The news about Mott The Hoople reuniting for a couple of comeback shows this autumn got us thinking about how Mott leader, the legendary Ian ’Unter, has a tendency to sing songs about being in a rock band.

So here, quick as you like, are Classic Rock’s Top 10 Best Songs About Being In A Rock Band!

1. Saturday Gigs – Mott The Hoople. After all that, Mott just had to be No.1, didn’t they? Ian Hunter is on top lyrical form here, as he tells of the magic of seeing bands live and how that selfsame magic impacted on Mott’s career: ‘The tickets for the fantasy were twelve-and-six a time/A fairytale on sale.’ And, natch, the song’s chorus is to die for: ‘Do you remember the Saturday gigs? We do, we do/Do you remember the Saturday gigs? We do, we do.’ Yep – we do too, Ian.

2. Moody Blues – I’m Just A Singer In A Rock’N’Roll Band. The Moodies weren’t all about being mawkish and wimpy. This is a galloping celebration of the globe-spanning rock’n’ roll lifestyle – with the underlying message that music has the power to unite a fractured world, man.

3. The Clash – Garageland. A stormin’ Strummer/Jones composition that, at its heart, criticises the high-falutin’ rock’n’roll lifestyle: ‘My bummin’ slummin’ friends have all got new boots/An’ someone just asked me if the group would wear suits.’ Naw, as far as The Clash were concerned, that delapidated lock-up with the oil-stained floor was where it was at: ‘People ringing up making offers for my life/But I just wanna stay in the garage all night.’

4. George Harrison – When We Was Fab. A wistful toon (co-written with Jeff Lynne) about the Mop Tops’ early days – complete with a Liverpudlian-style grammatical error in the songtitle, to boot! The chorus, with its doot-de-doots and all, is twee but endearing: ‘Long time ago when we was fab/But it’s all over now, baby blue.’

5. Bread – Guitar Man. Yeah, we know David Gates (the wishy-washy geezer who put the soggy crust into Bread) wasn’t exactly the wildest rock’n’roller around. But he plays the role of ‘tormented axeman’ to perfection here: ‘He can make you love, he can make you cry/He will bring you down, then hell get you high.’ Even when the fans disappeared and he got old and decrepit, our senile six-stringer just kept going: ‘The voice begins to falter and the crowds are getting thin/But he never seems to notice/He’s just got to find/Another place to play.’ Blub!

6. Anti Nowhere League – We Are The League. The musical equivalent of being a Millwall fan (i.e. “No one likes us and we don’t care”). This barking-mad anthem is all about the ‘pack mentality’ a close-knit rock’n’roll band tends to develop: ‘You criticise us, you say we’re shit/But we’re up here and we’re doing it/So don’t you criticise the things we do/No fucker pays to go and see you.’ Too right. You didn’t mess with Animal and his League of gurning gentlemen.

7. Saxon – And The Bands Played On. Written to commemorate Biff and the boys’ appearance at the first ever Castle Donington Monsters Of Rock festival, back in 1980. A wistful reminder of simpler times, before outdoor events were swamped by corporate sponsorship, Japanese noodle bars, fields full of air-conditioned yurts and long-legged girls in hot pants pouring the contents of sample cans of Red Bull down your throat (which isn’t actually so bad, now you come to mention it…).

8. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Travelin’ Band. Probably the best-ever song about a rock band livin’ the dream out on the road: ‘Well, I’m flyin’ ‘cross the land, tryin’ to get a hand, playin’ in a travelin’ band.’ The romance! The glamour! The lost luggage! It’s all here on this seminal ditty.

9. The Byrds – So You Want To Be A Rock’N’Roll Star. A sobering tale from the jingly-jangly ones. It starts off with a piece of useful career advice (‘Just get an electric guitar/Then take some time/And learn how to play’ – sheesh, we never thought of that!) and then ends on a downbeat note. Like: do you, as a budding musician, really wanna get involved in all this rock’n’roll malarkey, where you ‘sell your soul to the company’ and where, if you make the charts, ‘the girls’ll tear you apart’? Hmm, again, the last part doesn’t sound too bad to us…

10. Legs Diamond – Rock And Roll Man. Cult 1970s American rockers Legs Diamond show their sensitive side on this track… well, almost. Vocalist Rick Sanford goes down the time-honoured ‘false adoration route’ with the words: ‘Singing to the ladies, trying to make ’em smile, telling me they love me, but only for a while.’ Still, that doesn’t preclude a hard night’s shagging followed by the excuse: ‘I’m a rock’n’roll man, I give what I can, but I’m leaving in the morning, so I hope you’ll understand.’ Perfectly, Rick, perfectly. We know you’re booked on the 4.40am bus to Poughkeepsie.

What is YOUR favourite song about being in a rock band? All comments welcome!