I had just arrived in New York when I started to receive dozens of emails, first with the rumour and then with confirmation that Ron Asheton had been found dead, at the house on High Lake where he had lived for so many years.
My tribute to Ron appears in the current issue of MOJO. Once the magazine has disappeared from the news-stands I will reprint it here. In the meantime I can only reiterate how fortunate I feel to have spent time with Ron – and how happy I am that, the last time I met him, his story turned out to have a happy ending.
It felt strange, holed up in a freezing-cold New York, suddenly to get calls from people I’d spoken to for Open Up and Bleed, who called me to speak about Ron. Among them were Jimmy Silver – the Stooges’ manager from 1968 to 1970 - and Scott Richardson, singer with SRC and, before that, The Chosen Few, the legendary garage band with whom Ron played bass, most notably for their support slot to the MC5 in the Grande’s first show as a rock’n’roll venue.
Jimmy Silver
“Ron was a sweet guy.. They were all kinda loners, every single one, Dave was shy, we didn’t have that much interaction but he and Ron drove Susie and me to the hospital the night [my daughter] Rachel [aka Bunchie] was born: Jan 23, 1968. Scotty was surly, Jim was Jim, but Ron was a very sweet guy. Of all of them, I could have these lengthy intellectual conversations with Jim – but Ron was the guy with whom I could just hang out.
“Ron was great at making up names for things and people. He had this surreal ability to nickname something or someone, to delineate its essence, I have no idea where he came up with this stuff. Then the boys would all start using it. They all had that ability in a way, to see through people – but Ron didn’t have the cruel streak.
“I heard about Ron’s death when KCRW played ‘No Fun’. It’s been years since I heard it and it sounded great. If only they’d done it 40 years ago. Ron’s guitar was really amazing. I was struck in a way I hadn’t been at the time, maybe I wasn’t [objective enough]. I can understand why he liked Pete Townshend; Pete Townshend used feedback as a weapon, Ron used it as part of the music.
“I didn’t have that appreciation [of how the Stooges were unique] then – I saw them as more Jim’s supporting cast and him as being the prime essence. Now in looking back and hearing them again, I have to say Ron had these other qualities too. Maybe Jim was right in saying I was a fan cos I didn’t have that ability to understand them in that way.
“Ron had a different view. Ron kept doing it no matter what.”
Scott Richardson
“Ron was a master of the bass - before he invented 27 different genres playing guitar. That night [when The Chosen Few opened the Grande as a rock venue] was magical - a transitional period before psychedelia, it was pure rockn’roll, pure energy. Ron had an unbelievable stage presence – he kinda anchored the whole band.
“I was trying to think about what to say. I could say many thing, right now... he is one person in the game of rock who is irreplaceable, as a musician, even more importantly as a human being. The loss of him. There’s very few people in this idiotic universe that count and he was certainly at the top of the list. One of the handful of conceptualists in the arena of rock’n’roll . A law unto himself.
“There are very few people in the category, Townshend, Ronnie and Ray Manzarek, of an instrumentalist that created their bands. That’s a short list.
“I’ll always be eternally grateful to Jim Osterberg for making that introduction. Pop was working at Discount Records and he picked up the phone and called Ron. Twenty minutes later Scotty, Dave Alexander and Ron descended on Discount and we went over to Ron Richardson’s apartment. It was the same vibe that was in the Wild Bunch. All about these guys falling in love with each other, a lot of amazing things came out of that.
“Ron was different. He was ultra conservative politically, very very well-read and politically astute and he never changed. Ron had everything built into him, the humour, the humanity, the energy, the edge. What I say about the conceptual stuff, when Iggy and Ron did their thing, it was magic. I don’t mean to discount Iggy’s contribution... it’s wonderful to shed recognition and light on Ron. It's like an indivisible thing that happens when the right line-up comes together.”