Mick was born on 26th May 1946. As a child he was shy, but soon began to show
signs of an interest in music that would eventually make his name known across
the world. He began playing violin, recorder, and piano at school. He also
played harmonium at his local church.
Initially Mick thought he would like to be a cellist, and also considered becoming a music teacher, but he became hooked on the guitar after hearing Duane Eddy, and later The Yardbirds. However, he maintained his interest in other instruments, particularly the piano. This gave him an ear for orchestration, and this would stand him in good stead as he began to exercise his talent for musical arrangement, in which he excelled - although he is yet to receive the universal recognition for this that he surely deserves.
It is Mick who must be given at least 50% of the credit for creating the sound that made David Bowie the world-wide star he is today. From the innovative pre-heavy metal guitars on 1970's The Man Who Sold The World album, through the gorgeously rich arrangements of Hunky Dory in 1971 (although it was Rick Wakeman who played the piano on Life on Mars, the credit for the arrangement of that song, Changes, Quicksand, Kooks and Fill Your Heart belongs to Mick), on to the hugely influential The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, on which Mick played guitar and all the piano parts, as well as co-arranging the album.
It was Mick who recruited fellow local musicians Mick Woodmansey and Trevor Bolder into Bowie's band, and although they only played together from 1970 until 1973, the four albums produced during that period have never been surpassed in substance or consistency in Bowie's later work.
At the peak of their success, Mick and Bowie also became involved in producing and arranging for other artists, in particular Lou Reed's Transformer album, and Mott The Hoople's recording of Bowie's song All The Young Dudes.
After Bowie's surprise announcement in 1974 that he was retiring from live performances, Mick wasted no time in releasing his first solo album Slaughter On Tenth Avenue (1974), although there was considerable input on the songwriting side from Bowie. The following year, 1975, saw the release of Play Don't Worry.
Fellow artists and musicians were by now well aware of Mick's abilities, and he was in great demand for his musicianship, and his producing and arranging talents. He joined Mott The Hoople for a while, and when they broke up, Mick worked with Mott's front man, Ian Hunter, on several of his solo albums and also toured with him in the Hunter-Ronson band.
He also worked with Ellen Foley, Johnny Cougar (John Mellencamp), David Johansen (New York Dolls), Glen Matlock (ex Sex Pistols), Bob Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Morrissey and numerous undocumented lesser names.
In 1990, Mick was diagnosed with cancer.
He continued to work and was reunited with Bowie on Black Tie White Noise in 1993, and joined Bowie and Hunter on stage for the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert that same year.
Mick died on April 30th 1993 of cancer of the liver. He was 46 years old.
His last album Heaven And Hull, which was not quite finished at the time of his death, was completed posthumously by friends and colleagues. The album includes contributions from many of the people Mick worked with over the years, including Bowie, Hunter, Mellencamp, Joe Elliot (Def Leppard), Chrissie Hynde and many more. It was released in 1994.
Mick had a great talent for creating guitar parts and arrangements that complemented and emphasised, infiltrated and extended the melody of the songs they were constructed around, so that the melody of the vocal lines and the instrumentation that linked them became one. It is hard to imagine any of Bowie's songs to which Mick contributed without those unforgettable riffs, melodic lead lines and powerful chords. Or rather, it is hard to imagine how they could be improved upon.
Mick was an extremely talented musician and arranger; his contemporaries,
and today's musicians who acknowledge his influence on their work, testify to
this. But he was also a loyal and unassuming friend. Those who worked with
him, whether stars in their own right or just starting out on their careers,
all say he was one of the nicest, most genuine and generous people in the
business.