Hunter began his musical career on the bass guitar. An early foray into music was as an entrant in a talent competition at one of Butlin's holiday camps, performing "Blue Moon" as part of a skiffle group with Colen York and Colin Broome.
Hunter memorialized how he left his family in a later song, "23A Swan Hill," the address of his teenage home in Shrewsbury above a police station where his father was the Station Sergeant. He notes in concert that "my Dad was real mean" and did not approve of his son's artistic direction, in contrast to his "grand dad", referenced in "Cleveland Rocks", as "he was a rocker and I am, too".
So Hunter took off for Butlin's and "never looked back". Bandmates York and Broome came from Northampton, and were in a band called The Apex, which Hunter soon joined to play rhythm guitar. In 1963, while living in Northampton, he formed his own band, Hurricane Henry and the Shriekers. With Tony Marriott and guitarist Julian Coulter, the Shriekers worked steadily in Northampton, and by 1965 had picked up Freddie 'Fingers' Lee as a pianist and frontman. In a 2004 DVD interview Hunter volunteers Lee and their gigs in Hamburg as a major turning point, when he first began to "actually think maybe I could do this instead of working in factories".
In 1966 Hunter moved to London, where he joined The Scenery with guitarist Miller Anderson, drummer Dave Dufort, and keyboard player Dante Smith. By 1967 Smith and Dufort had left the band while John Vernon Smith joined on drums. The Scenery recorded some material with Bill Farley at Regent Sound, which was released without the band's knowledge in France and Japan. In early 1968, The Scenery had run its course and Miller Anderson joined Dave Dufort in Paper Blitz Tissue.
Also in 1968 Hunter remained in the band to back up Freddie Lee in the At Last The 1958 Rock and Roll Show, along with drummer Pete Philips and guitarist Chris Mayfield. The group got a regular booking at The Angel in Edmonton, and drew interest from both Chrysalis and NEMS but the group was never signed by them. Mayfield was soon replaced by the ever traveling Miller Anderson, and the group released a single on CBS called "I Can't Drive." As the short-lived rock and roll revival began to wane, At Last the 1958 Rock and Roll Show changed its name to Charlie Woolfe and released a final single, "Dance, Dance, Dance".
Hunter played sporadically in various other bands throughout the 1960s, including The New Yardbirds, and backed Billy Fury, The Young Idea and David McWilliams. He also worked as a journalist and staff songwriter for the firm Francis, Day & Hunter (no relation). Other jobs he took during these years included road-digging for a local council, and reporting for a local newspaper.
By 1969 Hunter was married and had two children, but was still hoping for a return to making music full time. That year he auditioned for and joined yet another band, Silence. Silence soon renamed themselves after a novel by Willard Manus, published in 1966: Mott The Hoople. By this time Hunter had taken to wearing the sunglasses that have long since become his trademark (photos of him without his "shades" are rare). The band was a live smash in England although their early U.S. tours on the coasts were slow in building a following. Whilst a critical success and despite being renowned for being an excellent live act, Mott the Hoople did not achieve sustained commercial success. After a dreary 1972 concert in a "gas cylinder" in Switzerland, they announced their disbandment.
David Bowie, a longtime fan of the band, was upset and offered them a song he had just written. As Ian recalls in a 2004 DVD interview, "He offered us 'Suffragette City', which I didn't think was good enough. And then he sat down on the floor, Regent Street it was in a publisher's office and plays 'All The Young Dudes' on an acoustic guitar." It shot to No. 3 in the UK singles chart and Mott had new life.
Mott the Hoople then had considerable commercial success with the albums All the Young Dudes (1972, produced by Bowie); Mott (1973) and The Hoople (1974). The band began to score financially with songs such as "Roll Away The Stone," "Golden Age Of Rock ´N´ Roll," "Honaloochie Boogie," "All The Way From Memphis," "Saturday Gigs," and especially "All The Young Dudes." When in 1973 original lead guitarist Mick Ralphs left to form Bad Company, Hunter began to play guitar until a replacement could be found but at the same time he was increasingly pressured to write hits for the band. Luther Grosvenor took over as lead guitarist, Grosvenor, aka Ariel Bender, was briefly replaced by Mick Ronson after the release of a live album following The Hoople. However, Hunter left the band in December 1974. The remaining members carried on under the names Mott and British Lions. Hunter has written a memoir, Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star, detailing a U.S. tour with Mott the Hoople.
In March 1975 Ian Hunter joined forces with Mick Ronson, formerly the leading member of David Bowie's backing band The Spiders from Mars and a member of Mott the Hoople for a brief time. Hunter's first single from his eponymous solo album was the UK Top 40 hit "Once Bitten Twice Shy". Hunter's best selling solo album was You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic. It was released in 1979 with Ronson and several members from Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Two songs from You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic became successes for other artists. "Cleveland Rocks" was covered by the Presidents of the United States of America, whose version was used as the theme song for The Drew Carey Show. Also, "Ships" became a No. 9 pop hit in the USA in late 1979 for Barry Manilow.
During his solo career Hunter frequently worked with Ronson until the latter's death in 1993, but he has also had musical connections with many other artists, including Queen, Mick Jones (The Clash), Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, Jaco Pastorius, Dennis Elliot (Foreigner), and David Bowie.
His album, Rant (2001), received wide critical acclaim and he won Classic Rock Magazine Songwriter's Award in October 2005.
In 2007 his latest album "Shrunken Heads" was released and it clearly shows that Ian Hunter is still very much alive.
23a Swan Hill
Ian Hunter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He said, this ain't yours
Where?d you get it from?
You must have stole it from a book, oh yeah
You must have stole it from a book.
?Cause you ain't frail
You ain't beautiful
you'd be a ruin
If looks could kill
23A, Swan Hill
Stiff with rage, screaming at the sky
Innocence breaks
Says she wants to die
I'm assuming I'm alive, oh yeah
I'm assuming I'm alive
She pushes and she pulls
My legs go weak
In fascinating terror
The whole world moves
And I'm standing still
In 23A Swan Hill
And it?s always raining
And you never ask why
You never give yourself a shot
You just sit and watch your life go by
Kicking stones at a still life
Want to pull it down, slash it, slash it
There must be some way out here
There must be some way out here
This ain't right, there must be more to life
Than breaking and entering
Doing people?s heads in alcohol, nicotine
Thinking what I might have been
You would be a ruin
If looks could kill
23A, Swan Hill
And the whole world moves
And I'm standing still
In 23A, Swan Hill
And I will
And I will
And I will
And I will
In 23A, Swan Hill
And I will
And I will
And I will
And I will
In 23A, Swan Hill
And I will
And I will
And I will
And I will
In 23A, Swan Hill
The song "23a Swan Hill" by Ian Hunter is about a person who is feeling trapped and dissatisfied with their life. The lyrics reference a poem called "The Floods Roll On" and suggest that the singer may have stolen it. The singer then criticizes the singer's appearance and asserts that they would be a "ruin" if looks could kill, emphasizing their sense of hopelessness and frustration.
The song continues with a description of a woman who is pushed to the point of wanting to die, highlighting the theme of depression and despair. The singer feels like they are alive but stuck, with the world moving around them while they remain motionless. The repeated line "And I will" at the end of the song denotes a sense of determination to find a way out of their current situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Wrote this poem called, 'The Floods Roll On'
He wrote a poem called 'The Floods Roll On'
He said, this ain't yours
Someone accused him of stealing the poem
Where?d you get it from?
They are questioning the source of the poem
You must have stole it from a book, oh yeah
They believe that he plagiarized the poem
You must have stole it from a book.
They repeat the accusation of plagiarism
?Cause you ain't frail
They point out that he is not physically weak
You ain't beautiful
They say that he is not attractive
And I don't fancy you at all
They express no romantic interest in him
you'd be a ruin
He would be a mess if looks could harm
If looks could kill
A hypothetical situation in which appearance could cause harm
23A, Swan Hill
A location that is involved with the poem's theme
Stiff with rage, screaming at the sky
A description of someone very angry
Innocence breaks
A reference to the loss of innocence
Says she wants to die
Someone has expressed suicidal thoughts
I'm assuming I'm alive, oh yeah
The singer affirms that they are alive
She pushes and she pulls
Someone is causing fluctuating emotions
My legs go weak
The artist is feeling physically affected by the situation
In fascinating terror
A paradoxical description of fear and intrigue
The whole world moves
It feels like the world is moving around the singer
And I'm standing still
The artist feels stagnant despite movement around them
In 23A Swan Hill
The location is again tied to the theme
And it?s always raining
It's always bad for the artist
And you never ask why
The singer is questioning why they do not seek change
You never give yourself a shot
The artist criticizes themselves for not trying harder
You just sit and watch your life go by
The singer feels uninvolved in their own life
Kicking stones at a still life
The singer feels like they're disrupting a stagnant existence
Want to pull it down, slash it, slash it
The singer desires to destroy this existence
There must be some way out here
The artist acknowledges their desire to escape
This ain't right, there must be more to life
The artist recognizes that their current state is not fulfilling
Than breaking and entering
The singer criticizes destructive tendencies
Doing people?s heads in alcohol, nicotine
The singer references substance abuse
Thinking what I might have been
Reflecting on potential, but unfulfilled, accomplishments
And the whole world moves
Repeating the earlier line's imagery of a moving world
And I'm standing still
Continuing this theme of stagnation
And I will
Repeating this phrase, expressing determination
In 23A, Swan Hill
Repeated reference to the intertwined location and themes
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: IAN HUNTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Scott Reppert
I am convinced that this, along with "Boy", are his solo masterpieces. The performance of this on "Strings Attached" is possibly the best live performance I have ever witnessed by ANYBODY...
Peter Jordan
Best Hunter song ever! Alcohol, nicotine and wondering what I might have been is a killer line. The opening verse about the poem sums up what a lot of us experienced from teachers in that era too!
shrunk enheadache
One of Ian's finest. Love the ending that's been added to the end of the song when he plays it live.
Bill Filice
I think I am going to hit this place up when I go to London next year. I have been a MTH fan since 1975 when I was in 8th grade growing up in California.
Bill Filice
@sttony Very cool. That is one great memory.
sttony
I lived at 23a Swan hill for 12 years.... it has changed. IH turned up at the house and entertained us for a while playing the piano. His brother turned up just looking around... I thought we had a burglar casing the joint. Had a quick chat, brought him in and he filled in the gaps about the rooms.
If you google the house and look at the top balcony..... APPARENTLY, the two brothers would stand on the ledge to see who would chicken out and come back in. Have a look at the drop and you will get an idea.
Whenever he would play in the Shrewsbury area..... we would make muffins and hand them out to whoever we saw looking around the place and looked like a 'Young Dude'....
True story... and if the guys from Preston who follow him everywhere read this............. they will confirm it.
Check RIght move for STC on Swan hill and you will see it changed hands.
Alan Davies
The Coach and Horses, now there's a good pub, 1970s that is