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Mott the Hoople, formed in Hereford, Herefordshire, England, UK, are a rock band, popular during the glam rock era of the early to mid-'70s, best known for the song All the Young Dudes, written for them by David Bowie, which appeared on their eponymous album of 1972. The Doc Thomas Group were formed in 1966 with Mick Ralphs on guitar, Stan Tippins on vocals, and Pete Overend Watts on bass. Mick and Stan had been in a local Hereford band the Buddies, while Watts had been in Ross-on-Wye outfit the Soulents with Dale 'Buffin' Griffin on drums. The Doc Thomas Group had a concert residency at a nightclub in a resort town in Italy. The band was offered a recording contract with the Italian label Dischi Interrecord then released a self-titled L.P. during January 1967. Dale Griffin and organist Verden Alle joined the band the following year. Although they toured and recorded in Italy as the Doc Thomas Group, their UK gigs were played under the names of the Shakedown Sound then 'Silence', the band recording demos at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, which were shopped to EMI, Polydor, Immediate and Apple but with no success. The group came to the attention of Guy Stevens at Island Records, who liked them but not with Tippins as lead singer. Adverts were placed, stating 'Singer wanted, must be image-minded and hungry', Ian Hunter being selected as lead singer and piano player, with Stan becoming their road manager. While in prison for a drug offence, Guy read the Willard Manus novel Mott the Hoople about an eccentric who worked in a circus freak show, deciding to use it as a band name. 'Silence' reluctantly agreed to change their name to Mott The Hoople following their audition for Stevens in early 1969. The group's eponymous debut album, recorded in only one week that year, was a cult success. Their repertoire included cover versions of Laugh at Me by Sonny Bono and At the Crossroads, by Doug Sahm's Sir Douglas Quintet, along with an instrumental cover of The Kinks hit You Really Got Me. Their 2nd L.P., Mad Shadows (1970), sold poorly, having received mostly negative reviews then Wildlife (1971) was rated even worse by the critics, but got the highest UK album chart position of the band's pre-glam rock years, flirting with an overtly country-hippie stance and more acoustic instrumentation on some Ralphs-penned songs. Mott the Hoople and Bridget St John were showcased on BBC2's Disco 2 on 10th October 1970.
