Early Life
Michael Ronson was born in Beverley Road, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, in 1946, then moved to Greatfield, Hull. As a child he was trained classically to play piano, recorder, violin, and (later) the harmonium. He initially wanted to be a cellist, but moved to guitar upon discovering the music of Duane Eddy, whose sound on the bass notes of his guitar sounded to Ronson similar to that of the cello. He joined his first band, The Mariners, in November 1963, when he was just 17. His stage debut with The Mariners was in support of the Keith Herd Band at Brough Village Hall, a gig for which the band travelled 35 miles and got paid 10 shillings (50p). While Ronson was working with The Mariners, another local Hull group – The Crestas – recruited him on the advice of The Mariners' bassist John Griffiths. With Ronson on board the Crestas gained a solid reputation, making regular appearances at local halls: Mondays at the Halfway House in Hull, Thursdays at the Ferryboat Hotel, Fridays at the Regal Ballroom in Beverley, and Sundays at the Duke of Cumberland in North Ferriby.
In 1965, Ronson left The Crestas to try his luck in London. He took a part time job as a mechanic, and before long, he teamed up with a band called The Voice, replacing Miller Anderson. Soon afterward, Crestas' drummer Dave Bradfield made the trip down to London when the Voice's drummer left. After playing just a few dates with the group, Ronson and Bradfield returned from a weekend in Hull to find their gear piled at their flat and a note explaining that the rest of the group had gone to The Bahamas. Ronson stayed in London and teamed up briefly with a soul band called The Wanted, before eventually returning to Hull.
In 1966, Ronson joined Hull's top local band, The Rats, joining singer Benny Marshall, bassist Geoff Appleby, and drummer Jim Simpson (who was subsequently replaced by Clive Taylor and then John Cambridge). The group played the local circuit, and made a few unsuccessful trips to London and Paris.
In 1967 The Rats recorded the one-off psychedelic track, "The Rise and Fall of Bernie Gripplestone" at Fairview Studios in Hull, and can be heard on the 2008 release Front Room Masters – Fairview Studios 1966–1973. 1968 saw the band change their name briefly to Treacle and book another recording session at Fairview Studios in 1969, before reverting to their original name. Around this time, Ronson was recommended by Rick Kemp to play guitar on Michael Chapman's Fully Qualified Survivor album.
In 1968 Keith 'Ched' Cheesman joined The Rats replacing Geoff Appleby on bass and the line up of Ronson, Marshall, Cheesman and Cambridge entered Fairview studio to record "Guitar Boogie", "Stop and Get A Hold of Myself" and "Morning Dew".
When John Cambridge left The Rats to join his former Hullaballoos bandmate Mick Wayne in Junior's Eyes, he was replaced by Mick "Woody" Woodmansey. In November 1969, the band recorded a final session at Fairview, taping "Telephone Blues" and "Early in Spring".
In March 1970, during the recording sessions for Elton John's album Tumbleweed Connection, Ronson played guitar on the track "Madman Across the Water". This song however was not included in the original release. The recording featuring Ronson was released on the 1992 compilation album, Rare Masters, and the 1995 reissue of Tumbleweed Connection.
Read more about this topic: Mick Ronson
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“In the course of twenty crowded years one parts with many illusions. I did not wish to lose the early ones. Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again.”
—Willa Cather (18731947)
“I describe family values as responsibility towards others, increase of tolerance, compromise, support, flexibility. And essentially the things I call the silent song of lifethe continuous process of mutual accommodation without which life is impossible.”
—Salvador Minuchin (20th century)