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Post by The Real Wizard on Apr 1, 2021 1:36:52 GMT
"I had a wonderful offer from Mick Ronson and Ian Hunter, actually. It was going to be called Hunter Ronson Taylor. I think that would have been good." First I've ever heard of this. Circa 1971/72 perhaps, before Ronson joined Mott The Hoople ?
Fantastic interview - Roger is his usual blunt and insightful self. And the writer is no fool either.
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pg
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Post by pg on Apr 1, 2021 6:15:47 GMT
Ronson was with Bowie until the Spiders ended in 1973, so this wouldn't be before early 75 (as The Hunter Ronson band were touring as support to the first Ian Hunter album) I'd have thought.
Brian joins Sparks, Roger joins Hunter/Ronson. Who would the others have been snapped up by?
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dysan
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Post by dysan on Apr 1, 2021 6:32:24 GMT
Interestingly, the band who supported Hunter-Ronson on their UK tour in 1975 was Jet who contained the bassist from Sparks 'Kimono My House'. He later did blind auditions for Roger's solo band for a tour in the early eighties and got through to the final round. Formerly introduced to to Roger he said 'Oh I thought it was for the tennis player'. He didn't get the job  |
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pg
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Post by pg on Apr 1, 2021 8:11:18 GMT
Roger touring in the early 80s?  Can only think this was killed by the existence of Hot Space... |
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ThomasQuinn
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Post by ThomasQuinn on Apr 1, 2021 10:09:05 GMT
Ronson was with Bowie until the Spiders ended in 1973, so this wouldn't be before early 75 (as The Hunter Ronson band were touring as support to the first Ian Hunter album) I'd have thought. Brian joins Sparks, Roger joins Hunter/Ronson. Who would the others have been snapped up by? Isn't it obvious? John would've been designing electronics for Marshall Amplification, Freddie would've become a mogul in the daffodil-growing business before his regrettable murder by the Dutch flower-export maffia in early '83. |
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Post by dragonkiller on Apr 1, 2021 10:44:22 GMT
Good interview..I read it as there will be no 50th celebrations,apart from what we are getting at the moment. Could be wrong though, something might surprise us.
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Post by macduff77 on Apr 1, 2021 15:53:49 GMT
Yeah, great interview. This line about the 'ant' made me laugh; classic Roger:
Q: You must have been worried for him (Brian) this year, with all his health problems?
A: Yes. He had a terrible time, one thing after another. But I think he’s really on the mend now. He’s dedicating his whole life – well, apart from saving the ant or whatever he’s doing this week – to being fit and well. And I hope he’s successful.
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puma
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Post by puma on Apr 1, 2021 17:19:45 GMT
Great read, thanks for sharing!  |
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Post by The Real Wizard on Apr 1, 2021 18:05:52 GMT
Interestingly, the band who supported Hunter-Ronson on their UK tour in 1975 was Jet who contained the bassist from Sparks 'Kimono My House'. He later did blind auditions for Roger's solo band for a tour in the early eighties and got through to the final round. Roger was going to tour in the early '80s !? Is all this officially documented somewhere ?
Considering he ended up forming The Cross with three unknowns a few years later, who knows where his head was at when it came to rounding up musicians.
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dysan
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Post by dysan on Apr 1, 2021 18:46:11 GMT
Roger was going to tour in the early '80s !? Is all this officially documented somewhere ? Considering he ended up forming The Cross with three unknowns a few years later, who knows where his head was at when it came to rounding up musicians. Indeed it is, apparently 1982. Although I had to do some digging.... LINK"Another audition - this time for 'mystery group', although from the time of my arrival it is clear who the regal culprit is. The proceedings take place in a theatre, deserted except for a coterie sitting at the top of the upper level. I take the stage to the accompaniment of a tape recorder and demonstrate my skills to the prepared piece of music. With suitable pomp, down from their perches come a group of men, all wearing sunglasses to protect their eyes from the gloom. They approach. 'This is Roger Taylor', they intone in unison, pointing respectfully to one of their number who has bigger, darker sunglasses than the rest. Joining in the fun, I say 'Ah, yes, the tennis player'. Oh dear, buggered it up again. Roger Taylor the tennis player has recently won Wimbledon. Roger Taylor the drummer with Queen is trying to put a solo project together, which is not at all connected to tennis. I am of course familiar with his reputation, having spent many enjoyable nights with Queen producer Roy Baker discussing the habits and peccadilloes of various members of that band. The escort and their leader turn on their collective heel as one and leave." I'm in occasional contact so I'll ask him. |
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Post by The Real Wizard on Apr 1, 2021 20:02:00 GMT
"Another audition - this time for 'mystery group', although from the time of my arrival it is clear who the regal culprit is. The proceedings take place in a theatre, deserted except for a coterie sitting at the top of the upper level. I take the stage to the accompaniment of a tape recorder and demonstrate my skills to the prepared piece of music. With suitable pomp, down from their perches come a group of men, all wearing sunglasses to protect their eyes from the gloom. They approach. 'This is Roger Taylor', they intone in unison, pointing respectfully to one of their number who has bigger, darker sunglasses than the rest. Joining in the fun, I say 'Ah, yes, the tennis player'. Oh dear, buggered it up again. Roger Taylor the tennis player has recently won Wimbledon. Roger Taylor the drummer with Queen is trying to put a solo project together, which is not at all connected to tennis. I am of course familiar with his reputation, having spent many enjoyable nights with Queen producer Roy Baker discussing the habits and peccadilloes of various members of that band. The escort and their leader turn on their collective heel as one and leave." This deserves a Pulitzer prize.
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Post by Hammett To Fall on Apr 2, 2021 22:54:24 GMT
On his website, Ian Hunter answers fan questions every month in a feature called Horse's Mouth. I've submitted the following question, and will report back if an answer gets posted (probably won't be until the May edition):
'In a recent interview, Roger Taylor was asked about being approached by other bands & said, "I had a wonderful offer from Mick Ronson and Ian Hunter, actually. It was going to be called Hunter Ronson Taylor. I think that would have been good." I guess this would after the Mott breakup & before Dennis Elliott was hired; what are your recollections of this, and did ever play with Roger outside the Freddie Mercury & Mick Ronson Tribute Concerts?'
Queen have come up a few times in this section over the years; in the most recent edition, he was asked what memories he had of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. His reply was:
"Quite a lot, actually. The rehearsals (a week at a film studio) were great. Lots of famous people doing lots of famous stuff. 4,000 crew – a room full of TV’s connected to many countries around the world. Disagreements followed by agreements. We spent the first half in the Royal Box. Said hello to Liz Taylor! Roger was on fire; Brian was sad - but he did great. Bowie knelt and said the Lords Prayer (which I though was a little out of character!). Roger seemed to be running everything – pretty amazing. One and a half billion watching; 76,000 live. I’ve got a picture of ‘Dudes’ downstairs on the wall. etc. etc."
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Post by mevansnow on Apr 2, 2021 23:10:04 GMT
On his website, Ian Hunter answers fan questions every month in a feature called Horse's Mouth. I've submitted the following question, and will report back if an answer gets posted (probably won't be until the May edition): 'In a recent interview, Roger Taylor was asked about being approached by other bands & said, "I had a wonderful offer from Mick Ronson and Ian Hunter, actually. It was going to be called Hunter Ronson Taylor. I think that would have been good." I guess this would after the Mott breakup & before Dennis Elliott was hired; what are your recollections of this, and did ever play with Roger outside the Freddie Mercury & Mick Ronson Tribute Concerts?' Queen have come up a few times in this section over the years; in the most recent edition, he was asked what memories he had of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. His reply was: "Quite a lot, actually. The rehearsals (a week at a film studio) were great. Lots of famous people doing lots of famous stuff. 4,000 crew – a room full of TV’s connected to many countries around the world. Disagreements followed by agreements. We spent the first half in the Royal Box. Said hello to Liz Taylor! Roger was on fire; Brian was sad - but he did great. Bowie knelt and said the Lords Prayer (which I though was a little out of character!). Roger seemed to be running everything – pretty amazing. One and a half billion watching; 76,000 live. I’ve got a picture of ‘Dudes’ downstairs on the wall. etc. etc." I had the opportunity to meet some of the boys from Def Leppard in ‘97 and used the opportunity to ask about them performing backing vocals on All The Young Dudes - their eyes lit up as they recalled the experience. |
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Post by The Real Wizard on Apr 3, 2021 18:36:59 GMT
Roger was on fire; Brian was sad - but he did great. Roger seemed to be running everything – pretty amazing. Surprising but not surprising at the same time. Roger probably prepped himself to take over the operation if it turned out to be too hard on Brian and John.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2021 18:08:12 GMT
Brian May, Roger Taylor, Tim Staffell and Morgan Fisher should start a band and call themselves Smörgåsbord. A combination of the bands Smile and Morgan.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Apr 14, 2021 18:49:48 GMT
Brian May, Roger Taylor, Tim Staffell and Morgan Fisher should start a band and call themselves Smörgåsbord. A combination of the bands Smile and Morgan. Nice.
I always thought the thing with Paul Rodgers should've been called Good Company. Pretty the album would've been much better received with a name like that, as the Queen comparisons wouldn't have clouded people's judgments before even hearing a note. It's not a "supergroup" if you still use the old name.
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emrabt
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Post by emrabt on Apr 14, 2021 19:12:28 GMT
I honestly thought this was going to be an announcement that Roger had another kid.
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Steve
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Post by Steve on Apr 14, 2021 20:45:26 GMT
I honestly thought this was going to be an announcement that Roger had another kid. Exactly what I thought! |
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georg
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Post by georg on Apr 14, 2021 22:53:19 GMT
Brian May, Roger Taylor, Tim Staffell and Morgan Fisher should start a band and call themselves Smörgåsbord. A combination of the bands Smile and Morgan. Nice.
I always thought the thing with Paul Rodgers should've been called Good Company. Pretty the album would've been much better received with a name like that, as the Queen comparisons wouldn't have clouded people's judgments before even hearing a note. It's not a "supergroup" if you still use the old name.
I always thought it should’ve been called The Good Company, the Bad Company, and the Queen. |
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Post by Hammett To Fall on May 6, 2021 23:22:46 GMT
On his website, Ian Hunter answers fan questions every month in a feature called Horse's Mouth. I've submitted the following question, and will report back if an answer gets posted (probably won't be until the May edition): 'In a recent interview, Roger Taylor was asked about being approached by other bands & said, "I had a wonderful offer from Mick Ronson and Ian Hunter, actually. It was going to be called Hunter Ronson Taylor. I think that would have been good." I guess this would after the Mott breakup & before Dennis Elliott was hired; what are your recollections of this, and did ever play with Roger outside the Freddie Mercury & Mick Ronson Tribute Concerts?' Ian Hunter has asnwered! He says...
"I don’t remember this. Roget is a great drummer and lovely chap and we’ve done a bit of ‘hanging out’ over the years (what an aristocratic gentleman these days!!). Like I say, I’d forgotten this, but Trudi says something happened and Roger doesn’t lie so it’s more than likely, true. That would have been good!"
Someone also asked him about Queen doing backing vocals on his song "You Nearly Did Me In" from the "All American Alien Boy" album, and he said...
"I didn’t even know they were in the building! Trudi had met them coming back from London to New York that day and they asked where I was and came down to Electric Lady. I came out of the control room for a slash – and there they were (minus John). Fred was, ‘Right – what can we do?’ – and off we went. Lovely surprise." |
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Can only think this was killed by the existence of Hot Space...
