Michael Geoffrey Jones (born 26 June 1955) is a British musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as the lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, co-founder and songwriter for

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

until 1983. In 1984, he formed

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones, former lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. The band mixed various mu ...

with Don Letts. Jones has played with the band

Carbon/Silicon Carbon/Silicon is a rock music duo consisting of Mick Jones (formerly of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite) and Tony James (formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik). The band formed around 2002. Career Similar in many respects to J ...

along with Tony James (formerly of

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s ...

and

Sigue Sigue Sputnik Sigue Sigue Sputnik were a British new wave band formed in 1982 by former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band have had three UK top-40 hit singles, including " Love Missile F1-11" and " 21st Century Boy". The band's music, image and in ...

) since 2002 and was part of the Gorillaz live band for a world tour in 2010–2011. In late 2011, Jones collaborated with

Pete Wylie Peter James Wylie (born 22 March 1958) is an English singer/songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of the band variously known as Wah!, Wah! Heat, Shambeko! Say Wah!, JF Wah!, The Mighty Wah! and Wah! The Mongrel. Career Early b ...

and members of the Farm to form the Justice Tonight Band.

Early life

Michael Geoffrey Jones was born on 26 June 1955 in Wandsworth,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, to a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

father, Tommy Jones, and a Russian

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

mother, Renee Zegansky. Jones' maternal grandmother Stella was born in 1899 to Jewish parents in Russia and escaped the Russian pogroms by migrating to the United Kingdom. He spent much of his early life living with his maternal grandmother, Stella Class, in South London. Jones' cousin is

Grant Shapps Grant Shapps (born 14 September 1968) is a British politician who is serving as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy since October 2022. He previously served as Secretary of State for Transport in the Johnson governm ...

, the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield. Jones went to Strand School in South London and West London School of Art And Design, because " ethought that's how you get into bands and stuff". He started gaining recognition as a guitarist in the early 1970s with his glam rock band, the Delinquents. A short time later, he met Tony James and formed the proto-punk band

London SS The London SS is a British rock group founded in March 1975 by drummer Geir Wade, bassist John Brown, guitarist Mick Jones, and guitarist Eunan Brady (formerly of the Hollywood Brats). They later became associated with the then new punk rock s ...

. By 1976, that band had broken up and remaining members Jones, Paul Simonon and Keith Levene were seeking a new direction.

The Clash

When he was 21, he and Paul Simonon were introduced to

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, f ...

by Bernie Rhodes in a squat in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character ...

. The band rehearsed in a former railway warehouse in Camden Town 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. One of the songs he wrote, "

Train in Vain "Train in Vain" is a song by the British punk rock band the Clash. It was released as the third and final single from their third studio album, '' London Calling'' (1979). The song was not originally listed on the album's track listing, appeari ...

," was allegedly about Jones' relationship with

Viv Albertine Viviane Katrina Louise Albertine (born 1 December 1954) is an Australian-born British musician, singer, songwriter and writer. She is best known as the guitarist for the punk band the Slits from 1977 until 1982, with whom she recorded two studio ...

, guitarist of

the Slits The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma ...

. Jones' lack of punctuality played a major role in his dismissal from the band. Jones agreed to give a rare interview about the disintegration of the Clash and the reasons behind his dismissal from 'his own band' in Danny Garcia's 2012 documentary film and book ''The Rise and Fall of the Clash''. For his time with the Clash, Jones, along with the rest of the band, was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

in 2003. While promoting the band's 2013 box set, '' Sound System'', which Jones says will be the final time he works on Clash music, he discussed the band reuniting prior to Strummer's death.

There were a few moments at the time I was up for it (Hall of Fame reunion in 2003), Joe was up for it. Paul wasn't. And neither, probably, was Topper Headon, who didn't wind up even coming in the end. It didn't look like a performance was going to happen anyway. I mean, you usually play at that ceremony when you get in. Joe had passed by that point, so we didn't. We were never in agreement. It was never at a point where all of us wanted to do it at the same time. Most importantly for us, we became friends again after the group broke up, and continued that way for the rest of the time. That was more important to us than the band.

In an October 2013 interview with BBC Radio 6 Music, Jones confirmed that Strummer did have intentions of a Clash reunion and in fact new music was being written for a possible album. In the months prior to Strummer's death, Jones and Strummer began working on new music for what he thought would be the next Mescaleros album. Jones said "We wrote a batch – we didn't use to write one, we used to write a batch at a time – like gumbo. The idea was he was going to go into the studio with the Mescaleros during the day and then send them all home. I'd come in all night and we'd all work all night." Jones said months had passed following their work together when he ran into Strummer at an event. Jones was curious as to what would become of the songs he and Strummer were working on and Strummer informed him that they were going to be used for the next Clash album.

General Public

After his expulsion from the Clash, Jones was a founding member of

General Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlic ...

. Though he is listed in the credits of the band's 1984 debut studio album '' All the Rage'' as a member, Jones 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 however, including the North American top 40 single " Tenderness".

Big Audio Dynamite

Leaving General Public behind, in 1984 Jones formed

with film director Don Letts, who had directed various Clash videos and later the Clash documentary '' Westway to the World'' (2000). The band's debut studio album ''

This Is Big Audio Dynamite ''This Is Big Audio Dynamite'' is the debut studio album by English band Big Audio Dynamite, led by Mick Jones, the former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. It was released on 1 November 1985 by Columbia Records. The album peak ...

'' 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. For Big Audio Dynamite's second studio album, '' No. 10, Upping St.'' (1986), 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 studio album, '' Tighten Up, Vol. 88'' (1988), featured

album cover art An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-rpm ...

painted by ex-Clash bassist, Paul Simonon. Shortly following its release, Jones developed chickenpox and

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

, and spent several months in hospital. After his recovery, Jones released one more studio album with Big Audio Dynamite, ''

Megatop Phoenix ''Megatop Phoenix'' is the fourth and final studio album by the original line-up of English band Big Audio Dynamite, released on 4 September 1989 by CBS Records. Mick Jones and Bill Price produced the album. It was recorded at the Kinks' Ko ...

'' (1989), before reshuffling the line-up, renaming the band

Big Audio Dynamite II Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones, former lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the Clash. The band mixed various mu ...

and releasing '' The Globe'' (1991) album. The BAD II line-up had an international #1 hit with their song " Rush", topping the Billboard Modern Rock charts in the U.S. and singles charts in Australia and New Zealand. 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 studio album '' Higher Power'' (1994) 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 studio album, ''

Entering a New Ride ''Entering a New Ride'' is the ninth and final album by Big Audio Dynamite (aka BAD), recorded in 1999. Radioactive Records declined to release the album, so in 2001 the band decided to post the tracks on its website. In this way, the album is one ...

'' was recorded in 1997, but was only released on the internet because of a disagreement with Radioactive Records, their then

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

. One more "best of" collection, called ''Super Hits'', was released in 1999. Jones announced the reuniting of Big Audio Dynamite in January 2011, and they performed at the Lollapalooza music festival in 2011.

Recent projects

Carbon/Silicon

In 2002, Jones teamed up with his former London SS colleague,

and

member Tony James to form a new band named

. The band has toured the United Kingdom and the United States and has performed a number of

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...

benefit concerts; they have also recorded four studio albums: ''A.T.O.M'' (2006), ''Western Front'' (2006), ''The Crackup Suite'' (2007) and ''The Carbon Bubble'' (2009) which were available online for free. Their first physical CD release was ''The News EP''. The band encourages 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 A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...

," and they make use of samples in their recordings and live shows. The formation of the band was catalysed 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 Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

and Portobello Road, London. 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 studio album '' Spirit of St. Louis''. Jones was in a relationship with Foley, and co-wrote songs for the album with Strummer and Tymon Dogg. Players on the album included members of the Blockheads, Tymon Dogg and all four members of the Clash. In 1981, Jones co-produced Ian Hunter's ''

Short Back 'n' Sides ''Short Back 'n' Sides'' is the fifth studio album by Ian Hunter. Unsure of which direction he should take, Ian Hunter finally decided to collaborate with Mick Jones, who gave Hunter's songs a tougher and heavier touch. Fellow Clash member To ...

'' LP with Mick Ronson. He also provided guitars and vocals for several songs on the release. In the same year, he produced Theatre of Hate's debut studio 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 The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

' debut studio album ''

Up the Bracket ''Up the Bracket'' is the debut album by English indie rock band The Libertines, released in October 2002. It reached #35 in the UK Albums Chart. The album was part of a resurgence for the British indie/alternative scene and received widespread ...

'' (2002); Jones stayed on to produce the band's second studio album ''

The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

'' (2004). He also produced '' Down in Albion'' (2005), the debut studio album of former Libertines lead singer and guitarist

Pete Doherty Peter Doherty (born 12 March 1979) is an English musician, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist. He is best known for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical projects are indie ...

's new band Babyshambles. In 2014, he produced sibling band Kitty, Daisy & Lewis' third studio album '' The Third'' (2015). Jones is also credited with contributing guitar and vocals to "Mal Bicho", the lead track of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs' tenth studio album '' Rey Azucar'' (1995). He provided the score for Nick Mead's television film, ''Dice Life – the Random Mind of Luke Rhinehart'' (2004), a contemporary dance film created by Nick Mead and Wayne McGregor, featuring

Luke Rhinehart George Powers Cockcroft (November 15, 1932 – November 6, 2020), widely known by the pen name Luke Rhinehart, was an American novelist, screenwriter, and nonfiction writer. He is best known for his 1971 novel '' The Dice Man,'' the story of a psy ...

, author of ''

The Dice Man The Dice Man is a 1971 novel by American novelist George Cockcroft, writing under the pen name, "Luke Rhinehart". The book tells the story of a psychiatrist who makes daily decisions based on the casting of a diсe. Cockcroft describes the o ...

'' (1971). At the '' NME'' Shockwave 2007 awards, Jones took to the stage and performed "

(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a 7-inch single, with the b-side "The Prisoner", on 16 June 1978 through CBS Records. Produced by The Clash and engineered by ...

" with Primal Scream.

Gorillaz

Jones reunited with Simonon on the title track of Gorillaz's third studio album '' Plastic Beach'' (2010): both of them performed in the Gorillaz live band supporting ''Plastic Beach'' (2010). The band headlined the 2010

Coachella Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. It ...

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

and

Festival Internacional de Benicàssim The Festival Internacional de Benicàssim (), commonly abbreviated to simply FIB, is an annual music festival that takes place in the town of Benicàssim, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It focuses mainly on pop, rock and electronica artist ...

. Jones later appeared on the Gorillaz's fourth studio album '' The Fall'' (2010) on the track " Amarillo".

The Justice Tonight Band

In late 2011, Jones agreed to play songs by the Clash live again, collaborating with Pete Wylie and members of the Farm to form the Justice Tonight Band. The band formed with the aim of promoting awareness of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. The Justice Tonight band have been joined onstage at different gigs by several other musicians sympathetic to the cause, including

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music i ...

and Paul Simonon.

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...

joined them onstage in

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and t ...

when the Justice Tonight Band supported

the Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian Brown, ...

as part of their Reunion Tour on 5 July 2012.

The Wallflowers

Jones collaborated with alternative rock group

the Wallflowers The Wallflowers is an American rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1989 by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. The band ...

as a guitarist and backing vocals for two tracks on their sixth studio album '' Glad All Over'' (2012).

Rachid Taha

Jones was a featured guest on Rachid Taha's ninth and final studio album '' Zoom'' (2013), together with

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...

, and toured with Taha as part of the Zoom project.

The Flaming Lips

Jones narrated the Flaming Lips' fifteenth studio album '' King's Mouth'', released on 20 April 2019 which is

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

. Jones is also featured on the album's cover artwork. The Flaming Lips's singer Wayne Coyne said of Jones "he’s on almost every song... it really is quite unbelievable."

The Avalanches

Jones was featured, along with Cola Boyy, on the Avalanches' single "We Go On" from their third studio album '' We Will Always Love You'' (2020).

Musical equipment

Jones' first guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Junior with a P-90 pickup, which he bought because Johnny Thunders used one. The Junior was his main guitar up until late 1977 or 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 was smashed at a performance in 1977. He then switched to a

Gibson Les Paul Standard The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typica ...

and later to

Gibson Les Paul Custom The Gibson Les Paul Custom is a higher-end variation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was developed in 1953 after Gibson had introduced the Les Paul model in 1952. History The 1952 Gibson Les Paul was originally made with a mahogany body with ...

. Jones also occasionally played an Olympic White Fender Stratocaster (for live versions of " Straight to Hell") and several Bond Electraglide guitars that were donated to him by Andrew Bond, who made the guitars. For effects Jones mainly uses MXR pedals including a Phase 100, a flanger, an analog delay and a noise gate as well as a Roland chorus or

Space Echo The Roland RE-201 Space Echo is an audio effects unit that produces delay and reverb effects. It was produced by Roland Corporation from 1974 to 1990. Roland produced several smaller versions in later years. Background A tape echo device rec ...

effect. During his days with the Clash, Jones used a Marshall Plexi amplifier and occasionally a Fender Twin with a 2x12 cabinet. He later changed to a

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...

amplifier with two Marshall 4x12 cabinets that he used throughout the rest of his career with the Clash.

Cameos

During the karaoke club scene in the film '' Code 46'' (2003), Jones is seen singing the Clash song "Should I Stay or Should I Go?".

References

External links

Carbon/Silicon official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Mick 1955 births 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singers Big Audio Dynamite members English Jews English male singers English male singer-songwriters English new wave musicians British post-punk musicians British alternative rock musicians English dance musicians English hip hop musicians English people of Russian-Jewish descent English people of Welsh descent English punk rock guitarists English punk rock singers English record producers English songwriters General Public members Jewish British musicians Lead guitarists Living people Musicians from London People from Brixton People educated at the Strand School People from Wandsworth The Clash members Jews in punk rock English rock singers English rock guitarists English male guitarists Dead Men Walking members Gorillaz members Carbon/Silicon members Rich Kids members