Mick Ronson


Ronson performing during Ian Hunter's Short Back 'n' Sides Tour, in October 1981.
Ronson performing at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco on 26 October 1981

Background information
Birth name: Michael Ronson
Born: 26 May 1946; Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England
Died: 29 April 1993 (aged 46); London, England

Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as one of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musician—who recorded with Bowie followed by several albums with Ian Hunter, also Morrissey—as well as a sideman in touring bands with Van Morrison and Bob Dylan.

Ronson and Bowie also produced Lou Reed's influential Transformer with Ronson playing lead guitar, piano and string arrangements, and brought mainstream recognition. The album is considered an influential landmark of the glam rock genre, anchored by Reed's most successful single, "Walk on the Wild Side".

He also recorded several solo albums, the most popular being Slaughter on 10th Avenue, which reached No. 9 on the UK Albums Chart. Ronson played with various bands after his time with Bowie. A classically trained musician, Ronson was known for his melodic approach to guitar playing. He was named the 64th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone in 2003 and 41st in 2012 by the same magazine.

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Bowie era

Early in 1970, John Cambridge came back to Hull in search of 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 Bowie. Two days later, on 5 February, Ronson made his debut with Bowie on John Peel's national BBC Radio 1 show.

The Hype played their first gig at The Roundhouse on 22 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. Also on the bill that day were Bachdenkel, The Groundhogs and Caravan. The following day they performed at the Streatham Arms in London under the pseudonym of 'Harry The Butcher'. They also performed on 28 February at the Basildon Arts Lab experimental music club at the Basildon Arts Centre in Essex, billed as 'David Bowie's New Electric Band'. Also on the bill were High Tide, Overson and Iron Butterfly. Strawbs were due to perform but were replaced by Bowie's New Electric Band. John Cambridge left in March, again replaced by Woody Woodmansey. In April 1970, Ronson, Woodmansey, and Visconti started recording Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World album.

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 renamed Ronno. "4th Hour of My Sleep" was released on Vertigo to an indifferent reception in January 1971. The song was written by Tucker Zimmerman. The B-side was a Ronson/Marshall composition called "Powers of Darkness". The Ronno album was never completed.

Bowie's backing ensemble, which now included Trevor Bolder, who had replaced Visconti on bass guitar, 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, while Ken Scott co-produced with Bowie. Hunky Dory featured Ronson's string arrangements on several tracks, including "Life On Mars?".

It was this band, minus 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, providing string arrangements and various instrumentation, as well as playing lead guitar. Ronson's guitar and arranging during the Spiders from Mars era provided much of the underpinning for later punk rock musicians. In 1972 Ronson provided a strings-and-brass arrangement for the song "Sea Diver" on the Bowie-produced All the Young Dudes album for Mott the Hoople. Ronson co-produced Lou Reed's album Transformer with Bowie, playing lead guitar and piano on the songs "Perfect Day" and "Satellite of Love". Again with Bowie, he re-recorded and produced 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. Ronson appeared on the 1972 country rock album Bustin' Out by Pure Prairie League, where he undertook string ensemble arrangements. Ronson recorded "Angel #9" for his second solo LP Play Don't Worry, and string arrangements on "Boulder Skies" and "Call Me, Tell Me" .

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Death and legacy


The Mick Ronson Memorial Stage in 2007

Ronson died of liver cancer on 29 April 1993, aged 46. On 6 May, his funeral was held in a Mormon chapel in London, as he had been raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In his memory, the Mick Ronson Memorial Stage was constructed in Queen's Gardens, Hull. In 2015, Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel pledged to help raise funds for a new memorial to Ronson. In April 2016, Harley played for free at the Hull City Hall to help kick start the appeal.

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Slaughter on Tenth Avenue

Slaughter on Tenth Avenue is a ballet with music by Richard Rodgers and choreography by George Balanchine. It occurs near the end of Rodgers and Hart's 1936 Broadway musical comedy On Your Toes. Slaughter is the story of a hoofer who falls in love with a dance hall girl who is then shot and killed by her jealous boyfriend. The hoofer then shoots the boyfriend.

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The Ian Hunter Band featuring Mick Ronson - Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Rockpalast 1980)
33,625 views • Apr 29, 2016

Lloyd Lloydson
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The Ian Hunter Band featuring Mick Ronson performing Once Bitten, Twice Shy on the German TV program, Rockpalast in 1980.