The Rats

Few listeners recognize The Rats, whose name surfaces chiefly because Mick Ronson belonged to the band before contributing guitar to David Bowie’s landmark early-1970s albums. The group originated in Hull, England; its initial lineup excluded Ronson yet still issued two singles on Columbia U.K. in 1965, one of them a tough reading of “Spoonful” that, contrary to the liner notes of Pebbles, Vol. 6, did not feature Ronson. A capable though unremarkable R&B/rock outfit, the band continued performing locally in Hull after Ronson joined in 1966.

Although The Rats persisted with shifting personnel through the remainder of the decade, they produced no further recordings; several unreleased tracks finally appeared in the 1990s. Their sound gradually shifted toward heavier blues-rock, with Ronson displaying the influence of Jeff Beck, whose band the Rats supported at a March 1968 concert. By 1969 former Rats drummer John Cambridge had joined Junior’s Eyes, which served briefly as Bowie’s backing unit. Cambridge subsequently recommended Ronson to Bowie, whose 1970 album The Man Who Sold the World prominently featured Ronson’s gritty guitar work. Woody Woodmansey, who had taken Cambridge’s place in The Rats that same year, also played on the record.

A final complication in the band’s tangled story arose between the release of The Man Who Sold the World and Bowie’s breakthrough. While Bowie concentrated on songwriting in the early 1970s, Ronson, Woodmansey, early Bowie producer and bassist Tony Visconti, and Rats singer Benny Marshall formed the short-lived Ronno, which issued one single on Vertigo before dissolving. Ronson, Woodmansey, and Trevor Bolder—who had replaced Visconti—then became Bowie’s Spiders from Mars, supporting him on the celebrated albums Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust. Bowie dissolved the group in mid-1973, though Ronson continued working with him for some time afterward. A 1998 Rats CD compiled the original singles, previously unheard 1960s material, and later recordings by 1990s versions of the band. Essentially a solid yet unremarkable act, The Rats hold interest mainly for British 1960s rock collectors and Bowie scholars seeking insight into Ronson’s formative years.