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Michael Chapman (1969)
Michael Chapman was a singer/songwriter from Hull, who signed to Harvest Records and released his debut album Rainmaker in 1969. His bass player on that record was Rick Kemp, a regular on the Hull scene and a friend of Mick Ronson's. Rick suggested Ronson when Chapman got ready to record his second Harvest album, and the two got together a few times at Chapman's house and immediately hit it off. Gus Dudgeon, Chapman's producer, was initially resitant to using Mick on the album, but Chapman insisted. (Dudgeon wanted to use Mick Wayne from Junior's Eyes, who had recently recorded with Bowie.) Mick traveled to London for the recording sessions, which were done at Regent Studios. Mick played all the electric guitar on the album, an immediately won over Gus Dudgeon with his playing. The resulting album, Fully Qualified Survivor, was issued in 1970 by Harvest. It was Mick's first appearance on vinyl.
Michael Chapman, to Campbell Devine: 'When it came to do my second album, Fully Qualified Survivor, they wanted me to have these London session guitarists on it, but I said: 'Bugger off! I know a gardener in Hull who'll blow them out of the water!''
Visit the Michael Chapman website
Tony Visconti (1970)
When Tony Visconti's 1977 album Inventory was reissued on CD, a dozen bonus tracks were added to the album. Two of them feature Mick Ronson. 'Skinny Rose' was recorded by Mick Ronson, Tony Visconti, and John Cambridge in 1970 when The Hype had some extra studio time available. 'Clorissa' is also from 1970 and features Ronson, Visconti, and Woody Woodmansey.
Tony Visconti, to Campbell Devine: 'Mick Ronson just floored us. When David and I met him we knew he'd fit in looks-wise, but we had no idea what was coming until he picked up his Les Paul and played for us. He really didn't have to be taught the few songs we'd already worked up with John Cambridge. Mick just watched our hands on the guitar and bass necks and he just knew what to play. He was a blessing.'
Visit the Tony Visconti website
Elton John (1970)
During the recording of Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World, Mick Ronson and Michael Chapman were offered the chance to record with Elton John at Trident Studios. Gus Dudgeon was Elton's producer, and he suggested Ronson and Chapman to Elton, based on his experience during the recording of Michael Chapman's album. They recorded 'Madman Across The Water', with Mick contributed electric guitar and Chapman on acoustic. Their version of the song was not used on the resulting album, Tumbleweed Connection, but was later issued as a bonus track and on a rarities album.
Visit the Elton John website
Lou Reed (1972)
David Bowie and Mick Ronson traveled to New York in September 1971 to finalize David's contract with RCA Records. It was on this trip that Mick and David met Andy Warhol and Lou Reed, and were reunited with the rest of the Warhol crowd including Cherry Vanilla, Tony Zanetta, and Leee Black Childers (they had met a few months earlier when Warhol's play Pork came to London). It was from this group that Tony DeFries created the American arm of MainMan, and Lou Reed eventually came into the fold. Reed's second solo album Transformer was recorded at Trident Studios in London in August 1972, with David Bowie and Mick Ronson co-producing. Mick was intimately involved in sessions, arranging songs and contributing guitar, piano, recorder, and backing vocals. The album relaunched Reed's career, and spawned the international hit 'Walk On The Wild Side'.
Mick Ronson: 'We were pretty sharp and that's how records were made back then. Records were done very quickly. I mean, when David and I produced Lou Reed's Transformer, we recorded the whole thing in 10 days, six hours a day. We recorded the whole thing in 60 hours and it was mixed and that was it.'
Lou Reed: 'The thing with Ronno was that I could very rarely understand a word he said. He had a thick Hull accent, and he'd have to repeat things five times! But he was a real sweet guy, and a great guitar player.'
Visit the Lou Reed website
Mott The Hoople (1972)
In early 1972, with Mott The Hoople on the verge of splitting up, Overend Watts contacted David Bowie to see if he needed a bass player. When Bowie learned of the band's imminent demise, he offered Watts a song that he had written called 'All The Young Dudes'. In short order the band was together, Mainman was overseeing their affairs, the group was signed to CBS Records, and Bowie himself was slated to produce their next album All The Young Dudes. Mick Ronson as tapped to write the string arrangement for the track 'Sea Diver', which Ian Hunter recalls was done for 20 quid on the back of a fag packet.
Pure Prairie League (1972)
The Pure Prairie League was a country-rock band formed in 1970 in Columbus OH, after singer-guitarist Craig Fuller and bassist Phil Stokes had a falling out with the leader of their previous band, J.D. Blackfoot. The group eventually signed to RCA and released a self-titled debut album in 1972, produced by Bob Ringe. During David Bowie's 1972 USA tour, Bob Ringe approached Mick Ronson about doing some session work, and during an October break in the Bowie tour, Mick traveled to Toronto to contribute string arrangements and backing vocals to the group's sophomore effort, Bustin' Out, also produced by Ringe. (Mick's vocal credits are disguised by a typo that lists him as Rick Ronson). When it was released later that year, initial album sales were disappointing and the band was dropped from RCA. But the group soldiered on, and were rewarded three years later when a song from the album, 'Amie', garnered significant radio play was issued as a single. 'Amie' reached the top 40, but by this time Craig Fuller was no longer in the group, having received a call from Uncle Sam for Vietnam and opted for alternate duty as a conscientious objector.
Mick's work with The Pure Prarie League had a definite influence on him. Two songs from the Bustin' Out album - Craig Fuller's 'Angel #9' and George Powell's 'Leave My Heart Alone' - would later be covered by Mick in 1974. A song from Pure Prairie League's debut album - Adam Taylor's 'Woman' - would be also be covered by Mick, on his 1975 album Play Don't Worry.
Visit the Pure Prairie League website
Milkwood (1972)
Laurie Heath, Chris Barrington and Sally Graham were original members of The New Seekers, a group put together by ex-Seeker Keith Potger which also featured Eve Graham and Marty Kristian. Laurie and Chris had been friends since childhood, having attended acting school and appeared in the film Goodbye Mr. Chips together.
Keith Potger, to NME in 1969: 'I tried the agencies and advertised in 'NME' and 'The Stage'. I found Laurie, who played guitar. He had a friend Chris, who played bass guitar. Then Chris got in touch with a friend he'd made in Australia, Marty Kristian, who was a big teenage star over there. By the end of May I'd found three boys, but it was very difficult to find two girls who looked right together and who sounded right. Then after three months of looking, they both turned up on the same weekend - and both with the same surname!'
Laurie, Chris and Sally appeared on the debut album by The New Seekers, but left in July 1970 to form their own trio, Milkwood. This group released three singles for Warner Brothers, beginning in 1972. The first single ('Watching You Go' b/w 'Here I Stand') was produced by Don Hunter and featured a Mick Ronson arranging credit on the A side. It's likely Mick Ronson's involvement with Milkwood led him to record the Laurie Heath composition 'This Is For You' on his Play Don't Worry album. Other reports of Mick Ronson involvement with The New Seekers are probably erroneous.
Lulu (1973)
Lulu rose to prominence in the 1960s, largely based on her appearance in the movie To Sir With Love and her hit single from the film. Her career had begun to flag a bit in the 1970s, but a chance meeting with David Bowie in 1973 resulted in a collaboration. They discussed working together, and Bowie worked up arrangements for 'The Man Who Sold The World' and 'Watch That Man', which were recorded in July 1973 at the Chateau D'Herouville in France during the sessions for Bowie's album Pin Ups. In addition to playing and singing on the tracks, Mick Ronson and David Bowie are credited with production and arrangement. The tracks were released as a single in the UK and Europe in 1974, and also appeared on a 1976 album in the USA entitled Heaven and Earth and Stars, and on several subsequent compilations.
Lulu, to Campbell Devine: 'Mick Ronson was the first guitarist who ever accessed and combined a pop/rock and punk ethic in his guitar playing. His style was totally unique to the day. I loved working with Mick in the studio. He was not a diva, he was a kind and gentle soul.'
Visit the Lulu website
Dana Gillespie (1973)
Dana Gillespie was a former girlfriend of David Bowie, who was signed by Tony DeFries and his MainMan organization. During the summer of 1971, Mick spent time working with Dana on her first RCA/MainMan album, Weren't Born A Man. The album was not released until 1973, and when it appeared it boasted two songs produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, 'Andy Warhol' and 'Mother Don't Be Frightened'. The tracks were recorded at Trident Studios with the Spiders From Mars and Rick Wakeman. The latter track also features a Ronson string arrangement.
In June 1974 Mick worked with Dana Gillespie again, on her second MainMan/RCA release Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle. Although Mick is not credited on the album, he did produce two tracks that remained unreleased until they appeared on a 1995 CD compilation: 'Never Knew' (which appears in another form on the LP), and 'Lavender Hill'.
The sessions for Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle may have planted the seeds for a couple later personnel decisions: drummer Simon Philips would be recruited fro the first incarnation of the Ian Hunter/Mick Ronson band, and guitarist John Turnbull would accompany Mick on the Old Grey Whistle test in April 1975. In 1994, Gillespie would perform at the first Mick Ronson Memorial Concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.
Visit the Dana Gillespie website
The Fallen Angels (1973)
Following his split with David Bowie, Mick planned to form a new band called The Fallen Angels around the players from the Pin Ups sessions - keyboard player Mike Garson, bassist Trevor Bolder, and drummer Aynsley Dunbar. The lineup was to be rounded out by vocalist Scott Richardson, who had previously fronted the Scott Richardson Case (SRC), a Detroit-based hard rock band which released three albums for Capitol Records. Richardson had been brought into the MainMan family by Angela Bowie, and became good friends with David. But Richardson backed out after a disagreement with Tony DeFries over contract terms, and the project fell apart. The only evidence of this short-lived collaboration are the two Ronson-Richardson compositions on Mick's debut album, 'Only After Dark' and 'Pleasure Man'.
Mott The Hoople (1974)
In Septermber 1974, Ian Hunter held a star-studded press conference at the Hotel St. Moritz in New York to announce what most music journalists already knew: that Mick Ronson was joining the band, replacing the departing Ariel Bender. Ronson's tenure in Mott The Hoople lasted only a few weeks, just enough time for a single (Saturday Gigs) and a short tour of Scandinavia and Europe. Plans for a UK tour in December 1974 - followed by an album and a US tour - were abandoned when Ian fell ill and announced he was leaving the band. This did not end the collaboration between Hunter and Ronson, however.
The Spiders From Mars (1975)
In 1975, members of David Bowie's backing band The Spiders From Mars decided to give it another go. Trevor Bolder and Woody Woodmansey teamed up with Dave Black and Pete MacDonald from Kestrel, and signed a deal with Pye Records. The resulting album was recorded at Trident Studios and featured Mike Garson on a few tracks, and was issued in 1976. The album was issued not a commercial success, however, and the group soon split. However, an unreleased track reocrded for the LP, She's A Roller, features a guest appearance from Mick Ronson on guitar. The track was intended as a single, but was shelved when the group was dropped by Pye.
Roger McGuinn (1975)
Mick's involvement with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue led to his inclusion in a number of Rolling Thunder-related projects. One of these was Roger McGuinn's Cardiff Rose album in 1976. In addition to producing, Mick played a wide variety of instruments on the album. It is generally considered to be the best of McGuinn's solo output during his Columbia period, and one of the hardest rocking albums by an ex-Byrd.
During the Rolling Thunder tour, the backing group came to be called Guam. Between legs of the tour, members of this group - McGuinn, Ronson, Rob Stoner, David Mansfield, and Howie Wyeth - were reported to be forming a band called Thunderbyrd. They gathered at The Record Plant in Los Angeles to record Roger's Cardiff Rose album, with Mick Ronson taking on the role of producer in addition to playing on the album. But after the second leg of the Bob Dylan tour, the group never got back together.
Dave Mansfield: Guam was just the name used by the backing band on Rolling Thunder. Thunderbyrd was one of the first attempts to put an actual band together after the tour, which never really jelled out of the rehearsal stage. Instead, we made the album Cardiff Rose for McGuinn in LA.
Roger McGuinn, to Rock Magazine: What a great producer he is! Very business-like, very aggressive, and very together. He's one of the most professional people I've ever worked with. He had all kinds of great idea, and he never got bogged down, frustrated, or angry. He just worked all the time.
Roger McGuinn would later resurrect the name Thunderbyrd for an album and band in 1977, although none of the other Rolling Thunder participants were involved.
Visit the Roger McGuinn website
Kinky Friedman (1976)
Kinky Friedman is a musician, songwriter, humorist, novelist, columnist, and politician. He has released ten albums, published more than 20 books, writes a regular column for Texas Monthly, and appears regularly on the Bill O'Reilly show. He ran for governor of Texas in 2006, and received 12% of the popular vote.
Kinky was an occasional guest on Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue in 1975, and became a featured performer on the 1976 leg with Guam playing behind him. Kinky performed a number of different songs over the course of the tour, including 'Asshole From El Paso', 'Dear Abbie', 'Remember The Golden Rule', 'Rolling Across The USA', and 'Ride 'Em Jewboy'. A live version of 'Sold American' was recorded at Fort Collins CO on 23 May 1976, which eventually appeared on Kinky's 1976 album Lasso From El Passo.
Visit the Kinky Friedman website
David Cassidy (1976)
In the summer of 1976, David Cassidy ended a self-imposed, two-year break from the music business asnd began working on a new album with Beach Boy Ricky Fataar at the Carribou Ranch in Denver. Mick Ronson, who had previously expressed an interest in producing Cassidy, was invited out to play guitar on a couple tracks. A friendship developed, and when Cassidy came through New York he stayed with Ronson. They rehearsed a bit, and discussed forming a band together, but neither party in this already-tenuous pairing was ready to commit to the project so nothing came of it in the end. But for a time at the end of 1976, the music press on both sides of the Atlantic - from Creem to Melody Maker - was buzzing with speculation about the pairing.
The album Cassidy recorded was eventually released in 1976 as Gettin' It In The Street, and the title track featured Mick Ronson's trademark guitar. The album was only released in the USA, but the title track was issued as a single in the US, UK, Germany and Japan.
David Cassidy, to Campbell Devine: 'Mick Ronson was a far greater musician and a far greater person than anyone was allowed to know. I loved him and admired his uniqueness, and was privileged to have worked with him.'
Topaz (1977)
Topaz was yet another offshoot of Mick Ronson's involvement with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue. The group consisted of bassist Rob 'Stoner' Rothstein, guitarist Billy Cross, and singer Jaspar Hutchison. Rob Stoner and Billy Cross met in high school, and spent time together on the New York music scene. By 1974, Rob Stoner was fronting his own band, apparently using his bass as the lead instrument. He had two singles to his credit, 'Choo Choo Choo' and 'Country Killer', both on the Epic label.
In 1975, Rob Stoner got the call from Bob Dylan to join the Rolling Thunder Revue tour, and he played with Mick Ronson for much of the next two years. Billy Cross, meantime, had been touring the States and encountered Jaspar Hutchison in his native Texas. After the Rolling Thunder tour, Stoner, Cross, and Hutchison formed Topaz and released their self-titled LP in 1977. The album was produced by Don DeVito, and Mick Ronson is credited with rhythm guitar on 'Slice of Night', and piano on 'Some American Obsession' and 'A Modern Love Song'. In addition to Mick Ronson, the album includes contributions from fellow Rolling Thunder alumni Howie Wyeth and Luther Rix.
Stoner and Cross would tour with Bob Dylan again in 1978. Also in 1978, Billy Cross filled in for Mick Ronson during rehearsals for Ellen Foley's Night Out album, and he appears in the promotional videos for 'Stupid Girl', 'We Belong To The Night', and 'What's The Matter Baby'.
Philip Rambow (1977)
After moving to London in 1973, Canadian Philip Rambow first came to prominence as a member of The Winkies, whose 1975 debut album was produced by Mott The Hoople mentor Guy Stevens. The Winkies split soon afterward, and Philip moved to New York for a couple years, where he was immersed in the CGBG's scene, and played supprt to Television among others. He contributed a version of his song 'Night Out' to a CBGB's compilation album, and also recorded tracks for a Phil Spector tribute album. By 1977, Rambow had returned to London, and soon put together a band that included Mick's sister Maggie on backing vocals.
Philip Rambow, to Ed DiGangi: 'My Bass player, Dave Cochran, got to meet Maggie and her friend Della. They wanted to do backing vocals, and we got them to come along. Maggie mentioned that Mick was coming to London, and that he was interested in hearing new young bands and songwriters and she would see if he would like to come along to one of our rehearsals. I was surprised when he arrived and brought his guitar. He listened to a few things first and then we jammed. It was pretty quick when he said he would like to join the band – we were all over the moon. He said he really liked my songs. Mick was happy just to play guitar in my band - his contribution was self evident. The most memorable gigs with Mick were at the Nashville rooms. My management came up with a bold idea. If we did the show as a free show – there would be no tickets for the fire marshalls to count hence we could just jam the place out – which we did. We did 2 nights and the rough count was about 1200 people per night. The legal limit was 500 or so. Everyone in London was there.
The group toured the UK in late 1977, playing several dates including Dingwalls and the aforementioned Nashville Rooms. A live version of 'Underground Romance' appears on the Hope And Anchor Front Row Festival album, but Mick had left for New York to meet with Ellen Foley just before it was recorded. Ian Lewis, who attended the shows, confirms this: 'Mick Ronson did not play with Philip Rambow at the Front Row Festival in the Hope and Anchor. I was at the gig. He did, however, play dates prior to this in London with Rambow. The venue slips my mind [The Nashville Rooms-ed.], but I do remember it being reviewed in either the NME or Sounds.'
When Mick returned from New York, he and Philip Rambow went into Wessex Studios and recorded four tracks with Chris Thomas producing and Bill Price engineering. (Songs from these sessions, such as 'Fallen', were later re-recorded without Ronson for Rambow's Shooting Gallery album). When Mick returned to New York to begin pre-production work with Ellen Foley, he suggested Philip Rambow's songs to her, and she eventually chose to record 'Young Lust' and 'Night Out' for her debut album, using the latter as the album title.
Philip Rambow, to Ed DiGangi: 'Mick was completely responsible for this. While I was waiting for my record deal to get sorted out, Mick said he would introduce my songs to her. I was passing through New York and he was doing pre-production with her at her flat. That consisted of getting $500 from CBS to spend on records – which they did. Mick insisted that she listen to all the best young songwriters of the day, and he included me in that category. I played Ellen both those songs in her flat on acoustic guitar and she loved them so they were both included.'
Click here to listen to the 'Fallen' demo with Mick Ronson
Here is an overview of Philip Rambow's career
Van Morrison (1977)
In 1977, Mick teamed up with Van Morrison, along with Peter Van Hooke (drums), Mo Foster (bass), and Dr. John (keyboards). This lineup played at a press launch for Van's new album A Period of Transition at Maunkberry's in London on 15 June 1977. This gig was filmed for the So It Goes TV show on Granada Television, airing on 9 Oct 1977. The group then traveled to Holland to appear on the Wonderland TV program, filmed at Vara Studios in Hilversum, Holland on 22 June 1977. The Wonderland show was also broadcast on FM radio in slightly altered form.
Mo Foster: 'We only did a couple of dates - a launch at Maunkberry's club in London - this was shown on Granada's So It Goes - and a TV show from Hilversum in Holland. And then Van went home!'
There are many rumours about Mick's involvement with Van Morrison, most of which were started when a bootleg CD called Amsterdam's Tapes incorrectly listed the date of the Wonderland appearance as 1974. Mick is also reported to have contributed toward the Van Morrison album A Period of Transition, but this has not been verified.
Visit the Van Morrison website
The Rich Kids (1978)
The Rich Kids were a UK punk band featuring bassist Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols, and vocalist Midge Ure prior to his success with Visage and Ultravox. The group was rounded out by drummer Rusty Egan and guitarist Steve New. The group recorded a single album, Ghosts of Princes In Towers, before splitting up. The album was produced by Mick Ronson, who also produced three tracks released as B sides. In the final days of the group, Mick Ronson played on stage with them.
Glen Matlock, to Campbell Devine: 'I first came across Mick Ronson when I worked in Malcolm McLaren's shop Let It Rock in the King's Road. Ian Hunter, Mick, and Suzi walked in one day and I was chuffed to meet them. Mick was interested in a pair of pink loafers, and Ihad to get every box down in the shop to get the right size. We sorted out a pair that fitted,a nd then Mick thought I was upset at having to pull all the boxes out. I told him I wasn't, but he was straight up the ladder putting all the shoe boxes back with me. A lovely bloke from the off.'
Steve New: 'Working with Mick was really important for me. I respected him so much. As a musician Mick was incredible. [The Lyceum] was such a night, Ronson played with us on the stage with Ian McLagan on keyboards. Iggy was there, Steve Marriot turned up ... I remember thinking 'fucking hell,' you're with the creme de la creme here.' '
Benny Mardones (1978)
Mick Ronson played guitar on the debut album by Benny Mardones, Thank God For Girls. The album also featured Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley, and was produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, who came out of retirement for the project. The album was recorded at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock NY, where both Mardones and Ronson were living at the time.
Genya Ravan (1979)
Both Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson contributed to the song 'Junkman' on Genya Ravan's … And I Mean It! LP in 1979. Ian Hunter sang a duet with the former Ten Wheel Drive vocalist, while Mick Ronson added the lead guitar. The session reunited Mick with Bobby Chen, who had played in the Mick Ronson Band in 1976.
Genya Ravan: 'Mick was in the same recording studio, Media Sound, working with Ian at the time. I knew Mick from London, and invited him in the studio to hear what I was doing. I asked Mick if he would like to play a solo on 'Junkman', and he fell in love with the song. I told him I wanted it to be a duet, and I was waiting for Van Morrison to finish his tour, but that I was going to have to wait about three months and that would hold up my release. I was also talking to Bruce Springsteen's management. That's when Mick said, 'Why not try Ian?' So I gave him a copy of the song on cassette, and a lyric sheet of what lines I wanted him to sing. He came back the next week, and sang the hell out of it!'
Visit the Genya Ravan website
For more, see Sessions and Guest Appearances, 1980s and 1990s
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