So just what is a hoople? And what is a Mott the Hoople?

Mott the Hoople is the character in a 1960s novel by Willard Manus. A "hoople" is a hobo or a buffoon. Guy Stevens, the band's producer and mentor during the Island years, was serving time in jail for a drug offense. While in jail, he met a young man serving time for a similar offense. That man was reading a novel called Mott the Hoople. Shortly thereafter, the man died, but the title Mott the Hoople stuck in Stevens' mind. Stevens had a knack for remembering strange titles -- he named the band "Procul Harum" because he had seen it on a cat's pedigree. He was also responsible for naming Mott's song "Death May Be Your Santa Claus".

Fortunately, Stevens came up with the name for the band; otherwise, we'd all have a number of Savage Rose and Fixable CDs in our collection.

You can order your own copy of the novel by writing to: Will Manus, 248 Lasky Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90212. ($10 U.S., $15 International). Be sure to ask him to sign it for you.