Rob Jones (14 February 1964 – 31 July 1993), known by his nickname The Bass Thing, or by some as Bob Jones, was an English musician. He was a founding member and original

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

for

The Wonder Stuff The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock musical ensemble, band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying ...

, based in

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

( West Midlands, England). Jones was born in

Kingswinford Kingswinford is a town of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands (county), West Midlands, situated west-southwest of central Dudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census. T ...

, near

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

, West Midlands in 1964. He joined

Miles Hunt Miles Stephen Hunt (born 29 July 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He fronts the alternative rock band The Wonder Stuff. Early life His father was a union official for the TGWU. In the 1970s, his father was based at Derby, an ...

, Malcolm Treece, and

Martin Gilks Martin Richard Gilks (2 March 1965 – 3 April 2006) was an English musician. He was a founder member and original drummer for the Wonder Stuff, based in Stourbridge ( West Midlands, England). Gilks who was born in Stourbridge, was originally ...

to form the

Wonder Stuff The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying considerable chart and live success in th ...

in March 1986 and recorded the singles "A Wonderful Day" and "Red Berry Joy Town". Jones played on the debut album ''

The Eight Legged Groove Machine ''The Eight Legged Groove Machine'' is the debut album by the Wonder Stuff, released in the UK on 8 August 1988. ''NME'' listed it as the 27th best album of the 1980s. Critical reception ''The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', loc ...

'' and the follow-up '' Hup''. Following disagreements within the group, he left in December 1989, as soon as the group had played the final night of a sellout three-night residency at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

Leisure Centre. He then moved to New York. A first marriage evidently ended at an earlier point, and Jones married Jessica Ronson who – under her previous name, Michelle Robison – had been the last girlfriend of

Sid Vicious Simon John Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the second bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. After his death in 1979 at the age of 21, he remai ...

. She was known subsequently as Jessica Ronson-Jones. In New York, Jones formed another band, Rob and Jessi Jones' Bridge and Tunnel Crew. He sang, played rhythm guitar and shared songwriting duties with his wife. He died in New York on 31 July 1993, aged 29. The cause of his death is variously recorded as due to heart problems, heart attack, potentially caused by heroin, or drug-related causes. He was survived by his mother Mary, brother Trevor, and wife. His body was cremated and ashes were scattered at a number of locations – close to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, near the Parachute Drop at Coney Island and in a flowerbed by the swimming pool at Tammy Wynette's hous

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Rob 1964 births 1993 deaths English male guitarists British male bass guitarists People from Kingswinford Deaths by heroin overdose in New York (state) Cocaine-related deaths in New York (state) Musicians from the West Midlands (county) 20th-century English musicians 20th-century English bass guitarists The Wonder Stuff members 20th-century British male musicians Drug-related deaths in New York City