Guitarist, arranger, songwriter, producer and perennial sideman,
Mick Ronson made his mark during glam-rock's early '70s heyday but worked consistently with frequent collaborators
David Bowie and
Ian Hunter till his death in 1993. From 1967-68 he played with a hometown garage rock group,
The Rats, in Hull. In 1969, he was discovered by fledgling folksinger and producer,
Mike Chapman, who asked him to join his recording band. From there he was on to a collaboration with
Bowie beginning with "Space Oddity" in 1969 and lasting through 1973's Pin-Ups. He arranged "Changes" among others on Hunky Dory (1972) and was Bowie's flamboyant guitarist in the Spiders from Mars during the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972) album and tours. It has remained a mystery as to how much of Bowie's material
Ronson wrote in exchange for "arrangement" credits, but his stamp is on some important records of the era: He co-produced Lou Reed's Transformer (RCA, 1972) with
Bowie and briefly joined
Mott the Hoople after working as an arranger on All the Young Dudes (1972). As glam rock faded,
Ronson continued to work with
Hunter in the
Hunter/
Ronson band and as a songwriter, guitarist and producer on Hunter's solo work. He recorded two solo albums for MainMan, Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1974) and Play Don't Worry (1975). His identifiable wah-wah sound straddled genres outside his beloved glam and hard rock: From Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue to Morrissey's Your Arsenal(1992).
Ronson consistently worked with divergent artists from
Roger McGuinn and
David Johansen to
John Mellencamp ("Jack and Diane"). He and
Hunter recorded YUI Orta in 1989 for Mercury and in 1990,
Ronson was diagnosed with cancer. He was reunited with
Bowie for Black Tie White Noise(1993) and that same year appeared at the
Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert with
Hunter and
Bowie. He made one final record with some help from his friends
Hunter,
Bowie,
Chrissie Hynde and
Mellencamp, Heaven 'n Hull, (Epic) which was released posthumously in 1994. Just Like This, a two-disc collection of unreleased material, followed in 1999, and Showtime, a collection of live material, arrived the next year. ~ Denise Sullivan, All Music Guide