“Bowie retired and Mick [Ronson] sat home. I was looking for a guitar player and a couple of people – Mick Rock was one of them – said “Why don’t you go see Mick, he’s sitting around not doing anything.’ That was how the whole thing started with Mott. Bowie did ring him up in the 80s and wanted to go out and do – he must have been hard up – he wanted to do the Spiders again, but Mick wouldn’t do it. ‘Why won’t you do it?’ ‘We nearly did.’”

Ian Hunter, http://www.jonslaven.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/hunterinterview.html