Ian Hunter Announces Star-Packed ‘Defiance Part 2: Fiction’ Album

Ian Hunter will release the sequel to last year’s Defiance Part 1 album on April 19. Like the first part, Defiance Part 2: Fiction will feature a star-packed lineup of artists assisting the 84-year-old Hunter.

In addition to appearances by the late Jeff Beck and Taylor Hawkins, the album includes guest spots by members of the Black Crowes, Cheap Trick, Def Leppard and Pearl Jam. Defiance Part 2: Fiction also features Johnny Depp, who painted the album’s cover.

The LP’s first single, “Precious” – including Hawkins, Joe Elliott and Brian May – can be heard below.

Hunter and May’s relationship goes back decades when Hunter’s band Mott the Hoople brought Queen on the road with them – a breakthrough moment in the latter’s group’s career that May has often acknowledged.

“We got on really well with Queen,” Hunter noted in a press release announcing the album. “When you’re in a band you can get really bored with each other, but they were just normal blokes. It was like being on the road with nine guys instead of just five. Freddie [Mercury] was hilarious, and I’ve kept up with Brian to this day.”

READ MORE: Ian Hunter, ‘Defiance Part 1’ Album Review

The seeds of the Defiance project came to Hunter in 2020 while he was working on material for his first album since 2016. Unlike the first album, the new one will include more politically driven songs, which Hunter said was intentional.

“I was trying to avoid all that on Part 1,” he noted. “But on Part 2, it caught up with me. Most of those were written two or three years back, so I wanted to get it all out before whatever takes hold in November. It would be dated after the fact.”

Who Is on Ian Hunter’s ‘Defiance Part 2’ Album?

Defiance Part 2 includes performances by some artists returning from the 2023 album, which was one of UCR’s top LPs of the year. In addition to Beck, Depp, Elliott and Hawkins, returning performers include Stone Temple Pilots‘ Dean DeLeo, Robert De Leo, and Eric Kretz. Showing up for Part 2 will also be Lucinda Williams; Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson and Robin Zander; the Black Crowes’ Chris and Rich Robinson; Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron and Mike McCready; and Elliott’s Def Leppard bandmate Phil Collen.

The track listing for the 10-song standard edition of the album can be seen below. A Record Store Day exclusive version, available on April 20, will include three additional tracks.

Ian Hunter, ‘Defiance Part 2: Fiction’ Track Listing

1. People

2. Fiction

3. The 3rd Rail

4. This Ain’t Rock And Roll

5. Precious

6. Weed

7. Kettle Of Fish

8. What Would I Do Without You

9. Everybody’s Crazy But Me

10. Hope