| Mark Ronson | |
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Mark Ronson, 2008 at the North Sea Jazz Festival |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mark Daniel Ronson |
| Born | 4 September 1975 Notting Hill, London, England[1] |
| Occupations | Musician, DJ, producer |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Allido/Columbia/RCA/J Roc Nation |
| Associated acts | Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Daniel Merriweather, Jordan Galland, Wale, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, the Business International, Samantha Ronson |
| Website | markronson.co.uk |
Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975)[2] is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl.
While his debut album Here Comes the Fuzz failed to make an impact on the charts, his second album, Version included three top ten hits and won Ronson a BRIT Award for Best Male Artist 2008. His third studio album, Record Collection, was released on 27 September 2010.
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Ronson was born at the Wellington Hospital, St John's Wood, to writer/socialite Ann Dexter-Jones and one-time band manager and real estate entrepreneur Laurence Ronson.[3] His parents are of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, with ancestors from Austria, Russia, and Lithuania, and Ronson was brought up in Conservative Judaism.[4][5] Ronson's family name was originally Aaronson, but his grandfather Henry Ronson changed it to Ronson.[6] Ronson is the nephew of property tycoon Gerald Ronson. Ronson is related to British Conservative politicians Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Leon Brittan,[3] as well as Odeon Cinemas founder Oscar Deutsch.[7] Ronson has younger twin sisters, Charlotte Ronson, a fashion designer, and Samantha Ronson, a singer and DJ. Ronson also has five younger half-siblings. Alexander and Annabelle, through his mother's remarriage to Mick Jones as well as David, Henrietta, and Joshua, through his father's remarriage to model Michele First. After his parents broke up, his mother married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones, which contributed to a childhood surrounded by music.[8]
Ronson went to high school at the private Collegiate School in New York.[9] 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.[10]
He provided the score for the 2011 film Arthur.
He moved on, however, to producing music after Nikka Costa's manager heard one of his gigs and introduced the musicians. 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.[11]
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.[12] 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 was featured that year in the movie Honey and its soundtrack. The song was later used in the movies Hitch and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.[12] Two weeks after releasing Here Comes the Fuzz, Elektra Records dropped him.[13] Ronson has since produced multiple songs on the albums of singers Lamya,[14] Macy Gray,[15] 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.[16]
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. He has signed Rhymefest, most well known for winning the Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks".
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 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 23 June, 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.[17]
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.[18]
Ronson received a Grammy Award 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.[19]
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 favourite 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 collaborated with Kaiser Chiefs on their third album.[20]
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 live with Duran Duran for an invited audience. They played new arrangements by Ronson of some Duran Duran songs, along with tracks from the band's new album, Red Carpet Massacre. Ronson & the Version Players also performed songs from his album Version. Simon LeBon sang. As of March 2009 Ronson was working with the group on their upcoming 13th album.[21] The Album, titled All You Need Is Now was released digitally exclusively via Apple's iTunes on 21 December 2010.
At the launch of his most recent Gucci pop-up store in London, Ronson confirmed the name of his new album Record Collection, and said that he hoped to have it out by September 2010. Additionally, Ronson announced the name of his new band, "The Business Intl.'", which is the alias adopted by Ronson on the third studio album. The first single "Bang Bang Bang". which featured rapper Q-Tip and singer MNDR[22] was released on 12 July 2010, where it peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Ronson his fourth Top 10 hit. The single also saw success on the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 18. The second single from the album, "The Bike Song", was 19 September 2010[23] and features Kyle Falconer from The View and Spank Rock. The album was released on 27 September 2010. This is the first of Ronson's albums that he has sung on.[24]
Ronson spends his time between London and New York.
In 2002, he began dating Quincy Jones's daughter, actress/singer Rashida Jones[26] They became engaged in March 2003, with Ronson proposing by creating a crossword puzzle with the message "Will you marry me".[27] They later broke up. He lived next door to, and was friends with, Sean Lennon. In the beginning of 2008, Ronson briefly dated English model/socialite Daisy Lowe.[28] Ronson went on to date Tennessee Thomas,[29] the English drummer of American indie girl band The Like, but they split in early 2009.
In March 2009, Ronson was pictured with French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume.[30] She was featured in his 2010 video for "The Bike Song." The couple got engaged in February 2011. They married in Aix-en-Provence, in the South of France on 3 September 2011.[31] Ronson wore a white three piece Edward Sexton bespoke suit, Baume wore a white Zac Posen dress.[32]
In 2009 he participated in PETA's "Please Don't Wear Any Fur" campaign.[33] He was also voted the most stylish man in UK by GQ magazine.[34]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions[35] | Certifications[36] (sales threshold) |
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| UK | AUS | BEL | IRE | NL | NZ | SWI | US | ||||
| 2003 | Here Comes the Fuzz
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70 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| 2007 | Version
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2 | — | — | 21 | 44 | — | 51 | 129 |
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| 2010 | Record Collection [A]
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2 | 6 | 61 | 16 | 67 | 33 | 40 | 81 |
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| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||
| Year | Title | Chart positions[35] | Album | |||||||
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| UK | AUS | AUT | IRE | NL | NZ | SWI | Hottest 100 | |||
| 2003 | "Ooh Wee" (featuring Ghostface Killah, Nate Dogg, Trife & Saigon) |
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Here Comes the Fuzz |
| 2006 | "Just" (featuring Alex Greenwald) |
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Exit Music |
| 2007 | "Toxic" / "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" |
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Version |
| "Stop Me" (featuring Daniel Merriweather) |
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| "Oh My God" (featuring Lily Allen) |
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| "Valerie" (featuring Amy Winehouse) |
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| 2008 | "Just" (featuring Phantom Planet) |
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| 2010 | "Bang Bang Bang" (featuring MNDR & Q-Tip) [A] |
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Record Collection |
| "The Bike Song" (featuring Kyle Falconer & Spank Rock) [A] |
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| "Somebody to Love Me" (featuring Boy George & Andrew Wyatt) [A] |
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| Year | Title | Chart positions[35] | Album | |
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| UK | US Rhy | |||
| 2003 | "International Affair" (featuring Sean Paul & Tweet) |
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Here Comes the Fuzz |
| 2007 | "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" (featuring The Daptone Horns) |
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"Stop Me" – single |
| "No One Knows" (featuring Domino) |
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Notes:
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