Ignatius Jones
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Juan Ignacio Rafaelo Lorenzo Trápaga y Esteban (24 October 1957 – 7 May 2024), known professionally as Ignatius Jones, was a Filipino-born Australian events director and journalist who fronted the shock rock band Jimmy and the Boys. From 1976 to 1982, the group pioneered the use of shock theatrics in Australia. By the end of the 1970s they were "one of the most popular live acts on the Australian scene" with Jones performing as lead vocalist and contortionist alongside Joylene Thornbird Hairmouth (born William O'Riordan) on keyboards and vocals as a
kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...
transvestite. In 1981, they scored their only top 10 single with "They Won't Let My Girlfriend Talk to Me", which was written by
Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand band formed in 1972. Regarded as the first New Zealand band to gain significant recognition outside of Australasia, they were initially noted for their progressive rock, progressive/art rock sound, flamboyant visua ...
leader
Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songw ...
. In 1982, after their disbandment, Jones pursued a solo career and by the mid-1980s was a member of a swing jazz-cabaret band, Pardon Me Boys, with O'Riordan and Jones' sister, Monica Trapaga – former '' Play School'' presenter. In 1990 Jones, with Pat Sheil, co-wrote ''True Hip'' and Jones followed it a year later with ''The 1992 True Hip Manual''. As an actor, Jones appeared on TV series including ''
Sweet and Sour Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine, and cooking methods. It is commonly used in East Asia and Southeast Asia and has been used in English cuisine, England since the Middle Ages.Clarissa Dickson WDickson ...
'' (1984) and ''Culture Shock'' (1985). He had minor roles in comedy films including '' Those Dear Departed'' (1987) and '' Pandemonium'' (1988). For the 1992 musical film '' Strictly Ballroom'', Jones sang " Yesterday's Hero" (original by John Paul Young). Jones worked with David Atkins on the 2000 Sydney Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, which included co-directing the horse segment that launched the opening ceremony. The pair oversaw the Opening Ceremony of Shanghai 2010 World Expo and the ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. In 2017, Jones was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Australian Event Awards.


Biography

Ignatius Jones was born on 24 October 1957 as Juan Ignacio Rafaelo Lorenzo Trápaga y Esteban, in Singalong,
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, Philippines, to a
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
-Chinese father, Nestor Juan Trápaga, and a Catalan-American mother, Margot (born 15 May 1935, née Esteban). Also born in Manila were two of his younger siblings, Luis Miguel and Rocio Maria (born 9 August 1962). His paternal grandfather was a conductor while Jones' father, Nestor, was a musician playing violin, conga and bongo drums. Jones's maternal grandfather, Luis Esteban (died 1964), was an actor and professional cartoonist, while his maternal grandmother, Mary Case Esteban (born 1908), was a caterer for state events – including for then-President
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
– and a couturier. In January 1963, Nestor migrated to Australia via a plane flight to Sydney, Note: If required user may need to initiate a new search. First select 'Home', then 'Search the collection', 'RecordSearch – Basic Search'. Enter 'Trapaga' and select details for 'SP908/1, Spanish/Trapaga Nestor Juan'. followed in March by Margot (Margaret) and their three children. Jones' younger sister, Monica Trapaga, was born in 1965 in Sydney – she was later a '' Play School'' presenter and children's entertainer. Jones became a naturalised Australian in 1971, but maintained a dual Spanish-Australian citizenship. Jones grew up in Wahroonga and attended St Leo's Catholic College before switching to St Ignatius' College, Riverview, near the Sydney river-side suburb of Lane Cove. Jones contended for dux of his year level with
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
– later
Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...
; Jones struggled with mathematics but excelled in
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
and
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
. Jones followed Monica to her dance lessons and started a theatrical career as a classical ballet dancer but switched to more contemporary music.


Jimmy and the Boys

In 1976, Jones was a founding mainstay member of shock rockers Jimmy and the Boys with Joylene Thornbird Hairmouth (born William O'Riordan) which formed in Sydney. The original line-up was Jones on lead vocals, Hairmouth on keyboards and vocals, Tom Falkinham on bass guitar, Scott Johnson on drums, Jason Morphett on saxophone and Andrew de Teliga on guitar. On-stage, Jones was also a contortionist and Hairmouth was "the kitchiest of transvestites", other than Jones and Hairmouth, the line-up was regularly changed. By the end of the 1970s they were "one of the most popular live acts on the Australian scene". In 1981, they scored their only top 10 single with "They Won't Let My Girlfriend Talk to Me", Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA) created their own
charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...
in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
written by
Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand band formed in 1972. Regarded as the first New Zealand band to gain significant recognition outside of Australasia, they were initially noted for their progressive rock, progressive/art rock sound, flamboyant visua ...
leader,
Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songw ...
. After issuing two studio albums and a live set, the group disbanded in 1982 with Jones set to pursue a solo career.


From Pardon Me Boys to Monica and the Moochers

In April 1982, Jones issued his debut solo single, "Like a Ghost", which was written by the Church's frontman Steve Kilbey. Jones' second single, " Whispering Your Name", appeared in March 1983. Both singles were "hot dance club favourites among the gay community on the American west coast". In 1984, Jones formed Arms & Legs with Jeremy Cook on drums, Kirk Godfrey on guitar (ex-Big Red Tractor), Steve Harris on bass guitar (Passengers, Visitors) and Andrew Ross on keyboards (Ward 13) but they disbanded after a year. In 1985, Jones was a member of the swing jazz-cabaret band Pardon Me Boys, with O'Riordan and Jones' sister, Monica Trapaga. As a journalist, Jones contributed to ''
RAM Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
'' (a.k.a. ''Rock Australia Magazine'') – starting in 1983, ''The Edge'' and, in June 1985 became the editor of ''Stiletto'' magazine. In 1984, as an actor, he appeared in an episode of ABC-TV's music drama series, ''
Sweet and Sour Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine, and cooking methods. It is commonly used in East Asia and Southeast Asia and has been used in English cuisine, England since the Middle Ages.Clarissa Dickson WDickson ...
''. In 1985, he appeared on ''Culture Shock'' for SBS-TV as a reporter on youth affairs and interviewer. For the 1987 comedy film, '' Those Dear Departed'', Jones acted in the role of Phil Rene alongside stars Garry McDonald and Pamela Stephenson. For the 1988 campy comedy film, '' Pandemonium'', he portrayed a marriage celebrant and supported David Argue in the lead role. In 1990 Jones, with Pat Sheil, co-wrote ''True Hip'' and Jones followed it a year later with ''The 1992 True Hip Manual''. On the soundtrack for the 1992 musical film '' Strictly Ballroom'', Jones performed John Paul Young's song "Yesterday's Hero", and the Spanish dance-flavoured "Rhumba de Burros". In 1997 he co-directed, with Trapaga, a children's
video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...
, ''Monica's Seaside Adventure'', by Monica and the Moochers with Peter Cox and George Washingmachine.. In 1999, he directed ''Monica's Trip to the Moon'' by Monica and the Moochers with McKaw, Fridge, Compost Bin and Dr. Wango Tango.. The track, "Old Doctor Wango Tango", was co-written by Jones and Julian Gough. Note: Jones is given as J Trapaga. Note: Jones is given as John Ignatius Trapaga.


Later career: events director

Jones with David Atkins, were the creative directors for the 2000 Sydney Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, which included co-directing the horse segment that launched the Opening Ceremony. He was responsible for Sydney's Millennium Celebrations and directed its New Year's Eve and Centenary of Federation celebrations. In 2002 with Atkins, Jones co-wrote and co-directed the stage musical '' The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular''. Also that year, Jones staged the Independence Ceremonies of the Democratic Republic of
East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
for the United Nations. In November, Jones directed the 2002 Gay Games Opening Ceremony, he greeted the audience of 38,000 with "Australia and the gay and lesbian community is not so much a melting pot ... We are more of a mixed salad, where every part remains separate, yet adds to the wonder of the whole ... I have been lucky, I have never had to come out, I was never in". In 2005, he produced a corporate event at the Jeddah Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia. Jones and Atkins worked on the ceremonies of the Doha 2006 Asian Games. Jones and Atkins also worked on the Opening Ceremony of the Shanghai 2010 World Expo and the ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. From 2011 until 2019, Jones was creative director of Vivid Sydney.


Death

Jones died after a short illness at his home in the Philippines, on 7 May 2024, aged 67.


Awards

Jones was honored with the Filipino-Australian of the Year Award 2014 by the Filipino Communities Council of Australia on the 13th Annual Conference gala night in Parramatta City, New South Wales. At the 2019 Australia Day Honours, he was appointed
Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
(AM) "for significant service to entertainment as a writer, director, author and performer."


Bibliography

* *


Discography


Solo singles


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ignatius 1957 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Australian male singers 21st-century Australian male singers Australian new wave musicians Australian television personalities Australian theatre directors Australian people of Chinese descent Filipino emigrants to Australia Bisexual male musicians Bisexual singers Bisexual songwriters Filipino LGBTQ singers Australian LGBTQ singers Filipino LGBTQ songwriters Australian LGBTQ songwriters LGBTQ theatre directors People from San Andres, Manila Musicians from Sydney People educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Members of the Order of Australia