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Steve Jones (musician)

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Steve Jones

Stephen Phillip Jones (born 3 September, 1955 in Shepherds Bush, London) is an English rock guitarist and singer, best known for his work as guitarist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols.

Career

Steve Jones was born in Shepherds Bush, London. He had started playing guitar when he was nineteen, three months before The Sex Pistols first show. His early influences were glam rock icons like Roxy Music and David Bowie. He was an only child and his father, an amateur boxer, left when he was two years old.

Up to the age of twelve, he grew up in Hammersmith with his young mother, who worked as a hairdresser, and his grandparents. He then moved to Benbow Road in Shepherd's Bush with his mother and stepfather, where they lived in a one-bedroom basement. Jones never got along with his stepfather, who made his living making gaskets for electric cookers. As a teenager, Jones was a kleptomaniac who accumulated 14 different criminal convictions and was the subject of a council care-order. He spent a year in a remand centre, which he says was more enjoyable than being at home, and has said that the Sex Pistols saved him from a life of crime.

Jones co-founded The Strand (named after a Roxy Music song) with Paul Cook and Wally Nightingale in the early 1970s. The Strand were a precursor to the Sex Pistols, where Jones first learned to play guitar. After dropping Nightingale in the mid-70s, the band was known as The Swankers.

In 1975, Jones went on to co-found the Sex Pistols with Paul Cook, Glen Matlock, and later, Johnny Rotten. Although they only released one album, the Sex Pistols went on to become one of the most influential rock and roll bands of the 20th century.

Jones is a self-taught guitar player, primarily playing Gibson Les Paul electric guitars in his early years. His usual guitar was a cream colored Gibson Les Paul custom which (according to Filth and the Fury) he had stolen from Mick Ronson at a David Bowie concert when he and his fellow Sex Pistols members posed as road crew members, stealing amps and other equipment. Bill Price, the engineer on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols called Jones one of the tightest guitar players he has ever worked with, implying that his chord and note timing were precise and impeccable. 

  Jones became well known among fans for his "hanky on the head", and his permanent perm. He also shared Jonny Rotten's extreme dislike of Nancy. In an interview for [1], refers to her as "that ****ing horrible bird".

After the Sex Pistols broke up in 1978, Jones and drummer Paul Cook co-founded The Professionals. They released one album, but disbanded after a serious car crash while on tour in the U.S. in 1981. The Professionals' debut album was I Didn't See It Coming. Jones was also a member of Chequered Past (led by Michael Des Barres) from 1982 to 1985. They released a self-titled album in 1984.

Jones also played with Thin Lizzy, Joan Jett, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Andy Taylor, the Neurotic Outsiders and had a solo career in the 1980s and early 1990s. His song "Mercy," from the album of the same name, was used in a Miami Vice episode featured on the Miami Vice II soundtrack album. In 1989, he released his second, much heavier-sounding solo album, titled Fire and Gasoline, which featured Jones on guitar and vocals, Terry Nails on bass, and studio drum wizard Mickey Curry (Bryan Adams, Hall & Oates). He participated in the Sex Pistols reunion concerts and currently resides in Los Angeles, California. He has since done some studio work, playing guitar on Lisa Marie Presley's 2005 album, Now What.

The Sex Pistols, including Steve Jones, played a gig for the 30th anniversary of Never Mind The Bollocks at the Brixton Academy on November 8 2007. Due to popular demand, two further gigs were announced on 9 November and 10 November. All three gigs sold out within 5 minutes. This demand led to two further gigs being announced, making five in total. A further gig in Brixton on November 12 was followed by one at the MEN Arena in Manchester on November 17. The Glasgow S.E.C.C on 18 November completed the tour.

Jones has recently been seen playing football with Hollywood United F.C.. The team is made up mainly of celebrities and former professional footballers.

The Sex Pistols will be appearing at the Isle Of Wight Festival 2008 as the headlining act on the Saturday night. They are also due to appear at the Peace and Love Festival in Sweden, and the Live at Loch Lomond Festival in Scotland the same summer.

Jonesy's Jukebox

In February 2004, Jones began hosting a daily radio program in Los Angeles called Jonesy's Jukebox, on Indie 103.1 FM, broadcasting live Monday to Friday from noon to 2PM. The premise of the show is that the self-described "Sire of Wilshire" can do whatever he wants (within FCC rules), with no direction from station management. Far from an angry punk rocker with access to a transmitter, Jones mixes an eclectic playlist (culled from his own collection of CDs) with often rambling and humorous interviews of guests from the entertainment industry. He frequently interacts on-air with "Big Ed", his nickname for program producer Kevin Begley (though many think that Jones is saying 'Big Head' because of his accent). On a recent September 2007 edition of Begley's own Sunday show, he recounted the first time that he met Jones, he introduced himself as "Begley". Jones replied "Oh, like Ed Begley Jr.?...I think I'm going to call you 'Big Ed'. It's a good stage name."

Partial discography

Partial filmography

  1. ^ The Filth and The Fury
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