Original sentence: David Bowie had long been a fan of the band, and heard that they were about to split.In 1968, Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Pete "Overend" Watts and Dale 'Buffin' Griffin formed a band called Silence, playing near Hereford, Herefordshire, England.Mott The Hoople were a 1970s British rock and roll band.Mott The Hoople's new found popularity ultimately helped lead to the band's break-up.Stevens changed the band's name to "Mott The Hoople", taken from a Willard Manus novel
Edited sentence: David Bowie had long been a fan of the band, and heard that they were about to split, (allegedly when Overend Watts contacted him, asking if he needed the services of a bass player).Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Pete "Overend" Watts and Dale Griffin (often referred to as 'Buffin') formed a band called Silence in 1968, playing near Hereford.Mott The Hoople were a popular 1970s British rock and roll band, that maintained a large and faithful following, without ever achieving a sustained  mainstream success.Mott The Hoople's new found popularity, oddly ultimately helped lead to the band's break-up.Stevens changed the band's name to Mott The Hoople, taken from a Willard Manus novel