statement about this period in his life". During the sessions, Bowie signed a record contract with the American label Savage Records, affiliated with Arista Records and owned by BMG. Savage offered him the "artistic freedom" that he was craving: "[Studio head] David Nemran ... encouraged me to do exactly what I wanted to do, without any kind of indication that it would be manipulated, or that my ideas would be changed, or that other things would be required of me. That made me feel comfortable and that was the deciding factor." Nemran replied that Bowie would be the label's breakthrough: "He's everything that I would use to describe us." Guest musicians Black Tie White Noise features an array of guest musicians, some of whom had not collaborated with Bowie for decades. Guitarist Mick Ronson, a member of the Spiders from Mars backing band from 1971 to 1973, appears on a cover of Cream's "I Feel Free" (1966). Ronson, whose last appearance was on 1973's Pin Ups, reconnected with Bowie after the latter was impressed by the former's production work on Morrissey's Your Arsenal (1992). Bowie praised Ronson's contributions on Black Tie while the latter commented, "I hope David's album does well. He's put everything into it." Ronson died of cancer shortly after the album's release. Pianist Mike Garson, whose last appearance on a Bowie record was 1975's Young Americans, plays on "Looking for Lester". Bowie told Record Collector in 1993: "He really has a gift. He kind of plops those jewels on the track and they're quite extraordinary, eccentric pieces of piano playing." Trinidadian guitarist Tony Springer (credited as "Wild T" Springer) appears on a cover of Morrissey's Your Arsenal track "I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday". Bowie had met Springer in Canada during Tin Machine's It's My Life Tour and invited him to record. Bowie recalled that "he was an absolute delight", comparing his guitar style to Jimi Hendrix. Gabrels plays lead guitar on "You've Been Around", although his contribution was placed low in the mix. The song was first attempted by Tin Machine during the sessions for their 1989 debut album, but Bowie was dissatisfied with the result so it was shelved, eventually rerecording it for Black Tie. Singer Al B. Sure! duets with Bowie on the title track, of which the two worked on the arrangement extensively, leading Bowie to quip "I've never worked longer with any