ONE OF THE BOYS
Standing nearly seven feet tall in his winged platform boots, Mott The Hoople bassist Overend Watts stalked the planet as 1972’s most extreme manifestation of glam rock flash, flaunting tresses sprayed in Rolls-Royce silver car-paint as he wielded his colossal swallow-shaped bass. But he spent his last years as a genially eccentric recluse, living in a Scottish croft or walking Britain’s footpaths, only returning to the spotlight when Mott reunited in 2009, despite secretly fighting throat cancer. Born Peter Overend Watts in 1947 near Birmingham, he grew up in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, where he played in local bands with school friend drummer Terence Dale ‘Buffin’ Griffin (who passed away last January), local guitarist Mick Ralphs and then organist Verden Allen. Known as Silence by 1969, the band sufficiently impressed Island Records’ Guy Stevens to clinch a deal after Ian Hunter passed his singer’s audition. Stevens suggested Watts use his middle name and called the band Mott The Hoople before producing their self-titled debut album. As Mott’s reputation for riotous live shows predicted glam and punk, Watts epitomised the band’s flash image with his proto-platform boots and waterfall of hair. After three further Island albums flopped, Mott split in March 1972. Watts remembered David Bowie had sent them Suffragette City, which they’d rejected, and he phoned to ask for a job. Told Mott had split, a horrified Bowie played him the embryonic All The Young Dudes on 12-string guitar. The group recorded it and, buoyed by its success, embarked on a glorious stretch of hits including All The Way From Memphis, until Hunter quit in 1974. Watts, Buffin and keyboardist Morgan Fisher carried on as Mott, releasing two subtly-hewn albums before the band morphed into the British Lions, who broke up in 1982. After producing bands such as Hanoi Rocks, Watts ran antique shops before retiring from public life. He declined to appear in the Ballad Of Mott The Hoople film or to join Mott collecting their MOJO Honours Hall of Fame award in 2009, but was coaxed from his fishing and walking for a triumphant reunion later that year, and a second reformation in 2013. Despite his illness, Watts commanded the stage with his old affable flamboyance. He underwent severe treatment, but still completed his mission to walk Britain’s footpaths, describing his triumph in 2013’s The Man Who Hated Walking. Hunter spoke for many when he sang “Overend’s just a rock’n’roll star” in Ballad of Mott The Hoople (March 26, 1972, Zurich). On hearing of Watts’ death, he said he was “devastated”. Watts had sent one final heartbreaking e-mail in December from the hospice to Morgan Fisher, who says: “His bravery, honesty, generosity, open heart and still-devastatingly witty humour during his final days utterly blew me away. He left this world as a total hero, a samurai.” Kris Needs
Overend Watts, the flamboyant bassist with Mott The Hoople, died on January 22.