Mark Ronson at London's Lovebox Festival 2015 in  July 17. Simone Joyner / WireImage
Mark Ronson at London's Lovebox Festival 2015 in July 17. Simone Joyner / WireImage

Mark Ronson is back with a gig at the inaugural Green Grooves in Abu Dhabi



“Public transportation is one of the greatest things about modern civilisation,” begins Mark Ronson, justifying his claim, a few seconds earlier, that he takes the New York Subway “three or four times” a day.

“Why would you want to spend 45 minutes in a taxi going from Times Square to Long Island City, when you can jump on the E Train for two stops and be there in seven minutes?” adds the British super-producer, almost too naturally. “I’m not trying to sound like everyman, down-to-earth ...”.

Ronson’s insistent self-consciousness is understandable. The conventional media narrative paints this guy as the quintessential transatlantic tastemaker. A sharp-dressing polymath who, thanks to his socialite mother (Anne Dexter-Jones) and rock-star stepfather (Foreigner’s Mick Jones) grew up surrounded by their celebrity parties and pals (David Bowie, Al Pacino) – before making his own famous friends (and own celebrity) by helping to launch the careers of Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen. The rest is tabloid history.

So in conversation, Ronson inevitably finds himself spelling out just how very normal he is, or would like to appear. As normal as it's possible to be, anyway, after scoring the biggest song of the past 12 months with Uptown Funk, his infectious, record-breaking feel-good Bruno Mars collaboration.

“It’s not like I get chased down the street. In America, I’m like the guy who did the Bruno Mars song, not a giant pop star,” he presses. “I’m happy and comfortable with how I can live my life, and that’s something I feel really fortunate about.”

I’m talking to Ronson by phone ahead of his Abu Dhabi gig tonight at the inaugural Green Grooves Festival at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. It’s fewer than six months since we met in person, hours before his last UAE gig, at Dubai’s DXBeach in April – which, coincidentally, also returns with its next edition tomorrow.

At that time “the Bruno Mars song” had just been knocked off the US Billboard No 1 after 14 weeks, and Ronson was riding high. Now, half a year and one billion YouTube streams later, he must be sick to the stomach at the sound of it, right?

“You know what? I don’t have to hear it that much,” he answers diplomatically. “The people I know who are really sick of the song are my friends who have to deal with their kids going crazy, screaming at the top of their lungs when it comes one. I don’t have kids yet, so I’m kind of off the hook there.”

Celebrating his 40th birthday last month, Ronson learnt the hard way about the record-buying public's short memory and fickle nature. While Winehouse's Back to Black (2006) and his own covers LP Version (2007) – which featured the late soulstress's "version" of Valerie – made him a superstar, intrigue dropped off sharply (and not-quite-fairly) following 2010s Record Collection.

That eclectic indie grab-bag was a clear rejection of Version's sound and success – no horns, no covers – Ronson says the follow up to his present album, the acclaimed Uptown Special will not be similarly reactionary.

"I think, if anything, this record reminded me of what I'm good at," he says. "With Version I was a little too thin-skinned, coming off the 'down with Mark Ronson and his merry band of trumpeters ruining other people's songs'. You're right, I did knee-jerk hard in the other direction. I couldn't tell you honestly what I'm doing on the next record, but I don't think it will be a polar reaction to this album."

Work for album number five is set to begin next year. In the meantime, after the Abu Dhabi set – "probably the last DJ gig I'll do on this album" – Ronson has production work lined up. Having worked on star-studded records by everyone from Adele to Q-Tip and Duran Duran to Paul McCartney, Ronson knows to be discreet with the names. But the biggest surprise is a heavy hint that he won't be returning the favour by contributing to Mars's long-­anticipated follow-up to 2012's Unorthodox Jukebox (which he worked on three tunes from).

“I’m not sure,” says Ronson. “Bruno’s such a talented producer and arranger in his own right. People don’t quite give him the credit he’s due. It’s a good thing for him to maybe produce his own record and show everybody that he’s not just singer, performer, entertainer, but much more than that.”

Our time is nearly up. The last question: does Ronson charge when DJing at the celebrity weddings he’s known for, such as Paul McCartney and Tom Cruise?

“I don’t charge for my friends’ weddings,” he says, before adding “but yeah, if it’s someone like Tom Cruise, of course,” he answers – you can almost hear his grin down the line.

rgarratt@thenational.ae

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21

  1. Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
  2. Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
  3. Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
  4. Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
  5. Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
  6. Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
  7. Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
  8. Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi

Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe

For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.

Golden Dallah

For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.

Al Mrzab Restaurant

For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.

Al Derwaza

For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup. 

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

MATCH DETAILS

Manchester United 3

Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)

Partizan Belgrade 0

Ukraine

Capital: Kiev

Population: 44.13 million

Armed conflict in Donbass

Russia-backed fighters control territory

Company%20profile%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EElggo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20August%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Luma%20Makari%20and%20Mirna%20Mneimneh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Education%20technology%20%2F%20health%20technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Four%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Greatest Royal Rumble results

John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match

Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto

Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus

Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal

Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos

Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe

AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out

The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match

Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

The Penguin

Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz

Creator: Lauren LeFranc

Rating: 4/5

The Florida Project

Director: Sean Baker

Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe

Four stars

The%20Roundup%20%3A%20No%20Way%20Out
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lee%20Sang-yong%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Don%20Lee%2C%20Lee%20Jun-hyuk%2C%20Munetaka%20Aoki%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

IF YOU GO
 
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
 
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info

 Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.