In 1972, at the height of the glam rock era, British band Mott The Hoople had their biggest hit with the classic anthem All The Young Dudes.
The song was written by David Bowie — but a big part of its magic came from the intro created by Mott guitarist Mick Ralphs.
Ralphs died this week at the age of 81. He was renowned not only for his work with Mott The Hoople but also with Bad Company, who had a string of hit albums in the late ’70s.
Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott is a longtime admirer of Ralphs’ playing — and cites All The Young Dudes as his favourite song of all time.
Elliott tells MusicRadar: “Mick was one of the kindest souls that I’ve ever met. When Mott reformed in 2009 and 2013 I went to every gig. I got to hang out with Mick before and after the shows. He always had time for a chat.”
He says of All The Young Dudes: “Bowie gave them the song but Mick wrote the intro, and it’s astonishing. It’s a very classical piece rather than a blues-based lick, which is something that Mick would be more studied in. And it’s the lick of all licks.
“You hear the beginning of that song and — boom! It was a revelation for a whole new generation of kids.
“It’s a massive contribution to music in general but to me it was absolutely unbelievable.”
Mick Ralphs was also an accomplished songwriter.
Joe Elliott picks two great songs that Ralphs wrote for Mott The Hoople: Rock And Roll Queen from the band’s self-titled debut album, and I’m A Cadillac/El Camino Dolo Roso from the 1973 album Mott.
“Rock And Roll Queen is a fantastic rocker,” Elliott says. “But I think my favourite is I’m A Cadillac. Mick wrote it, he sings it, and it’s got a beautiful coda which we [Def Leppard] played twice in our dressing room on the day Mick died.”
As for the best songs Ralphs wrote for Bad Company, Elliott says: “I’m not gonna go for anything obvious. For me, there’s two — both off [1976 album] Run With The Pack
“There’s Simple Man, a beautiful semi-acoustic song, and the killer of all of them is Sweet Lil’ Sister, a full-on rocker with a brilliant, brilliant guitar solo in it - and a great vocal of course from Mr. Paul Rodgers.”
On a personal note, Elliott adds: “I’ll tell you a nice story about Mick Ralphs. When Def Leppard first broke in 1983, obviously he’d never heard of me and I never thought I’d come across him, but [photographer] Ross Halfin said he was meeting Mick so I said, ‘Get me his autograph, will you?’
“Ross got the autograph and it said: ‘To Joe, love Mick Ralphs (thanks for remembering who I am).’ Now that just about sums him up. He was so humble, such a lovely person.”
Elliott concludes: “I hope from a human point of view that Mick is remembered as a good bloke. Not an egomaniac — just a jobbing musician, which is all he ever wanted to be, I think.
“But professionally he ought to be remembered for his contribution to some of the greatest rock music ever made.
“He was just a great sideman. He didn’t want to be flash — he played what the song needed. And that’s the greatest gift that he gave to us as fans.”
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