Mott the Hoople bassist Pete Overend Watts dies after six-year battle with cancer
Mott the Hoople bassist and founding member Pete Overend Watts has died following a six-year battle with throat cancer. He was 69.
Former Mott the Hoople lead singer Ian Hunter broke the sad news on Twitter last night, telling his followers: “Oh dear. My extremely eccentric, lovely mate - Peter Overend Watts - has left the building. Devastated.”
> Oh dear
> My extremely eccentric, lovely mate - Peter Overend Watts - has left the building.
>
> Devastated.
>
> Ian Hunter
>
> — Ian Hunter (@IanHunterdotcom) January 22, 2017
Keyboardist Morgan Fisher also shared news of Pete’s death on social media saying he was “numb” with grief and praised his friend as a “total hero.”
Morgan also shared an email Pete sent him on 6th December, which showed his “bravery, honesty, generosity, open heart and still-devastatingly witty humour” in his final days.
In the poignant letter, which you can read in full below, Pete explains that he had “every type of treatment, surgery etc” and was now “fine about going.”
Born in Yardley, Birmingham in 1947, Pete formed the Buddies in 1965 with Mick Ralphs with the group changing their name several times to the Doc Thomas Group, Shakedown Sound and Silence before the end of the decade.
With Ian Hunter newly added as lead singer, the group changed their name in 1969 to Mott the Hoople taking their moniker from a Willard Manus novel following the exploits of a degenerate called Norman Mott.
Having struggled to break through in their early days and on the verge of splitting, it was when Pete came into contact with David Bowie that he agreed to pen a song for them.
‘All The Young Dudes’ was an overnight success and stormed in at number three on the UK chart, paving the way for huge anthems like ‘All the Way from Memphis’ and ‘Roll Away the Stone’.
Pete recorded nine studio albums with Mott the Hoople and Mott, and two with the short-lived British Lions.
Having worked as a producer for bands including Hanoi Rocks and Dumb Blondes, in 2009 Pete took part in the Mott the Hoople 40th anniversary concerts at the Hammersmith Apollo then again for the 2013 reunion shows.