Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Mick Jones

 
Artist: Mick Jones
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists
Mick Jones

Similar Artists:

One Man Army, Billy Zoom, Three Man Army

Influenced By:

Johnny Thunders, Iggy & the Stooges

Followers:

Reggie Noble

Worked With:

Leo "E-Zee-Kill" Williams, Paul Simonon, Greg Roberts, Bill Price, Don Letts, Topper Headon, Dan Donovan, Joe Strummer
  • Born: June 26, 1955, Brixton, London, England
  • Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Guitar (Electric), Vocals

Biography

Best known as one of the leader's of one of the greatest punk rock bands of all time, the Clash, singer/guitarist/songwriter Mick Jones was one of the more musically adventurous musicians of the genre, especially evident in his post-Clash outfit, the alt-dance outfit Big Audio Dynamite. Born Micheal Geoffrey Jones on June 26, 1955, in South London, Jones was raised by his grandmother, and as a teenager, picked up the guitar after being inspired by such proto-punk outfits as MC5 and the New York Dolls. It wasn't long before Jones began playing in local bands, including such forgotten outfits a the Delinquents, Little Queenies, and London S.S., and while none of these bands amounted to much, it was through his tenure with London S.S. that Jones befriended bassist Paul Simonon. The union of Jones and Simonon led to the eventual formation of the Clash in 1976, with another guitarist/singer, Joe Strummer (in addition to a revolving door of drummers).

The Clash quickly became one of the leaders of the burgeoning punk rock movement in the U.K. (along with such outfits as the Sex Pistols, the Damned, Siouxse & the Banshees, etc.), signing on with Epic Records soon after. With Jones and Strummer co-writing almost all of the tracks, the Clash issued such rough and ready punk classics as 1977's self-titled debut and 1978's Give 'Em Enough Rope. But it was 1979's double album London Calling that the group truly came into their own. Often considered to be one of rock's all-time best releases, the musically varied album scored one of their biggest hit singles, the Jones-sung "Train in Vain." Further releases followed, such as 1980's triple album set Sandinista! and Combat Rock (the latter of which featured another Jones-sung hit single, "Should I Stay or Should I Go"), which saw the group expand their sound even further; resulting in the Clash becoming one of the top rock bands in the world. It was also during the early '80s that Jones produced a few other artists (singer Ellen Foley and former Mott the Hoople leader Ian Hunter), and guested on a B-side by Elvis Costello.

But widespread success created tension between Jones and the other bandmembers, leading to his exit from the band in 1983 (Simonon and Strummer would keep the Clash afloat for one more release, 1985's best-forgotten Cut the Crap). Jones' next project, Big Audio Dynamite, was launched in 1985, and provided the freedom to experiment with other styles (mostly funk/dance-based), as he was joined by video artist Don Letts (who also provided vocals and effects), drummer Greg Roberts, keyboardist Dan Donovan, and bassist Leo "E-Zee Kill" Williams. A steady stream of albums followed from the mid- to late '80s, including 1985's This Is Big Audio Dynamite, 1986's No. 10, Upping St. (produced by ex-Clash mate Strummer), 1988's Tighten Up, Vol. '88, and 1989's Megatop Phoenix. Most of BAD left around this time (forming the group Screaming Target), while Jones soldiered on with new members Nick Hawkins (guitar), Gary Stonadge (bass), and Chris Kavanagh (drums), changed their name to Big Audio Dynamite II, and issued such further releases as 1991's The Globe, 1994's Higher Power, and 1995's F-Punk. During the late '90s, rumors of a Clash reunion began to surface regularly, but despite the fact that all former members were back on good terms, the invites were turned down; but Jones and his former Clash bandmates were interviewed extensively for the bio-movie Westway to the World, and Jones began DJing with some of his BAD bandmates at the Maximum club in London. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Wikipedia: Mick Jones (The Clash)
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
For the Spooky Tooth and Foreigner guitarist, see Mick Jones (Foreigner).
Mick Jones

Mick Jones during his time with Big Audio Dynamite (NYC, 1987)
Background information
Birth name Michael Geoffrey Jones
Born 26 June 1955 (1955-06-26) (age 54)
Origin Brixton, England
Genres Punk rock, rock
Occupations Musician, songwriter
Instruments Guitar, vocals, bass, piano, drums, harmonica
Years active 1975 — present
Labels CBS, I.R.S., Radioactive
Associated acts The Clash, General Public, Big Audio Dynamite, Carbon/Silicon

Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones (born 26 June 1955) is the former lead guitarist, vocalist and founder for the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983. He went on to form the band Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and later Big Audio.

In recent years Mick Jones has been collaborating with fellow punk icon Tony James, using the moniker Carbon/Silicon, and has released several albums of original material between 2002 and 2007.[1]

Contents

Early life

Jones was born in Brixton, South London, England to a Welsh father and a Russian Jewish mother.[2] He spent much of his early life living with his maternal grandmother, Stella, in South London. Jones went to Strand School - and then on to art school, because "[he] thought that's how you get into bands and stuff".[3]

“ But even before the Dolls, I used to follow bands around. I followed Mott the Hoople up and down the country. I’d go to Liverpool or Newcastle or somewhere—sleep on the Town Hall steps, and bunk the fares on the trains, hide in the toilet when the ticket inspector came around. I’d jump off just before the train got to the station and climb over the fence. It was great times, and I always knew I wanted to be in a band and play guitar. That was it for me. ”

—Mick Jones to Gibson Backstage Pass Holiday Double Issue 2006 , [4]

He started gaining recognition as a guitarist in the early 70s with his glam rock band, The Delinquents. A short time later, he met Tony James and formed the proto-punk London SS. By 1976, the band had broken up and remaining members Jones, Paul Simonon and Keith Levene were seeking a new direction.[5]

The Clash

Main article: The Clash
Mick Jones (center) on stage with The Clash

When he was 21, he (and Paul Simonon) were introduced to Joe Strummer by Bernie Rhodes (the self proclaimed inventor of punk rock)[6] in a dirty squat in Shepherd's Bush. The band practiced in a disused railway warehouse in Camden and The Clash was formed. Jones played lead guitar, sang, and co-wrote songs from the band's inception until he was fired by Strummer and Simonon in 1983. Jones' lack of punctuality played a major role in his dismissal from the band.

For his time with The Clash, Jones, along with the rest of the band, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.[7]

General Public

Main article: General Public

After his expulsion from The Clash, Jones was briefly a founding member of General Public. Though he's listed in the credits of the band's 1984 debut album All the Rage as an official member, Jones actually left General Public part way through the recording process and was replaced by Kevin White. (White's picture appears on the back cover; Jones' picture does not.) Jones did play guitar on many of the album's tracks, including the North American top 40 hit "Tenderness".

Big Audio Dynamite

Main article: Big Audio Dynamite

Leaving General Public behind, in 1984 Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite with film director Don Letts, who had directed various Clash videos and later the Clash documentary Westway to the World. The band's debut album This Is Big Audio Dynamite was released the following year, with the song "E=MC²" getting heavy rotation in dance clubs, and both singles "Medicine Show" and "E=MC2" charting in the UK Singles Chart.

For Big Audio Dynamite's second album, No. 10 Upping St., Jones reunited with Strummer. Together, the two wrote several songs on the album, including "Beyond the Pale", "V. Thirteen", and "Sightsee M.C."; Strummer also co-produced the album. Their reunion did not last long, and following that collaboration, the two did not work together again for some time.

Big Audio Dynamite's third album, Tighten Up, Vol. 88, featured cover art painted by the ex-Clash bassist, Paul Simonon. Shortly following its release, Jones developed chicken pox, along with pneumonia and spent several months in hospital.[8][9] After his recovery, Jones released one more album with Big Audio Dynamite, Megatop Phoenix, before reshuffling the line-up, renaming the band Big Audio Dynamite II and releasing The Globe album.

In 1990, Jones was featured on Aztec Camera's song "Good Morning Britain", with Roddy Frame.

The band's line-up was reshuffled again in 1994, and they released the album Higher Power under the name Big Audio. In 1995, a greatest hits album, Planet B.A.D. was released as well as a studio album called F-Punk under the original Big Audio Dynamite name. A further album, Entering a New Ride was recorded in 1997, but was only released on the internet due to disagreement with Radioactive Records, their then record label. One more "best of" collection, called Super Hits, was released in 1999.

Recent projects

Carbon/Silicon

Main article: Carbon/Silicon
Mick Jones playing with Carbon/Silicon at the Carbon Casino VI event on February 22, 2008

In 2002, Jones teamed up with his former London SS colleague, Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik member, Tony James to form a new band named Carbon/Silicon. The band has toured the United Kingdom and has performed a number of anti-fascist benefit concerts; they have also recorded three albums: A.T.O.M, Western Front and The Crackup Suite which were available online for free. Their first physical CD release was The News EP. The band encourage their fans to share their music on P2P networks, and allow the audio and video taping of their shows. Their first song, "MPFree" is an anthem for P2P file sharing.

Similar in many respects to Jones' earlier work in Big Audio Dynamite, Carbon/Silicon aims to break the traditional approach to rock and roll. The band was described by Alan McGee as "...the Stones jamming with a laptop," and they make use of samples in their recordings and live shows. The formation of the band was catalyzed by the internet and p2p file sharing. The first song written by Jones and James was entitled "MPFree," in which they expressed their willingness to embrace the technology of the internet and file sharing, in the interest of spreading music, rather than profit.

On seven consecutive Friday nights in January and February 2008 Carbon/Silicon played a series of gigs at the Inn On The Green, right under the Westway in Thorpe Close, between Ladbroke Grove and Portobello Road. As well as Carbon/Silicon there were many special guests, including appearances by Sex Pistols' Paul Cook and Glen Matlock, former Clash drummer Topper Headon and multi-instrumentalist and former Mescalero, Tymon Dogg.

Producer

Jones has also been an occasional producer. In 1981 he produced Ellen Foley's second album The Spirit of St. Louis. Jones was in a relationship with Foley, and co-wrote songs for the album with Strummer. Players on the album included members of The Blockheads and all four members of The Clash[10] (The Clash's hit song "Should I Stay or Should I Go", written and sung by Jones, was about his turbulent relationship with Foley).

In 1981 Jones also produced Theatre of Hate's first album Westworld released in 1982, written by Kirk Brandon. Jones also played guitar on the title track, "Do You Believe In The Westworld". Jones would also record and produce Aria of the Devil in 1982 by Theatre of Hate at Wessex Studios, which did not get released until 1998, when the master tapes were found by Kirk Brandon.

He produced the London-based band The Libertines' debut album Up The Bracket (2002). The CD was critically well received, both in the UK and US. Jones stayed on to produce the band's second and final album The Libertines. He also produced Down In Albion, the debut album of former Libertines lead singer and guitarist Pete Doherty's new group Babyshambles.

Jones is also credited with contributing guitar and vocals to "Mal Bicho", the lead track of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs' album Rey Azucar.

He recently provided the score for Nick Mead's film, Dice Life - the Random Mind of Luke Rhinehart, a contemporary dance film created by Nick Mead and Wayne McGregor, featuring Luke Rhinehart, author of The Dice Man.

At the NME Shockwave 2007 awards, Jones took to the stage and performed "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" with Primal Scream.[11]

Friendship with Richard Archer

Richard Archer of Hard-Fi first met Mick Jones when he was still with Contempo. Hard-Fi were looking for a producer when one of the members of the record company suggested Jones, to which the band agreed to. At a rehearsal in Putney, Richard compared his dress sense to that of "the Godfather".[12][13]

Archer worked for a year on the band's first record, but things didn't work out as planned due to problems with the record company.[12][13]

Talking about Archer, Jones said:

"I guess I can have a lot of fun at this stage in my career and I like working with young people such as Rich because they're full of new ideas. I wouldn't say I'm a mentor to him, though. I just like to try to have some fun and play a few tunes.[12][13]

At Hard-Fi's NME Awards show at the Koko club on 6 February 2008 Jones appeared with Hard-Fi to perform the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and Hard-Fi's "Stars of CCTV".

On 1 March 2008, rumours started appearing that the two would be forming a new band after Archer joined Jones and his new band, Carbon/Silicon, during a show in London. They revealed that they were thinking about combining the two bands to form a project called "Hard Carbon".[14]

Musical equipment

Mick Jones playing his Fender Thinline Telecaster at Carbon Casino VI

Jones' first guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Junior with a P-90 pickup, which he bought since Johnny Thunders used one. The Junior was his main guitar up until late 1977 early 1978, and after that as a backup and studio-guitar. Around the same time he also owned another Les Paul Junior, all black (formerly red) with a black pickguard, which got smashed at a gig in 1977. He then switched to the regular Gibson Les Paul and later to Gibson Les Paul Customs.

"My favorites are still the Juniors," he told Gibson.com in 2006. "I had a great Les Paul Standard, a sunburst one. And then I had a black Custom, and a white Custom. And then the big white hollowbody for London Calling. But I still play the Juniors today."

He also occasionally played an Olympic White Fender Stratocaster - for live versions of 'Straight to Hell' - and several Bond Guitars that were donated to him by good friend Andrew Bond who made the guitars. For effects Jones mainly uses MXR pedals including a 100 Phaser, a Flanger, an Analog Delay and a Noisegate as well as a Roland chorus or Space Echo effect.[15] During the early times with The Clash, Jones used a Marshall Plexi amplifier and occasionally a Fender Twin with a 2x12 cabinet. He later changed to Mesa Boogie amplifier with two Marshall 4x12 cabinets that he used throughout the rest of his career with The Clash.[16][17]

Live, Jones still occasionally plays a Gibson Les Paul Junior guitar, but with his current band Carbon/Silicon favours a much lighter, black 1972 Fender Thinline Telecaster guitar with its original Fender Wide Range humbucker pickups. They are both played through a Fender Blues DeVille re-issue valve amplifier. Additional overdrive is provided by an Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9 overdrive guitar effect pedal.

References

  1. ^ Carbon/Silicon. "Carbon Silicon Discography" (ASPX). Carbon/Silicon. http://www.carbonsiliconinc.com/discography.aspx. Retrieved 17 December 2007. 
  2. ^ "Mick Jones (I) - Biography". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0428851/bio. Retrieved 17 December 2007. "Sid Vicious gained the enmity of The Clash's Mick Jones due to his habit of wearing a Nazi Swastika t-shirt. Jones, who is Jewish, and the rest of The Clash vowed they would never appear on stage with the Sex Pistols." 
  3. ^ Letts Don; Rick Elgood, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon, Terry Chimes, The Clash. (2001). The Clash: Westway to the World. [Documentary]. New York, NY: Sony Music Entertainment; Dorismo; Uptown Films. Event occurs at 3:50–4:50. ISBN 0738900826. OCLC 49798077. 
  4. ^ "Stay Free: Mick Jones Lokks Back at The Clash". Gibson Backstage Pass Holiday Double Issue 2006. Gibson.com. 12 2006. Archived from the original on 10 September 2007. http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/From%20the%20Archives_%20Stay%20Free_/. Retrieved 17 December 2007. "But even before the Dolls, I used to follow bands around. I followed Mott the Hoople up and down the country. I’d go to Liverpool or Newcastle or somewhere—sleep on the Town Hall steps, and bunk the fares on the trains, hide in the toilet when the ticket inspector came around. I’d jump off just before the train got to the station and climb over the fence. It was great times, and I always knew I wanted to be in a band and play guitar. That was it for me." 
  5. ^ Renshaw, Jerry (22 May 2000). "From Here to Eternity – The Story of the Clash". The Austin Chronicle (Austin, Texas: Austin Chronicle). OCLC 32732454. "When Mick Jones finally began attracting attention for his guitar playing, he was in a glam rock outfit, the Delinquents, complete with long hair, feather boas, and poncey trappings; in time he would meet up with Tony James (later of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik) to form the London SS. With a revolving-door cast of players including future members of the Damned, Chelsea, and PiL, London SS took the first stack-heeled, shambling steps toward punk, naming among their influences the Stooges, MC5, and New York Dolls, and in the process acquiring future Clash manager Bernie Rhodes. By 1976, London SS had fallen apart, and Jones found himself in a new band with guitarist Keith Levene and art-school dropout Paul Simonon. Simonon had spent much of his time hanging out with his West Indian pals and immersing himself in reggae, ska, and skinhead fashions, elements that would later be part and parcel of the Clash. Meanwhile, in another part of London, 24-year-old John Mellor was bashing away in pub-rock outfit the 101ers. The band caught the interest of Simonon and Jones, still in search of a frontman to round out their lineup.". 
    Related news articles:
  6. ^ In a television interview, Joe Strummer of The Clash said, after drawing the camera to Bernard sleeping against a wall, "He invented punk...it was obviously too much for him", referring ironically to a statement of Rhodes himself. The scene and the statement are featured in the documentary Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten.
  7. ^ "The Clash". Induction. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. 10 March 2003. http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/the-clash. Retrieved 19 November 2007. 
  8. ^ Robbins, Ira Robbins; Jem Aswad, Michael Azerrad. "TrouserPress.com :: Big Audio Dynamite" (PHP). TrouserPress.com. http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=big_audio_dynamite. Retrieved 17 December 2007. "The disappointing Tighten Up Vol. 88 reaches no such peaks and now sounds like a fairly brazen attempt to get hip commercial airplay. The fault is seldom with Jones' songwriting but more with the slick sheen laid over the leaner, less aggressive beats. The LP yielded "Just Play Music" and "Other 99," but a pall was thrown on the release as Jones fell deathly ill shortly after its appearance; having contracted pneumonia, he was hospitalized for months." 
  9. ^ "Punk Legends Form Rock Band Carbon/Silicon". National Public Radio: Music. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18484452. Retrieved 29 January 2008. 
  10. ^ Allmusic.com
  11. ^ ChartAttack.com Staff (2 March 2007). "Doherty And Moss' Naughtiness Overshadows Arctic Monkeys At NME Awards" (CFM). News. Chart Communications. http://www.chartattack.com/news/43096/doherty-and-moss-naughtiness-overshadows-arctic-monkeys-at-nme-awards. Retrieved 2009-04-27. "Jones joined Primal Scream to close the show with a cover of The Clash's "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais," which was performed in honour of the storied venue's imminent closing. Primal Scream also played "Movin' On Up", "Country Girl", "Rocks" and "Swastika Eyes"." 
  12. ^ a b c "Mick Jones & Richard Archer." The Independent on Sunday (London, England) (9 March 2008)
  13. ^ a b c A Scan of "Mick Jones & Richard Archer" from The Independent on Sunday (London, England) (9 March 2008)
  14. ^ Hard-Fi's Richard Archer Set For Clash Link-Up
  15. ^ London's Burning!
  16. ^ Yahoo! GeoCities
  17. ^ Website Toolbox

Further reading

External links

v • d • e
The Clash
Topper Headon · Mick Jones · Paul Simonon · Joe Strummer
Terry Chimes · Rob Harper · Keith Levene · Pete Howard · Nick Sheppard · Vince White
Studio albums
Compilations and lives
Extended plays
Singles
Video albums and films
Related
lists
musical acts
persons

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mick Jones (The Clash)".  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More