Mick Ronson

Mick Ronson left a lasting imprint across glam rock’s opening years in the early 1970s as a guitarist, arranger, songwriter, producer, and tireless session musician, maintaining steady ties with David Bowie and Ian Hunter right up to his passing in 1993. Between 1967 and 1968 he performed with Hull’s local garage outfit the Rats. Mike Chapman, then an emerging folksinger and producer, came across him in 1969 and recruited him for his studio ensemble. That introduction led directly to an extended partnership with Bowie stretching from Space Oddity in 1969 onward through Pin-Ups in 1973. On Hunky Dory (1972) he supplied the arrangement for “Changes” and other tracks, while serving as the flamboyant lead guitarist for the Spiders from Mars on both the album and tours supporting The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972). Questions persist over the precise extent of Ronson’s uncredited songwriting contributions to Bowie’s catalog, yet his influence appears unmistakably on several landmark releases of the period: alongside Bowie he co-produced Lou Reed’s Transformer for RCA in 1972, and after handling arrangements for Mott the Hoople’s All the Young Dudes (1972) he joined the band for a brief spell. Once glam’s moment passed, Ronson kept collaborating with Hunter through the Hunter Ronson Band while also acting as songwriter, guitarist, and producer on Hunter’s solo projects.

Two solo efforts appeared on Main Man: Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1974) and Play Don't Worry (1975). His signature wah-wah tone surfaced across an unusually wide range of settings beyond glam and hard rock, including Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue and Morrissey’s Your Arsenal (1992). He lent his talents to an eclectic roster of performers that encompassed Roger McGuinn, David Johansen, and John Mellencamp on the track “Jack and Diane.” With Hunter he cut YUI Orta for Mercury in 1989; the following year brought a cancer diagnosis. Bowie invited him back for Black Tie White Noise (1993), and that same year Ronson joined Hunter and Bowie onstage at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert. Heaven ’n Hull, assembled with assistance from Hunter, Bowie, Chrissie Hynde, and Mellencamp, was issued posthumously by Epic in 1994. Two archival releases followed: the two-disc set of unreleased recordings Just Like This in 1999 and the live collection Showtime the next year.