Mick Ronson
Space Oddity

It may be that my taste in men can be questionable: as far as the world we closely observe here is concerned, I have already had the opportunity to demonstrate my love for Paul Weller, for example. And also for Ronno (happy birthday Mick, today would have been your birthday). Can it be said that perhaps I am attracted to blonde hair, dyed or authentic as it may be? Not really: shall we talk about Miles Davis's fingers? Besides, he would have had his birthday today as well, happy birthday Man with the horn (horny like few others!).

Since I am romantic, it's Mick Ronson I'd like to write about: more handsome than David (believe me, it seems that at the time of Ziggy and the Spiders from Mars, girls had more eyes for him than for the singer), an unmistakable sound. Bowie said that Ronson had a provocatively masculine personality, so together they formed the yin and the yang of the band (his words, yin and yang are not something that belong to me).

Gentle is the adjective everyone uses to describe him. What strikes me the most about him is how he dedicated himself to doing great things for others. Not just Bowie, but also Lou Reed (and what a masterpiece Transformer is!). Let's not forget all the others he worked with/for, from the more famous (random names like Bob Dylan, Elton John, Morrissey, Annette Peacock, let's not forget Ian Hunter but the list is still long) to the less famous ones, like the Florentine new wave Moda (I said Moda, not Modà!) with Andrea Chimenti and Fabrizio Barbacci, with whom he shared an apartment in Turin during the recording of Canto pagano. Passion, therefore, not business. I read an interview about that collaboration.

Barbacci recalls that Ronno did not shy away from recounting the Bowie era. Among other things, he said that Bowie hadn't warned him that the concert held at the Hammersmith Odeon on July 3, 1973, would be the end of Ziggy and the Spiders from Mars. Mick learned this along with the audience. Yet Mick showed no resentment. I think he was a happy person. Happy and gifted like few others,

And when I watch how he eats Bowie alive (especially in the second part of the song) in this live version of Space Oddity, I see many things, not exactly nice regarding David. Whom I forgive only for the face and voice he makes around 3:40 when he says Tell my wife I love her very much she knows. Well, Bowie was great there! For the rest... I hear Mick!