One of Ian's best known songs which was both a single and an album track; and, he summarizes it briefly as 1970s Chuck Berry with a twist. It's a strong track that has just about everything going for it: beat, build, and restraint. In the latter part of the AIR sessions it started with a Little Queenie rhythm guitar style vamp along with the unplanned but signature "Allo" intro paralleling the "Goodbye" that concluded Mott The Hoople's Saturday Gigs. Building in intensity, then mid-way, Ronson's guitar sparkled culminating in a fifteen-second vibrato held over the bridge until driven home to the final choruses. Mick doubled on bass as well.
It took Hunter ten hours to write the music and lyrics while at Mick's home when Ronson's wife Suzi brought in coffee for the effort while working at their flat behind the Albert Hall. The verse and the bridge came first using a little drum machine but the hook took longer. One night Ian sat with a drummer in the Speakeasy talking about the song when the drummer made a comment and something clicked in Ian's head; this was ironic timing since they were both sitting there drunk. In any case, a bell went off for Hunter and he rushed home to write the song while saying a bit about a girl, the Mott breakup, and rock business all at once.
Hunter thinks of it as a first-rate track. The regal presence of Marc Bolan popped into the studio where Hunter Ronson were recording and reacted by saying he always underestimated Ian: better late than never. It would be the only time they spoke.
It was a 1975 UK Top Ten hit and Hunter was sure that it would be. Later, Guns and Roses would share a manager with Great White and both wanted to record the song. Great White only sold two million while Guns and Roses sold seven million on the album that it would have been featured on; that meant Hunter lost a few bob there. Oddly, the lead singer was nominated for a Grammy and the band's version was an American Top Five single in 1989. The song was later covered also by Shaun Cassidy and Status Quo.
There are numerous live versions: three from 1979, and also from 1980, 1981, 1989, 1994, 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2008.
Also recorded at My Father's Place, Roslyn NY 12th June 1979 on Collateral Damage.
In 2002 the song was broadcast for Live At The World Cafe: The Next Decade.
Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me
| Once Bitten Twice Shy | 4:44 | A single and album track, originally issued on Ian Hunter, and on the compilations The (MTH) Collection, Gold,The Golden Age 1969-1997, The Journey, Old Records Never Die, Once Bitten - the CBS Collection, Shades of Ian Hunter: The Ballad of Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople and The Very Best of Ian Hunter. |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (single version) | 3:52 | The single version can be found on the 30th Anniversary (2005) and 2016 (box set) issues of Ian Hunter and the compilations Once Bitten Twice Shy and The Singles Collections 1975-83. |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (live 12th June 1979) | 4:56 | This live version (recorded at My Father's Place, Roslyn NY) was released on Collateral Damage. Not on the box set. |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (live 18th June 1979) | 4:56 | This live version (recorded at the Agora, Cleveland OH) is on the 30th Anniversary issue of You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic. Not on the box set. |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (live 5-11th November 1979) | 5:27 | This live version (recorded at The Roxy, Los Angeles CA) was released on Welcome to the Club and on the compilations The Best of Ian Hunter, The Collection, From The Knees Of My Heart and Shades of Ian Hunter. |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (live 19th April 1980) | 5:24 | This live version (recorded Rockpalast TV Show, Grugahalle, Essen Germany) was originally issued on Live At Rockpalast (not on the box set). |
| Once Bitten twice Shy (live 11th September 1981) | 5:34 | This live version (recorded Dr. Pepper Music Festival, Pier 84, New York NY) was originally issued on the Ian Hunter Rocks video (VHS/Laserdisc only). The video (DVD) can also be found on It Never Happened (box set only); the audio can be found on From The Knees Of My Heart (not on the box set). |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (live 15th February 1989) | 4:59 | This live version (recorded The Dominion, London England) was released on BBC Live in Concert. |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (live 29th April 1994) | 5:16 | This live version (recorded Hammersmith Apollo, London England) was released on The Mick Ronson Memorial Concert. |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (live 29/30th January 2002) | 5:29 | This live version (recorded Sentrum Scene, Oslo Norway) was issued on Strings Attached. |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (live 28th May 2004) | 5:11 | This live version (recorded The Astoria, London England) was released on The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nuthin' But The Truth and on Behind The Shades and Greatest Hits Live In London. Not on the box set. |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (live 2007) | 5:41 | This live version (recorded at an unknown venue) was on the CD-single version of When The World Was Round. |
| Once Bitten Twice Shy (live 2nd March 2008) | 6:01 | This live version (recorded at the Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford England) was issued on Acoustic Shadows (box set only). |
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