) when fans from across the globe united to to thank the extended Hoople family for the music, the magic, and the memories.
ENDS
Notes:
Limited-edition hardbacks and paperbacks printed on glossy art paper for superb photographic quality (UK only while stocks last).
Standard version available via Amazon and your local bookstore
For more info visit https://www.hitthenorth.co.uk/you-are-one-of-us
