“All roads go back to the music we did. I worked with Bruno because he loved what I did with Amy, and as big as other records were, that is ground zero": Mark Ronson explains what made Amy Winehouse such a great musical collaborator – "she had no filter"

We’re sure he has no intention of retiring any time soon, but Mark Ronson appears to have reached a point in his career where he’s happy to look back and reflect on what he’s accomplished.

First came his memoir, Night People: How To Be a DJ in 1990s New York, which was released last year, and just last month he received an Outstanding Contribution to Music award at The Brits.

Mark Ronson - Live at The BRIT Awards 2026 (featuring Ghostface Killah & Dua Lipa) - YouTube

Watch On

Most recently, he’s been speaking to Music Week, offering us some further thoughts on his life in music. And, perhaps inevitably, he's been touching on his work with Amy Winehouse.

Ronson begins by saying that he still thinks about Winehouse most days, and is happy to admit that, had it not been for his work on her 2006 album Back to Black, his career would have gone very differently.

“All roads go back to the music we did,” he says. “I worked with Bruno [Mars] because he loved what I did with Amy, and as big as other records were, that is ground zero. Her MO, her energy and what I learned while working with her is baked into everything I do.”

Ronson goes on to say that it was Winehouse’s no-nonsense, say-it-how-it-is approach to music that made her such a good collaborator.

“She had no filter; if she didn’t like something, she’d just say so,” he confirms. “I’d try and fix it, but she would just be like, ‘It’s shit, why would you try and fix it if it’s shit?’ It’s brutal, but it’s the honesty you need in the studio. You can spend a lot of time trying not to hurt people’s feelings and dancing around to fix something that inherently – to use Amy’s language – is shit.”

As well as receiving an award at the 2026 Brits ceremony, Ronson also performed there, bringing Ghostface Killah, Dua Lipa and members of Amy Winehouse’s live band on stage to guest on some of the many tracks he’s worked on.

This medley had echoes of the star-studded one he performed at the 2008 Brits, which celebrated his 2007 covers album, Version. This began with a young Adele singing Coldplay’s God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (she was about to release her debut album, 19, which included Ronson-produced single Cold Shoulder), and segued into Daniel Merriweather singing the Smiths/Supremes mash-up, Stop Me.

He then gave way to – who else? – Amy Winehouse, who performed her and Ronson’s rework of The Zutons' Valerie, complete with horns and Northern Soul backbeat.

“At the apex of Version, the BRITs is one of those things I see pictures from and can’t believe it happened, a medley with Adele, Amy Winehouse and Daniel Merriweather,” says Ronson. “But it did, and I’m proud of it.”