Ellen Foley’s debut album, ‘Night Out,’ came out in 1979 and reached success with its singles in the charts. Lucky for the singer, her album was produced by Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson, both of whom helped Foley to gain recognition. Since it was an important moment in her life, Foley recently reminisced about those times in an appearance on Vintage Rock Pod.
“My ignorance at the time was in my favor,” the rocker said, recalling the period she worked with Ian Hunter. “Because I didn’t know that much about Mott the Hoople. I knew Mick had played with Bowie and all that, but if I had been a super fan, I probably would have been paralyzed with adoration. But as it was, I just got to know them as artists and people. Then, of course, as time went on, I was like, ‘Holy crap. Look who’s here!’”
When asked about being in the studio with many well-known musicians for her debut album, Foley said, “I think, particularly Ian, because Ian was kind of like the, I won’t say father but kind of the boss guy. A couple of times, you know, I got the impression that he said, ‘Oh, she’s a Broadway singer,’ and I have done Broadway, but I’ll say flat out I am not a Broadway chick.”
Yet, Ian Hunter was tough on Foley, kicking the singer out of the studio. The singer recalled, “So he kind of gave me crap about that a little bit. We had run-ins during the mix of the record because I was in there with the mix. Of course, all I was doing was sitting there, telling them the vocals should be louder, ‘More vocals, more vocals!’ I think for some of it, I was right. Then he literally threw me out of the mixing session, which would not happen now.”
“I mean here, I was a 20-something girl in the ’70s,” noted Ellen Foley. She then stated that those times weren’t ideal for women to be in the rock scene since people were still confused, saying, “When the phrase ‘women in rock’ was still interesting, a new thing. So here comes this bloke, as you guys would say, is throwing me out of the studio, but otherwise, it was a ball.”
Since their time together was spectacular, like their musical chemistry, Foley recorded a duet with Ian Hunter in 1980 titled ‘We Gotta Get Outta Here.’ Their creative relationship continued, and the singer performed backing vocals on the Iron City Houserockers’ 1980 album, ‘Have a Good Time But Get Out Alive!’ thanks to Ian Hunter.
