Mick Jones (The Clash)
|
Mick Jones on stage with The Clash |
Michael Geoffrey Jones (born
June 26,
1955), better known as
Mick Jones, is an
English guitarist and singer best known for his work with
The Clash.
Jones was born in
Brixton,
South London,
England to a
Welsh father and a mother of
Russian
Jewish descent. He spent much of his early life living with his grandmother, Stella. Before he helped start up The Clash, he was in the legendary proto-punk band
London SS, who only recorded one demo and never played live. Other members of London SS included
Tony James,
Rat Scabies,
Paul Simonon and
Terry Chimes.
After London SS dissolved, Mick tried to form many new bands with good friend Tony James. But all efforts ended in failure. Soon, Mick worked with Paul Simonon, and helped teach him how to play the bass guitar. Soon, they found other members: a lead singer in
Joe Strummer, who Mick and Paul first saw singing for the pub rock band, the 101'ers; a lead guitar player in
Keith Levene (who left before the band recorded an album); and a drummer in Terry Chimes, who was later replaced by
Topper Headon. It is during this time that the group first became known as "The Clash".
Jones played lead guitar, sang and co-wrote songs with Strummer from the band's inception until he was fired by Strummer and Simonon in
1983. Jones played on 5 of the bands' 6 albums, and produced the original version of
Combat Rock, which was scrapped and later bootlegged under the name
Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg.
After his expulsion from The Clash, Jones was briefly a founding member of
General Public. However, by the time that band's debut album appeared, Jones was no longer an official band member, although he did play guitar on many of the album's tracks.
Leaving General Public behind, in 1984 Jones formed
Big Audio Dynamite (often shorted to BAD) with film director
Don Letts, who had directed various Clash videos and 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.
For Big Audio Dynamite's second record, Mick Jones reunited with Joe 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. This reunion did not last long, and following the album Jones and Strummer would not work together again for some time.
Big Audio Dynamite's third album, "Tighten Up, Vol.88" features cover art painted by ex-Clash bassist Paul Simonon. Following recording, Jones developed pneumonia and spent some time in hospital; after his recovery, Jones released one more album with Big Audio Dynamite before reshuffling the line-up and renaming the band Big Audio Dynamite II. This new line-up became popular in the US; however, support in the UK continued to ebb with the songs
Rush and
The Globe, and the album
The Globe, seeing only moderate success.
|
Mick Jones with Carbon/Silicon. |
In
2005, Jones teamed up with former
London SS and
Generation X 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 3 yet-to-be-released albums:
Sample This, Peace,
Dope Factory Boogie and
The Grand Delusion. 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.
Jones has also become an occasional producer. He was at the controls for London based band
The Libertines debut album
Up The Bracket. The CD was critically very well-received, both in the UK and USA. Jones stayed on to produce the band's second and final album, eponymously titled
The Libertines. He also produced
Down In Albion, the debut album of former Libertines guitarist
Pete Doherty's new group
Babyshambles.
Jones has a cameo appearance in the
2003 film
Code 46, singing the Clash song "
Should I Stay or Should I Go" in a
karaoke club.
*
Revolution Rock*
Big Audio Dynamite Fan Site*
Carbon/Silicon Official Website*
Official Carbon/Silicon Fan Site
