Ronson Notes

"Happy James Bond Day to you too,” booms Jon Ronson. Hot Press feels it is important to acknowledge the occasion as, in his captivating latest collection, Lost At Sea, Ronson recreates Bond’s journey from London to Geneva in an Aston Martin DB3. The event, as with all Ronson’s writing, is narrated in his trademark humorous self-deprecating style, replete with laser-beam insight.

“I found out that, contrary to what I always thought about myself, I was not cracked up to be James Bond,” he deadpans. “I did have to wonder at the time, how many women will I decide not to take to bed on this journey?!” (laughs)
The journalist and documentary filmmaker has been a tireless crusader in the world of the weird and the wonderful since the publication of The Clubbed Class in 1994, which saw him finagle his way into the jetset lifestyle. Since then titles such as Them: Adventures With Extremists, The Men Who Stare At Goats (brought to screen starring George Clooney) and last year’s compelling The Psychopath Test have secured his position as chronicler-in-chief of the misunderstood outsider. His latest work is a collection of his published articles which includes his coverage of the infamous coughing trial of the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? contestants, a hilarious account of hanging out with Noel Edmonds and the Deal Or No Deal participants, and the titular article which deals with the disturbingly large number of disappearances from cruise ships.
One of the most fascinating sections in the book concerns his time spent in Stanley Kubrick’s abode examining the contents of the approximate 1,000 boxes the director collected throughout his life.
“He was sort of creating the internet in his home with all this knowledge and all this information stored in different parts of this giant house,” reflects Jon. “Kubrick anticipated a lot of things, for instance different colour post-it notes – he was a stationery freak! Once he also sent his nephew out to Commercial Road to photograph it in its entirety and then sellotape all the photos together to form a perfect panorama, a bit like Google Streetview before Google Streetview!”
As we are primarily a music publication we feel it necessary to grill Jon on his encounter with Robbie Williams. The pair attended a UFO convention in the Nevada desert together.
“I think he is a very good-hearted man and I like him,” muses Jon. “I haven’t heard from him for a while. I think his downside is that he loves you for the short term, then has enough of you and moves on to other people. But I have very happy memories. He is very nice.
“It shows what a lousy journalist I can be, though, because I was staying at his house the days before he went into rehab and I thought he was fine!” he exclaims. “He couldn’t believe it. He said, ‘What about all those hours and hours I vanished away?’ I just thought he wanted some quiet time! I totally missed the fact Robbie was spiralling out of control and was about to be taken into rehab by his management!”
A less pleasant music-related tale was Jon’s time spent with Jonathan King during his trial for child sex offences.
“He contacted me yesterday actually,” says Jon. “I was interested to know whether he knew all about Jimmy Savile but he just wanted to defend himself. Any of his victims that say they were emotionally damaged by him or can’t hold a child or have terrible depression – he just dismisses all of those people with a wave of his hand. He dismisses all of the victims and says they’re all money-grabbers and that they’re looking for sympathy. Whether that is a narcissistic disorder or his way of being able to sleep at night I don’t know.”
Switching to endeavours of a lighter nature we are intrigued to discuss one of Jon’s upcoming ventures. He has just finished co-writing the script for the new Lenny Abrahamson film Frank, the story of an eccentric musician played by Michael Fassbender.
“I have to say I’m extremely pleased and gratified with the way it is unfolding with Domhnall Gleeson and Michael Fassbender and Lenny,” he says. “It goes without saying that all three have extraordinary talent. I know Lenny really well, he has been massively involved in the writing of the screenplay. He was great to work with. The film will begin shooting in Ireland soon.”
There had been rumours the character was based on Frank Sidebottom, whose band Jon played keyboards with in the ‘80s.
“The character was never Frank Sidebotton. He was always going to be fictional,” clarifies Jon. “I was in his band, I replaced Mark Radcliffe on keyboards. I have massively fond memories of the time, except that the guitarist Richard took a totally irrational, out-of-the-blue hatred of me!”
Jon’s involvement in the music industry also included a brief foray into band management.
“Yes, I managed a band called The Man From Delmonte,” he says. “I was very remorseful as they were talented and under my management failed to flourish. James took us under their wing and we toured with them a lot. We thought in the same way The Smiths made James big that might happen to us. But then the whole Madchester thing happened and bands that had been supporting us like Inspiral Carpets became huge. I think the band were perceived as middle-class and all those bands were working-class.”
Over the years of documentary-making and writing, Jon has spent time with a diverse selection of people around the globe who have beliefs many would find shocking. Has this affected him personally?
“I think it has probably made me more empathic,” he ponders. “As you grow up you tend to think that eccentric people or people with mental disorders are different and that gives you a sense of superiority. Through the years of spending time with all these different individuals, it has made me realise we are all just people trying to get through life. You shouldn’t judge them or consider yourself above them in a hierarchy. We are all damaged goods, really. That’s why I wanted to call the collection Lost At Sea. I think we are all lost at sea. I don’t judge people any more unless it is absolutely impossible not to, like Jonathan King.”

Lost At Sea, published by Picador, is out now.