Mick Ronson (May 26, 1946 – April 29, 1993) born in Hull,
East Riding of Yorkshire
was an English
guitarist,
composer,
multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer.
He is most well known for his work with David
Bowie from 1970 to 1973, Bowie's glam rock
period, including being part of Ziggy Stardust's Spiders
From Mars band.
He also had a solo career, the most notable exponent of which
was his Slaughter On 10th Avenue
album, that reached No 9 on the UK album charts. Ronson also guested on
various different band's releases after his time with Bowie. He was
named the 64th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone [1].
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Contents
- 1 Early
life
- 2 Bowie
Era
- 3 Later
Work
- 4 Discography
- 5 External
link
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Early life
Michael Ronson was born on Beverley
Road, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire in
1946, then moved to live in Greatfield, Hull.
As a child he played piano,
recorder,
violin,
and harmonium.
He initially wanted to be a cellist , but moved to guitar when he got
hooked on Duane
Eddy and The Yardbirds. He joined his
first band, The Mariners, in November 1963 at the age of 17. His stage
debut with The Mariners was in support of the Keith Herd Band at Elloughton
Village Hall, a gig for which the band travelled 35 miles and got paid
10 shillings (50p). While Ronson was working with The Mariners, another
local Hull group - The Crestas - recruited him on the advice of The
Mariners' bassist Johnny Griffin. With Ronson on board the Crestas
gained a solid reputation, making regular appearances at local halls:
Mondays at the Halfway House in Hull, Thursdays at the Ferryboat Hotel,
Fridays at the Regal Ballroom in Beverley, and Sundays at the Duke of
Cumberland in North Ferriby.
In 1965, Ronson left The Crestas to try his luck in London. He took a
part time job as a mechanic, and before long, he teamed up with a band
called The Voice, replacing Miller Anderson. Soon afterward, Crestas'
drummer Dave Bradfield made the trip down to London when the Voice's
drummer left. After playing just a few dates with the group, Ronson and
Bradfield returned from a weekend in Hull to find their gear piled at
their flat and a note explaining that the rest of the group had gone to
the Bahamas.
Ronson stayed in London and teamed up briefly with a soul band called
The Wanted, before eventually returning to Hull.
In 1966, Mick Ronson joined Hull's top local band, The Rats, joining
singer Benny Marshall, bassist Jeff Appleby, and drummer Jim Simpson
(who was subsequently replaced by Clive Taylor and then John
Cambridge). The group played the local circuit, and also made a few
unsuccessful trips to London and Paris.
In 1967 The Rats recorded the one-off psychedelic track, "The
Rise And Fall Of Bernie Gripplestone" at Fairview Studios in Hull. 1968
saw the band change their name briefly to Treacle and book another
recording session at Fairview Studios in 1969, before reverting to
their original name. Around this time, Ronson was recommended by Rick
Kemp to play guitar on Michael
Chapman's Fully Qualified Survivor
LP.
When John Cambridge left The Rats to join his former
Hullabaloos bandmate Mick Wayne in Junior's Eyes, he was replaced by Mick
"Woody" Woodmansey. In November 1969, the band recorded a
final session at Fairview, taping "Telephone Blues" and "Early In
Spring".
Bowie Era
Early in 1970, John Cambridge came back to Hull in search of
Mick Ronson, intent upon recruiting him for a new David
Bowie backing band called The Hype. He found Ronson marking out a
rugby pitch, one of his duties as a Parks Department gardener for Hull
City Council. Having failed in his earlier attempts in London, Ronson
was reluctant, but eventually agreed to accompany Cambridge to a
meeting with David Bowie. Two days later, on February
5, Ronson made his debut with Bowie on John Peel's national BBC
Radio 1 Sunday Show.
The Hype played their first gig at The
Roundhouse on 22nd February with a line-up that included Bowie, Ronson,
Cambridge, and producer/bassist Tony
Visconti. The group dressed up in superhero costumes, with Bowie as
Rainbowman, Visconti as Hypeman, Ronson as Gangsterman, and Cambridge
as Cowboyman. This performance was filmed and recorded and is currently
in the vaults owned by MainMan. Also on the bill that day were
Bachdenkel, Groundhog and Carvan. The following day they performed that
the Streatham Arms in London under the pseudonym of 'Harry The
Butcher'. They also performed on 28th February at the Basildon Arts Lab
experimental music club at the Basildon Arts Centre in Essex. Billed as
'David Bowie's New Electric Band' so new they haven't got a name yet!
Also on the bill were High Tide, Overson and Iron Maiden. The Strawbs
were due to perform but were replaced by David Bowie's New Electric
Band. John Cambridge departed on 30th March, again replaced by Woody
Woodmansey. In April 1970, Ronson, Woodmansey, and Tony Visconti
commenced recording Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World
album, with Ronson's Jeff Beck-influenced guitar work
to the fore.
During the sessions for The Man Who Sold The World,
the trio of Ronson, Visconti, and Woodmansey - still under The Hype
moniker - signed to Vertigo Records. The group recruited Benny Marshall
from The Rats as vocalist, and entered the studio to record an album.
By the time a single appeared, The Hype had been re-christened Ronno.
"The Fourth Hour of My Sleep" was released on Vertigo to an indifferent
reception in January 1971. The song was written by Tucker
Zimmerman, a friend of Visconti's, and not Bob Dylan as
many sources have suggested. The B-side was a Ronson/Marshall
composition called "Powers of Darkness". The Ronno album was never
completed.
David Bowie's backing ensemble, which by now included Trevor
Bolder who had replaced Tony Visconti on bass
guitar duties and keyboardist Rick Wakeman, were used in
the recording of Hunky Dory. The
departure of Visconti also meant that Ronson, with Bowie, took over the
arrangements, whilst Ken Scott co-produced with Bowie. Very
different from the heavy rock of the preceding album, Ronson's
orchestral arrangements showcased a far more melodic batch of Bowie
compositions. Hunky Dory was perhaps their most
collaborative album, which the sleeve notes acknowledge.
It was this band, minus Rick Wakeman, that became known as The
Spiders From Mars from the title of the next Bowie album. Again, Ronson
was a key part of The
Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
album, providing string arrangements and various instrumentation, as
well as handling the lead guitar duties. This album returned to the
rock oriented music of the earlier album, with Ronson's guitar heroics
providing the perfect frame for Bowie's doomed rock star role. Ronson
and Bowie achieved some notoriety over the concerts promoting this
album, when Bowie would simulate fellatio on Ronson's guitar as he played.
During this time Ronson also co-produced Lou Reed's
album Transformer
with Bowie, and played piano on the song "Perfect Day". Again with
Bowie, he recut the track "The Man Who Sold The World" for Lulu,
released as a single in the UK, and played on a few tracks on the
Dana
Gillespie album Weren't Born a Man.
His guitar work was next heard on Bowie's Aladdin
Sane and 1973's covers album Pin Ups.
Many people had begun to believe that Ronson's contribution to Bowie's
output was becoming indispensable, so it was quite a surprise that he
was absent from the Diamond Dogs
album (although he played on the "1980 Floor Show", featuring songs
which appeared on the record).
Later Work
After leaving Bowie's entourage after the "Farewell Concert"
in 1973,
Ronson later released three solo albums. His solo debut Slaughter On 10th Avenue,
featured a brave version of Elvis Presley's song, "Love
Me Tender", as well as Ronson's most famous solo track - "Only After
Dark". In addition, his sister, Margaret Ronson, provided the backing
vocals for the set. Between this and the 1975 follow-up, Ronson had a
short-lived stint with Mott the Hoople. He became
a long-time collaborator with Ian Hunter (singer),
commencing with the album Ian Hunter and featuring
the UK singles chart hit "Once Bitten,
Twice Shy", including a spell touring as the Hunter Ronson Band. In 1980 the
live album Welcome to the Club
was released, including a couple of Ronson showcases, which curiously
also had a few new studio tracks - one being a Hunter/Ronson song. Much
later, in 1990, Ronson appeared on Ian Hunter (singer)'s
solo album, Yui Orta. In 1993 he again appeared on
a David Bowie album; Black Tie, White Noise
playing on the track "I Feel Free", originally recorded by Cream.
Ronson and Bowie had already covered this track live some 20 years
earlier whilst touring as Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
His second and third solo albums were Play, Don't
Worry - 1975, and, much later still, Heaven
And Hull - 1994. The latter set was only partly
completed at the time of Ronson's demise, and was released posthumously.
Besides Bowie and Hunter, Mick Ronson went on to work as a
musician, writer and record producer with many other acts
including Slaughter & The Dogs
(who took their name from the Ronson album Slaughter on 10th
Avenue), Morrissey, The
Wildhearts, The Rich Kids (featuring Sex
Pistol Glen Matlock and pre-Ultravox Midge Ure), Elton
John, John Cougar Mellencamp, T-Bone
Burnett, Dalbello
and Benny
Mardones. He did not restrict his influence behind the recording desk
to just established acts. His production work appears on albums by more
obscure artists, such as The Payolas, Phil Rambow and Los
Illegals. Ronson produced the The Visible Targets, a Seattle
group, on their 1983 5-track EP "Autistic Savant." He had a lifetime
passion for helping unheralded artists get a chance to shine, and he
assisted many local bands along the way.
Ronson was also a member of Bob Dylan's "Rolling
Thunder Revue" live band, and can be seen both on and off-stage in the
film of the tour. Fans of trivia may note that it was on this tour that
Dylan began experimenting with the use of stage make-up, another
possible Ronson influence. He also made a connection with ex-Byrd Roger
McGuinn during this time, which led to him producing and contributing
guitar and arrangements to McGuinn's 1976 solo album "Cardiff Rose."
In 1992 he produced Morrissey's Your
Arsenal album, helping to redirect Morrissey's
career after the disastrous Kill Uncle album.
His last, high profile, live performance was his famed
appearance at The Freddie
Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. Poignantly, he played on "All The
Young Dudes" with David Bowie and Ian Hunter, and "Heroes" with Bowie.
Ronson's last ever recorded session was as a guest on the 1993
Wildhearts
album Earth Vs The Wildhearts,
where he played the guitar solo on the song "My Baby Is A
Headfuck".
Ronson was a member of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but had grown disenchanted
with the faith before his death.
Ronson died of liver cancer on April 29, 1993 at the age of 46. In his memory, the Mick
Ronson Memorial Stage was constructed in his hometown of Hull.
Discography
- Slaughter On 10th Avenue
(1974 - UK Chart High - No. 9)
- Play Don't Worry
(1975 - UK Chart High - No. 29)
- Heaven and Hull
(1994)
The above set contained the song "Don't Look Down". It
utilised the vocal efforts of Def Leppard's Joe
Elliott. It was released as a single in May 1994, spending one week at
number 55 in the UK Singles Chart.
- Just Like This
(recorded in 1976, released in 1999)
- Showtime
(live in 1976 and 1989, released in 1999)
- Indian Summer
(recorded in 1981-2, released in 2001).
External link
