More on: Mark Ronson

We caught up with super-producer and DJ Mark Ronson for a quick chat about his album 'Version', the upcoming tour, his exlusive reworking of a Bob Dylan song, and Ricky Wilson's love for a cartoon Lily Allen.

Have you had any feedback from the artists you covered on 'Version'?
Yeah, from all of them actually, because we had to go to everybody to get permission, and everyone was cool. Some people were like, yeah, it's fine, but some people I got to meet and they were really into it. Kaiser Chiefs came down to do the video for 'Oh My God', so that's the ultimate approval.

Which of the covers are you proudest of?
It's hard to say, as whether it's your own music or covers you sometimes get tired of it. I'm proud of 'Stop Me', Pretty Green and 'Valerie', but sometimes I can't stand to hear them.

Did you ever consider starting a band, before you became a DJ?
I was in a band when I was fourteen or fifteen, and I used to play all the time when I was in New York. Then I got really into hip hop, so we used to have rappers come on stage with us, but we didn't really sound that good. It's not like we're The Roots or anything - we weren't amazing musicians. Then I started DJing, as I didn't want to be a rapper, and I didn't know anything about producing at the time.

Did you ever consider how different your life would've been if you hadn't have grown up in New York?
It's hard to imagine, as the move sets off a cataclysmic chain of events, with all the friends that you make. I used to come back to London once or twice a year to visit my Dad, so I was exposed to Blur, The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays when I used to come back here.

You've just announced a UK tour - what have you got planned?
We've got a summer of festivals to get through first, but it's going to be great. We've got Alex Greenwald, Daniel Merriweather and Santo Gold on the road, and hopefully Lily and Amy will be joining us for some. It's going to be exciting. It's just an exciting show anyway - it's fun, high energy. We did Glastonbury on Sunday, and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen - we just didn't want it to end.

How did you discover Daniel Merriweather?
I was working with a friend of mine, who was Australian, and he said he had received a demo of this 19 year old Australian kid with the most amazing voice. So I heard it, and I called him up. At the time, he was about to sign a huge deal for the rest of the world, but I said to him whatever you do, and you don't know if I'm horrible, but I love your music, and I think we'd work really well together - don't sign this deal. He trusted me, and came to New York, and we made this single, which was a brilliant introduction to the world. We're working on his album right now.

When you were making the video for 'Oh My God' did you feel a bit wrong having to perv over a pretend Lily Allen?
I didn't realise it was perving until I saw the finished video! You film it as if you're looking at nothing, then I realised that some of the glances could be interpreted as longing looks, and it's disgusting! I got really embarrassed watching it with my girlfriend! Nah, it was fine. It was actually quite funny as Ricky Wilson was at the video shoot and he sees the sketch of Lily, and goes "that's really weird, I'm getting aroused looking at a cartoon!".

Is it true you were taught drums by Keith Moon?
Well, not really. When I was five, my parents would have these crazy parties in the house in London, and Keith caught me playing air drums and said "get that kid a drum kit", and that's how the story goes!

What's next for you, album or production-wise?
The main thing is working with Daniel Merriweather on his album, and I did a song for Candie Payne called 'One More Chance', her new single. I'm doing some remixes - it's the first time Bob Dylan's given anyone the original multi-tracks of his songs to do remixes. He's got this Greatest Hits coming out at the end of the year, and the bonus track is going to be 'Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)'. I'm a huge Dylan fan, so it's a great honour, and the fact that he heard it and approved it, as you imagine he'd be quite picky.

Becky Reed

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