Mud’s 10 best songs ever, ranked

4 September 2025, 10:26

English glam rock band Mud in 1974. Picture: Alamy

By Thomas Edward

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There was a time when glam rock ruled the waves.

Well, the airwaves at the very least, as you couldn't go five minutes without hearing a glam rock stomper on the radio.

During this time, a band from the outskirts of London, going by the name Mud, slowly became the cream of the crop of the mid-70s glam rock scene.

It was in no part thanks to songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman who penned some of the decade's biggest hits, for Mud as well as their contemporaries in The Sweet and Suzi Quatro.

But Mud stood out from the rest, largely because they were outsiders, led by singer Les Gray whose Elvis Presley-ish croon connected the band to the pop music of yesteryear.

Throughout their peak commercial period from 1973 to 1976, Mud racked up a remarkable fourteen Top 20 UK hits, three of which went to number one.

Once their popularity waned, Gray went on to pursue a solo career, bassist Ray Stiles joined The Hollies, whilst founder and lead guitarist Rob Davis wrote mega dance hits for Kylie Minogue and Sophie Ellis-Bextor as unlikely as that sounds.

Though Mud were never critical darlings and aren't often talked about as the scene's greatest icons like T. Rex or David Bowie, their success can't be denied.

That said, we've ranked Mud's 10 greatest songs – keep reading to see which tracks made the grade:

‘Rocket’

Mud - Rocket • TopPop

Mud booked their one-way to stardom in 1974 with a string of successful hits that year, the third of which was 'Rocket'.
Now fully immersed in the adoring Elvis Presley pastiche which defined an entire era of their output, the band both dressed the part and sounded the part.
'Rocket' really took off, peaking at number six in the UK charts and solidifying them as the go-to band for eager teens who needed a soundtrack to their youth.
‘Flower Power’

Mud - Flower Power

Sounding more like The Small Faces and the Bee Gees' earlier stylings than the music you'd usually associate with Mud, 'Flower Power' was the band doing their hippie thing as wide-eyed teenagers.
In 1967, Mud won the “Search for Sound” national contest, which scored them a contract with Pye Records.
Written by Rob Davis, the band hadn't even decided to pursue a professional career by this point, though it was 'Flower Power' that changed everything for them.
Though it's commercial glam rock they'll largely be remembered for, Mud were capable of mucking in with the counterculture too.
'Crazy'

Mud - Crazy ( Original Footage Hits-A-Gogo 1973 Stereo Remastered )

Groovy as you like, on 'Crazy' Les Gray channeled some New York City gangster and a sprinkle of Slade's Noddy Holder.
It was arguably the sexiest song Mud ever released – if you can say that - as 'Crazy' adopted a tango beat, which was unusual for the pounding glam rock style.
The track came after songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman approached Mud about becoming their next project, which bagged them a new record deal at RAK Records.
The move paid off – Mud got the break they desperately needed after years on the road, with 'Crazy' seeing Mud break into the Top 20 of the UK charts for the very first time in 1973.
'Hypnosis'

Hypnosis

Spooky and sludgy as a vinegar-soaked fish and chip packet after a night on the booze, 'Hypnosis' sent listeners into a spin after its 1973 release.
Following up from the success of breakthrough single 'Crazy', Mud's next single whirled its way up the charts thanks to its spectral vocal harmonies and mind-boggling fretwork.
The song indicated that Mud were far more imaginative than the pub rock tag they were slapped with in the beginning.
Reaching number sixteen in the UK charts, Mud were very much on their way.
'The Secrets That You Keep'

Mud - The Secrets That You Keep • TopPop

Proving that they could write songs for the last slow dance at a discotheque as much as the rockers that kick off a big night, 'The Secrets That You Keep' was Mud at their most romantic.
In the thick of their 'Elvis ballad period', the glam stomp was replaced by a Vegas croon. Though, they'd probably admit their sound was closer to Blackpool if anything.
Having fun with their newfound fame, this period marked the second half of the Mud success story
'The Secrets That You Keep' kept Mud riding high in the charts, peaking at number three in 1975.
'Oh Boy'

*Top *Of *The *Pops* 70s*-#50. Mud-Oh, boy-1975

Mud's music frequently felt connected to sounds from the previous decades, case and point with 'Oh Boy'.
A cover of Buddy Holly and The Crickets' 1957 number three single, Mud paid homage to a song that helped kickstart rock 'n' roll in the first place.
Taking the tempo down and stripping the song back so the vocal rides high like a football chant, they ensured 'Oh Boy' was a song that could be belted out from the terraces as much as a pop concert.
It did the trick, giving Mud their third and final number one single in 1975.
'The Cat Crept In'

Mud - The Cat Crept In

Glam rock stompers don't get any more classic than 'The Cat Crept In'.
You can instantly hear the booze spilling over the pint glasses' edge on nights out as soon as the riff hits.
The song's naughtiness largely came from the metaphor of a cat sneaking into someone's room at night. We all know what Les Gray is really singing about, surely.
Mud never seemed to be chasing accolades or acclaim, they just made good time music, likely why it reached number two in the UK and became a huge hit across Europe.
'Dyna-Mite'

Mud - Dyna-Mite (Dynamite), Full HD (Digitally Remastered and Upscaled)

Well, there's no other applicable way to classify Mud's 1973 hit 'Dyna-Mite' as anything other than a proper belter.
Thankfully for Mud, the song made its way from the desk of Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn to their studio after The Sweet rejected the chance to record it.
A foolhardy move in retrospect, as Mud took 'Dyna-Mite' to number four in the UK charts.
The frothing guitar intro sounds more akin to perennial rockers Status Quo than anything you'd hear in pop music during that time, which is why 'Dyna-Mite' is constantly considered as one of Mud's finest offerings.
'Lonely This Christmas'

Mud - Lonely This Christmas • TopPop

Tapping into the Christmas Song market was a goldmine for Mud, thanks to 'Lonely This Christmas'.
Though millions of people have heard the song annually since its original release, many confuse it for an Elvis Presley song due to Les Gray's convincing impression.
- 'Lonely This Christmas' by Mud: The making of the Elvis-inspired Christmas classic
Still, 'Lonely This Christmas' was a major hit for Mud in 1974, reaching the top of the charts and staying there for a total of four weeks.
Though the song echoes Elvis Presley more than the band's contemporaries, 'Lonely This Christmas' ensures that glam rock has a seat at the table when the greatest Christmas hits of all time are mentioned.
'Tiger Feet'

Mud - Tiger Feet (Live TOTP 1974)

"That's right, that's right, that's right." Let's face it, it was never going to be any other song sitting in the top spot, was it?
Good-time glam rock doesn't come as infectiously joyful as 'Tiger Feet', which is why it's undoubtedly Mud's greatest ever song.
But what does 'Tiger Feet' mean? Even the song's writer Nicky Chinn doesn't know.
In a later interview with Uncut, he admitted: "It was written with Mud in mind."
He added: "Songs these days have to make a bit more sense. So much of glam rock didn't make sense. 'Tiger Feet' doesn't make sense, but it paints a great picture. It's a party picture. Does it make sense? Probably not? But it sounds great. Glam needed to sound and look great with driving rhythms."
Who really cares if 'Tiger Feet' makes any sense at all, when it achieves its primary purpose of getting people on their feet?
A real timestamp of a bygone era when glam rock reigned supreme, 'Tiger Feet' was a massive number one hit for Mud, and became the biggest-selling single of 1974.