Want to hear it straight from the Horse's Mouth? Ask your question here.

Issue #63, Part 1 - April 17, 2006

A tad late, but Easter and all that ...

Shawn is jazzed about the new album. 'How much input do you have on album artwork? As much as I want or don't want. Shawn says the web site is great.

Chris went to see Queen - big venue. He goes to see me - small venue - which is better? Well, the Queenies are custom built for arenas. That's what they've always been about so they'd probably prefer what they're use to. I've done all sorts over the years and prefer smaller places.

Kenny Mac asks for a hint as to what month I may do Glasgow? It all depends on when the record is finished and how it is distributed. I'm not really into doing old stuff again. November is penciled in, but not at all certain.

Dominique: Todd Rundgren and the Cars? He asked me what I thought and I thought it was a fun idea.

Susan and Mikey: 'Official - emerald and diamond engagement ring. Mike is moving to Texas. Good luck.

Alexander Falk: 'How's it hangin?' (ahem ... ) 'Was Jerry Lee an idol of yours?' Yup. Arrogance personified. Loved it. 'Come to Chicago.' Actually I was there last week doing some recording with one of your chaps.

Karen: Get well soon Mal Tibby. Karen says he's not been well since December, but reads HM regularly and seeing this will pick him up. He saw IH last at the Boardwalk in Sheffield and thought it the best night ever. C'mon MAL!

James Takahoshi: Gentle Giant opened for MTH - an odd pairing? Yes, I remember thinking that myself. Can't remember what happened.

Heather (Sandra Blues) passes me a Jimmy Ashurst message. Tour - tour - tour. You young things!

Dee apparently used to pester us when we lived in Wembley. Even remembers our dog (Solveig) and the car plate (JOY 7OK). That's not sad - that's nice. Oakington Avenue. Good one.

Scott Mueller: 'Come to Boston!' I will.

Bart: 'Check out Ray Davies - good stuff.' I'm sure it is. His quality control runs high.

Jeff: March 20 - first day of spring! And as I write we are into spring by nearly a month!

Tom McGarry: I'm getting better at it (I think).

Caleb Miles often thought 'Boy' was written about David Bowie and how many times have I heard this before! Sorry to disappoint, but it wasn't. His manager might have got a couple of references though!

Willie: 'Have you thought about going into politics? When you retire?' (WHAT!) I'm not corporate friendly enough. 'King of Scotland!' No, that's Alex.

Jimmy A.: See you have to make your own. Nobody manufactures luck for you. Good luck with the stuff and give the chaps my regards.

Rich: I'm computer ignorant on purpose.

Rick Graves: Always loved that band name, 'True Believers.' That kind of sums him up. Genuine.

Chris Kinnear says he was playing an acoustic set which was going nowhere until, as a last resort, he did 'Dudes' and 'The Outsider'. The place went ballistic - saved his night. Good - oh!

Matt Nojonen: Don't know - but probably not!

Hope Campbell: Yes, the next opus is nearly ready for examination. Hope says to come to Cleveland and stop herniating. I'll try.

Alan Keinch: I like 'Owners Manual' - good one, that.

Phyl just found the site. Impressed! That's more than your Mum and Dad were! Give my regards to Gold Street. Still talk to Jim and Tony. Barry's gone.

Kelly Wallace: 'Budgie. There was a band called Budgie - right?'

Dale Holland: I don't think we ever did 'Old Grey Whistle Test' in the studio, but I remember doing an interview with Ann Nightingale for the show at some God awful hotel in Kensington. Had to fish Pete Townsend out of a police car.

Stephen Molnar: Really enjoying 'Artful Dodger' at the moment. That record never stood a chance. Couldn't get the business end of things together. Another Ray Davies fan. Did I ever work with him? Well, no - he does what he does and I do what I do. Why collaborate? I respect a lot of people and I have talked to a few of the people you mention and we all get along fine. It's kind of hard not to name drop and keep things interesting, isn't it? Stephen went to Allmusic.com which is a free encyclopedia of music. He read the bio and says there are a few errors. Do we check? Nah, we leave that up to you!

Marc: Do we play 'Death of A Nation'? Sometimes. Come to Jersey. OK

Bill Sylvester: Will I tour this year? It's all down to how soon the record is finished and released. We'll keep you posted.

Jeffrey: Yes, 'Shrunken Heads' is the title. See, you all got it wrong!

Bucks Burnett: I only know Ian McLagan - lovely chap and I've met Ron Wood - oh, yes, I did a vocal with Steve Marriott once. I was on the mike and he stood about 40 feet away to get the balance right! Little bloke, huge chops. They say Ronnie was a lovely guy, but I only met him briefly. Did that great album with Pete Townsend. No - it's not easy making an album. Having said that, the one we just did was probably the easiest I've ever done.

Jim Gaines: Aaaah, there you go. I like your Dad's favourite line. It's one of mine as well.

MGDriver: They put something in the bottles and I don't like it.

Andrew Fields likes the album title. No, it's not me on banjo - Mr. York. (There ain't much he didn't play on this one.)

Hope Campbell: Oh, most amusing.

Matt Nojonem: 'Egad - Wolfgangsvault is owned and operated by Clear Channel. I know they have an incredible collection of stuff including what must be close to the only vintage Mott goodies on the market, but they are evil incarnate. I listened to a lengthy interview with the operator and while he professes undying love for 'the music' he's nothing but a looter in his black heart. They want to make as much money off this stuff as they can. As usual. What I find even worse is they did nothing to acquire the collections except write a check, but Graham's incredible legacy was accumulated one concert, one handbill, one t-shirt at a time over decades. Lots of people actually WORKED to create, record, print, distribute, etc. Clear Channel snags it all in one cold hearted commercial transaction and starts ransacking it. Profit-driven collectors with no love for music will snap up as investments fully intending to turn a quick buck. Clear Channel should stick to $8 flat beers and parking fees on every ticket no matter how many ticket holders are in each car. They are used to that kind of rip off.' Enough said. There was more = I edited a bit. How do you fight 'em? It's easy, stay home for a year.

Amish Bob- proud owner of a DVD player ('Just Another Night' first DVD). Now he's the only person in the world without a cell phone. Wrong!

Brent: Come to Dayton. I'd like to. We'll see. There's talk of history DVD. I think Sony, UK are working on it. Haven't heard much lately.

Derek (Mott freek): Would MTH have survived if they'd moved to the States? It's possible. Even Stan says he wished he'd have moved and you can't get a bigger patriot than Stan. It took ages to haul them out of Hereford, so a move to the U.S. was never really on the cards.

Kelly Wallace: The original lyric was, 'Marks + Sparks'. David changed it to 'unlocked cars' as it was his call. The Beeb didn't like Marks 'n' Sparks (free advertising). Ralpher wrote the guitar line.

Ian Dooley: 'Why aren't you touring?' Because I just made an album and it takes time and effort to make sure it gets a proper release. We need more help than we've been getting on the business end. We're trying to organize things better.

Alan (Santa Fe) 'My wife and I visited Norman Petty's recording studio in Clovis, New Mexico. I wanted a picture of myself in the producers chair, however the digital camera wouldn't work until I pointed to the picture of Buddy Holly which sat beside it. When we examined it later, the picture appeared illuminated! Secondly, in the comic 'Zits' the anthology 'Zits Supersized' mentions MTH on pager 77.' I'll have what he's having.

Bill C.: 'What was the most prolific recording session you ever did?' We got down 14 tracks in 4 days recently. Town Council meetings. Too dry. Hey, Kellianne - don't be insubordinate like your brother's wife!

Andrew Field: 'What's it like looking at old MTH pictures?' Actually, we were pretty good looking as a band - Buff and Pete especially. Too much hair on me. Can I relate to me then? Yes. 'What songs stand up in their own right as contemporary.' The timeless ones.

Steve Hynds: Actually, I wasn't born there (23A) but I did live between the Admiral Benbow and the Coach and Horses. Never went in either establishment. My Dad was very nasty if I went to pubs (he was a Policeman). I moved to LA? Whole thing's a bit off. (Pub review in the Telegraph). We laughed!

Mark Silverstone: 'Did Overend and Buffin really put their instruments away forever after the B.L. split?' I don't know. 'Is Overend single or settled down?' Still single. 'Have either been on stage with you since MTH?' I think I got up with BL one night in Aylesbury. Neither have ever gotten up with me.

Edward would love to hear me sing 'Don't Fear the Reaper' with nothing but piano.

Brian Smith stayed in Oswestry on Holiday from Canada. How long was I there? Well, I was born in Oswestry, but was I was moved to Hamilton in Scotland in a matter of weeks.

Ralph Cohen: 'What happened to Pete Watts? Is it true he played centre half for Telford?' This makes me smile….No, Pete's got property and walks. That's his thing now. Massive walking expeditions across Britain.

Andy Lazaar: 'Rumor has Def Leppard doing a MTH song on their up coming release - what song is it?' Well, if you don't know I can't say, that's for them to tell you, but they have done one. Good, too.

Mike Ribey: 'Are there any new bands out there that remind you of a younger you?' No.

Ron Trimble: Come to California. We will.

Ryan Bell: Come to Toronto. We will try.

Larry Woodside: 'Are you shopping labels?' We will be shortly. 'What's your favourite song on the new album?' I like the whole thing, actually. No dates in LA yet (Michael Rand is our agent at Paradise). Good luck with The Whiskey. Had a great time there, but that was then.

Tom McGarry: It's not down to me, but if we do do it, I think it will be a weekend.

Terrance Fields: 'Will we ever hear 'The Journey' full length? I dunno. It's long and slow.

Kevin Carlini: Well, Ralpher and I could go out as 'Mott the Hoople' - and we have had offers but we would be restricted to playing MTH stuff which neither of us particularly want to do. That's our take on it. That was then; this is now. Each to his own. Just saw the Queenies. Retro based, but great and they're writing and performing new stuff already.

Phil Huband: 'Do you have arrangements worked out before studio or does it evolve in the studio?' On this last one, Andy and I pretty much knew where we were going beforehand and it worked to plan. 'I take it from your earlier comments the tracks were recorded live - with overdubs as required. Do you ever do a live vocal or are they added later?' There are five live vocals on 'Shrunken heads.' 'Do you prefer a certain mike for vocals?' Yes. 'Did you use the same studio and engineer?' No. Different sound, different engineer.

Pete: 'One of the many Australians who would love you to tour down under. Here are a few promoters, addresses and if all Aussies reading this sight contact them, something might happen.' www.frontiertouring.com.au www.coppell.com.au www.chuggentertainment.com www.thebasement.com.au

Pete Jordan: Thin Lizzy? Good. Phil a very sweet man.

Pat: Hadn't listened to 'Rant' in months. Put it on - 'Dead Man Walkin' best thing you've ever done.' You could be right, Pat.

Stay tuned for Part 2 ...