First rat for trail to honour musician revealed

The first rat sculpture of 45 that will be on show in East Yorkshire this summer has been revealed.

A Mischief of Rats will run from 3 May to pay tribute to 1960s band The Rats, which included Mick Ronson who went on to be David Bowie's guitarist.

Daisy Rat, by local artist Lydia Caprani, is the first of the 6ft (1.8m) tall statues which will form an arts trail ahead of the 80th anniversary of Ronson's birth in 1946.

The trail will be similar to previous projects, including Larkin with Toads, A Moth for Amy and Puffins Galore.

Organisers said the project would help the Daisy Appeal charity and the work it does with Castle Hill Hospital for the treatment of cancers.

Nick Stafford, chairman of the Daisy Appeal trustees committee said: "I think it'll be a real credit to the city to have the rat trail and it's wonderful for the charity.

"It brings us into people's vision and hopefully they will support us not just by supporting the rat project, but by supporting the charity in the longer term."

The charity hopes to raise up to £250,000 for "cutting-edge research" into cancer.

More than £60,000 was raised by the Larkin with Toads trail, while A Moth for Amy garnered £85,000. The Puffins Galore project pulled in nearly £120,000, organisers said.

Mick Ronson grew up in Hull and joined British rock band The Rats in 1966 before rising to fame as David Bowie's lead guitarist.

He played on influential records including Bowie's concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) and Aladdin Sane (1973).

He died of cancer in 1993 aged 46.

Ronson's sister Maggi was present at the unveiling.

"It's amazing and it's an honour," she said.

"I think he'd be really happy about being a part of the project along with his friends.

"This is a really nice thing to do because it's got the cancer charity involved too, so it's just a lovely marriage of things that's connected my family and my brother together."

The Mischief of Rats sculpture trail is expected to be installed in April 2025 and open for three months from May.

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