Ron McGovney

Ron McGovney
Birth name	Ronald J. McGovney
Born	(1963-11-02) November 2, 1963 (age 60) Los Angeles, California , U.S.
Genres	Thrash metal speed metal
Occupation(s)	Bassist
Years active	1980–1982 1986–1988
Formerly of	Leather Charm Metallica Phantasm

Ronald J. McGovney (born November 2, 1963)^[1] is an American semi-retired musician, best known as the original bass guitarist in the thrash metal band Metallica from October 1981 to December 1982.

Having previously played with guitarist

. He later played with Metallica on their 30th anniversary show.

Career

Leather Charm and Metallica

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In June 1981, McGovney formed his first band, Leather Charm, with his childhood friend Hetfield and guitarist Hugh Tanner of Hetfield's previous band, Phantom Lord. Tanner soon left Leather Charm to pursue a career in music management; the subsequent lineup featured guitarist Troy James and drummer Jim Mulligan. The group rehearsed a set of

covers and original material for a period of months, but Mulligan's departure later that year led to the band's demise.

Hetfield and drummer

album.

McGovney's time in Metallica was reportedly tumultuous, as he often clashed with Ulrich and Mustaine. He felt that, aside from using his connections made as an amateur photographer, his role was that of monetary and transportation provider, rather than a respected member of the band. He ultimately quit on December 10, 1982, due to growing tensions, and was replaced by Cliff Burton. After leaving Metallica, McGovney became uninterested in playing music and sold most of his equipment.^[2]

Phantasm

In 1986,

]

Later activity

McGovney ceased his professional career after the demise of Phantasm, but gave sporadic interviews and appeared at Metallica-related events. Phantasm discussed a possible reunion in 2007, but this ultimately failed to materialize.^{[citation needed]}

He performed publicly for the first time in 23 years on December 10, 2011, playing two songs ("Hit the Lights" and "Seek & Destroy") onstage with Metallica, Mustaine, and early studio guitarist Lloyd Grant, among others, at The Fillmore as a part of the celebrations surrounding the end of the group's third decade.^[5] Two years later, he joined Mustaine's band Megadeth onstage in Charlotte, North Carolina, on December 5, 2013, sharing the lead vocal on a cover version of Thin Lizzy's "Cold Sweat".^[6]

McGovney has said that, although his time in Metallica came to an acrimonious end, he now gets along with his former bandmates and speculates that, given his disposition and skill-set, he might have been better able to contribute to the band had he served as road manager rather than bass guitarist.^[2]

References

External links

• Phantasm at the
  Encyclopedia Metallum

Preceded by Original

Metallica bassist 1981–1982

Succeeded by Cliff Burton