All the Young(ish) Dudes

Well, if you’re Mick Ralphs, you form a third band.

Mick co-founded Mott The Hoople in 1969 and then in 1973, just as the band was getting successful, he left to form Bad Company with Paul Rodgers.

Of course, both bands had great success and later split but reformed.

Bad Company reformed (sadly without bassist Boz Burrell) in 2008 and have toured frequently since.

The original line-up of Mott The Hoople got back together in 2009 and have also toured recently.

But during 2011, there was a hiatus and guitarist Mick got a bit bored.

“We weren’t doing anything with either Mott or Bad Company and I really wanted to do something,” the 70-year-old tells me.

“I went to a pub near me that had a jam session every Tuesday and sat in with some guys who were playing some blues.

“We had such a good time that I asked if they’d be interested in forming a band and they said yes.”

Luckily, it doesn’t clash with Mick’s commitments to the other bands. “No. it fits in nicely as the other bands don’t do much.”

Mott The Hoople, who had hits with All The Young Dudes and Roll Away the Stone, only get together sporadically and even though Bad Company are together more often, it doesn’t cause problems.

“Paul Rodgers has lots of other things on and we don’t go out for long — but we are very well received, especially in the States,” says Mick.

It seemed strange that Mick decided to leave Mott The Hoople just as they were beginning to break through.

“We’d been struggling for years,” Mick explains. “Then we got that push from David Bowie with All The Young Dudes.

“But, Mott turned into a glam rock band and went away from its early roots.”

Mick continues: “I wanted to do something more bluesy and I met up with Paul and did some things together.

“We were just going to do an album — just the two of us and then Simon Kirke turned up and played drums.

“I jokingly said that all we then needed was a bassist and we’d have a band — and then Boz turned up and we had Bad Company.”

It seems strange that despite his blues and rock chops, Mick had other influences.

“Yes, that’s right. I didn’t start playing the guitar until I heard Green Onions by Booker T & The MGs. Before that it was a bit ‘poppy’, but this was totally different.

“Of course I then got into blues and Howling Wolf and Chuck Berry ‘cos that’s there rock and roll really came from.

“But all of us in Bad Company were Booker T fans and we used to play soul tracks when warming up.”

Of the three bands that Mick is in, he is reluctant to pick a favourite. “They’re all completely different.

“Mott had more of a cult following and Bad Company is mainly in the States.

“But I also like doing my blues band — if I didn’t do that I’d be bored and twiddling my thumbs.

“At first I didn’t want to use my name in the band’s name, but our agent said it would probably be better to use it.”

Alongside Mick in The Mick Ralphs Blue Band are Dicky Baldwin on bass, guitarist Jim Maving and drummer Adam Perry.

A new recruit to the band is singer Adam Barron, who people might know from the 2013 series of BBC’s The Voice.

“He’s a very, very good singer,” Mick says. “And we’re hoping to do some recording with him next year.”

The actual show itself will be a mixture of blues covers and original material.

“I’ve written a few songs and I write for whatever band I’m in at the time.

“I stay away from Mott’s songs, but we do a couple of Bad Company songs like Can’t Get Enough and Feel Like Making Love.

“It’ll be a great night because all the venues are quite small and intimate.”

For those who can’t make it to any of the handful of dates, there is a live CD of the band.

“It’s been out about a year. I think it’s pretty good and it was recorded at The Musician in Leicester.”

The Mick Ralphs Blues Band will be appearing at Greystones in Sheffield on Saturday December 6. Tickets are available from the box office and all the usual agencies.