Mark Ronson: The Kenneth Williams of pop?

One of those days when Mark Ronson keeps popping onto my radar. In the gym there he is on one of the TV screens with his Winettes in the Valerie video – recorded last minute I understand though the perfect lip-syncing of the Amy Winehouse lookalikes belies that.

Then a friend calls who went to the Brits nominations yesterday at Camden’s Roundhouse; the usual shambles. Any how, he met Ronson and describes him as the "fayest of men" with a sort of West Coast vocal timbre though the accent is English. Then he says: “Ronson’s the Kenneth Williams of pop”. I’m always fascinated by people who are not what they appear to be: they are sooooooo not out of the cultural catalogue. He’s a Virgo. Mark tells my friend he feels he hardly deserves a Brit nom because all he ever does is covers – nice self-deprecation there: his covers tend to be better than the originals. I love his sassy version of Oh My God with Lily Allen – vamped into a Jessica Rabbit-style animation. I hadn’t thought the Kaiser Chiefs could be bettered.

See the video click here

Then Freya North’s new book Pillow Talk comes in the post. I imagine Freya to be 83 and possibly from Norway. In my mind’s eye I see a Doris Lessing-type person with her hair in a tight bun and the tights rolled down to her calf muscles. I can smell pee. In fact she’s a glam 40 (a Scorpio) and I can’t imagine she wears tights or smells of pee. On her website she writes: “Aural pleasure at the mo’ is provided in spades by Mark Ronson” (in her Journal – updated last May, tsk!). She slurps: “I don’t mind telling you that Mark Ronson himself is particularly yummy. My lovely friend Jo and I went to see him last week at the fabulously wacky Bloomsbury Ballroom. The vibe was fantastic – everyone was dancing … “ Should I read Pillow Talk?

He sounds nothing like Kenneth Williams. I wish he’d marry Amy. Or Freya.

Freya's website click here