David Bowie made his first appearance on a U.S. stage at Cleveland’s Music Hall on September 22, 1972, backed by his Spiders From Mars Band, which featured guitarist Mick Ronson.
Ronson, sadly, died of liver cancer in 1993 at the age of 46. He was a familiar and much-loved figure to Cleveland rock fans, who were among the earliest to embrace Bowie and among the most passionate to support Ronson’s longtime collaborator Ian Hunter (“Cleveland Rocks”).
In 2003, two Canton-based Ronson fans — occasional Scene contributor Karen Laney and Eric DeMattio, who call themselves Weird and Gilly after the characters referenced in Bowie's “Ziggy Stardust” — published a bio, Mick Ronson: The Spider With the Platinum Hair.
They spoke to more than 50 people who knew or worked with the guitarist. That book will be reissued in a revised and updated version by London’s Independent Music Press on October 1.
The authors will be joining Ronson’s wife Suzi and his daughter Lisa on two local radio shows tomorrow to talk about Ronson’s life, his work, the book and a documentary that Suzi Ronson is in the process of putting together called … And Ronson Played Guitar.
They’ll appear on WBWC 88.3 FM with Todd Richards at 11:30; they’ll join WNCX 98.5 FM host Bill Lewis at 1 p.m. —Anastasia Pantsios
