Mark Ronson

[Vogue Girl]

Mark Ronson

Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is an English guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records.

While his debut album Here Comes the Fuzz (featuring collaborations with Sean Paul, Nate Dogg and Ghostface Killah) failed to make an impact on the charts, his second album, Version (with covers of songs by bands such as Radiohead, Maxïmo Park, The Smiths, The Zutons and Kaiser Chiefs) included three top ten hits and won Ronson a BRIT Award for Best Male Artist 2008.

Early life

Ronson was born into a wealthy family at the Wellington Hospital, St John's Wood, north London, England, the son of writer and socialite Ann Dexter-Jones and one-time band manager and real estate entrepreneur Laurence Ronson. His parents are of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, with ancestors from Austria, Russia, and Lithuania, and Ronson was brought up in Conservative Judaism. Ronson is related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan, and has younger twin sisters, Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson a singer and DJ. After his parents broke up, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music. Ronson has been "best friends" with Sean Lennon, son of the late John Lennon, since the age of thirteen.

Career

Ronson went to high school at Collegiate School (New York). Attending Vassar College and then New York University (NYU), Ronson became a regular at downtown hip-hop spots and made his name as a DJ on the New York club scene in 1993, charging $50 per job. Though a novice with little experience, he became known for his diverse, genre-spanning selection. Influenced by funk, the hip-hop scene of New York and the more rock influence of the UK (all of which he incorporated in his sets) he attracted a wider audience. He was soon one of the most respected DJs and was being called on for celebrities' private parties. In 1999, Ronson was featured in an ad wearing Tommy Hilfiger denim in the recording studio for an ad campaign for the company.

Here Comes the Fuzz and initial producing

He moved on, however, to producing music after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his gigs and introduced the musicians (this however is a misconception; Mark Ronson was forced to cancel the gig due to illness and Costa and Ronson were introduced shortly after through an acquaintance). He produced her song "Everybody Got Their Something," and soon Ronson signed a record contract with Elektra Records. Mark had produced tracks for Hilfiger ads, and in 2001 used the connection to have Costa's single "Like a Feather" used in an ad.

Ronson's first album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003 and was critically acclaimed and a financial success, despite initially poor sales. On the album, he wrote the songs, made the beats and played guitar, keyboards, and bass. The album featured artists from diverse genres, including Mos Def, Jack White, Sean Paul, Nikka Costa, Nappy Roots and Rivers Cuomo. The best known song from the album, "Ooh Wee", samples "Sunny" by Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah, Trife Da God, and Saigon. It featured that year in the movie Honey (film) and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.[11] Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya, Macy Gray, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Robbie Williams.

Ronson became one of the regular DJs at Justin Timberlake's New York club, Suede, when it opened in 2003.

In 2004, Ronson formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed to Allido was rapper Saigon, who later left to sign with Just Blaze's Fort Knox Entertainment. Now he has signed Rhymefest, most well-known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks".

Version

Ronson released a cover of The Smiths' track "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" under the title "Stop Me" on 2 April 2007, featuring singer Daniel Merriweather, which reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, the biggest hit for Ronson to date. Ronson remixed the Bob Dylan song "Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" in promotion for the three disc Bob Dylan set simply titled "Dylan" released October 2007. Ronson has also produced Candie Payne's "One More Chance (Ronson mix)" in 2007.

The album has been well received by critics. In May 2007 it was awarded the title Album of the Month by the British dance music magazine, Mixmag. On June 23, the DJ made the cover of the Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside singer Lily Allen.

In June 2007, Ronson signed DC hip hop artist Wale to Allido Records. In late 2007, he focused on production, working with Daniel Merriweather on his debut album, and recording again with Amy Winehouse and Robbie Williams.[15]

On 24 October 2007 Ronson performed a one-off set at The Roundhouse in Camden, London as part of the BBC Electric Proms 2007. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests Terry Hall, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess, Alex Greenwald, Ricky Wilson, Charlie Waller, Adele and Kyle Falconer.[16]

Ronson received a Grammy nomination in early December 2007 for 'Producer of the Year, Non Classical', along with Timbaland and Mike Elizondo. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse also received substantial praise, gaining 6 nominations. Back to Black, an album mostly produced by Ronson was nominated for 'Album of the Year' and 'Best Pop Vocal Album'. "Rehab" received nods for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance', 'Song of the Year' and 'Record of the Year'. Ronson would go on to win three Grammys for 'Producer of the Year' as well as 'Best Pop Vocal Album' and 'Record of the Year' (which he shared with Amy Winehouse) in early February 2008.

Ronson is credited as producer on a mixtape album called Man in the Mirror, released in January 2008 by the rapper Rhymefest which is a tribute to the pop star Michael Jackson. The album features Rhymefest appearing to speak to Michael Jackson using archive audio from interviews with the pop star.

Later in January 2008, Ronson received three nominations for the Brit Awards, including 'Best Male Solo Artist', 'Best Album' (Version) and 'Song of the Year' ("Valerie"). Ronson won his first Brit for 'Best Male Solo Artist' in mid February 2008 over favorite Mika. He also performed a medley of "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" with Adele, "Stop Me" with Daniel Merriweather and "Valerie" with Amy Winehouse.

The performance allowed for a large boost in sales in the iTunes UK Top 100. "Valerie" would jump almost 30 spots in the days after the event, while "Just", "Stop Me" and "Oh My God" all appeared in the chart as well. That same week, Ronson appeared twice in the UK Top 40, with "Valerie" rebounding to number 13 and "Just" at number 31, his fourth Top 40 hit from "Version". The Brits performance also allowed for "Version" to climb 18 spots to number 4.

Around this time, Ronson received his first number one on an international chart (Dutch Top 40) for "Valerie", which has spent four consecutive weeks at the top of the chart. He recently collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.

Ronson has toured the album "Version" vigorously through both the UK and Europe during 2008. Notable sold out performances at The Hammersmith Apollo and Brixton Academy. Ronson is known to champion new upcoming artists on the road with him, such as Sam Sparro and Julian Perretta. Ronson's string backing was provided by the all-female string quartet Demon Strings. In May 2008, Ronson played at the largest private party in the world, the Trinty Ball in Trinity College Dublin.

On 2 July, 2008 in Paris, Mark Ronson performed a unique live set with Duran Duran for an exclusive, invitation-only performance. Together, they showcased specially re-worked versions of some of Duran Duran's classic hits that were created by Ronson, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also brought Mark's acclaimed live show to the event, performing songs from his album, "Version". Simon LeBon was one of his featured guest vocalists. As of March 2009 Ronson was working with the group on their upcoming 13th album.

Personal life

Ronson spends his time between New York and London; due to this and his childhood he has a Mid-Atlantic English accent . Ronson is the nephew of property tycoon Gerald Ronson. Mark has two sisters who are twins: Charlotte is a fashion designer and Samantha is a DJ and singer. He lived next door to, and was friends with, Sean Lennon. Ronson became a naturalised citizen of the United States in 2008.

In 2002, he began dating Quincy Jones's daughter, actress/singer Rashida Jones, later from the American version of The Office. They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me". They later broke up. Ronson made a cameo appearance in the video of "More Than a Woman" by Aaliyah as a DJ in the club-dancing scenes in a booth. In the beginning of 2008, Ronson briefly dated English model/socialite Daisy Lowe having invited her as his date to the Brit Awards in late February days after splitting up with his girlfriend Cosi Theodoli-Braschi. Lowe then split up with her boyfriend, Will Blondelle, in March to have a relationship with Ronson after going on dates with him. After the break up, Ronson went on to date Tennessee Thomas, the English drummer of American indie girl band, The Like. The pair split in early 2009. At the end of Ronson was pictured kissing his new girlfriend[26], Joséphine de La Baume, French it-girl/actress.

In 2009 he participated in PETA's "Please Don't Wear Any Fur" campaign. He was also voted the most stylish man in UK by GQ magazine.

Discography

Albums

2003 - Here Comes the Fuzz

2007 - Version

Awards

Winner

*Grammy Award 2008 Producer of the Year - Non-Classical, Record of the Year (with Amy Winehouse), Best Pop Vocal Album (also with Winehouse).

* The BRIT Awards 2008 Best British Male Solo Artist.

*On 17 February 2009, Mark was named one of Top 10 Most Stylish Men in America by GQ Magazine.

* Vodafone Live Music Awards - Best Live Male - Winner 2008.

*Glamour Women of the Year - Men of the Year - Winner 2008.

Nominations

* The BRIT Awards 2008 Best Album - Version, Best Single Valerie (feat. Amy Winehouse).

wikipedia.org

[Vogue Girl]

With Duran Duran

durancroatia.com via Teratel @ TFS

[Vogue Girl]

GQ US October 2007

"Don't Shoot the DJ"

Photographed by Nathaniel Goldberg

Rectangle design via Nelia @ TFS

[Vogue Girl]

Esquire UK October 2009 (Covers)

telegraph.co.uk via tigerrouge @ TFS

[starla]

:wub2: