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Wandsworth, London
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Punk Rock
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1 MaleOrigin
Wandsworth, LondonGenre
Punk RockStyle
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Born
1955
1975 to Present...
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Michael Geoffrey Jones (born 26 June 1955) is a British musician, singer and songwriter best known as the lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, co-founder and songwriter for the Clash until 1983. In 1984, he formed Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts. Jones has played with the group Carbon/Silicon along with Tony James since 2002 and has toured the world as part of the Gorillaz live band. In late 2011, Jones collaborated with Pete Wylie and members of the Farm to form the Justice Tonight Band.
When he was 21, he and Paul Simonon were introduced to Joe Strummer by Bernie Rhodes in a squat in Shepherd's Bush. 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," was about Jones' relationship with Viv Albertine, guitarist of The Slits. 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 in 2003.
After his expulsion from The Clash, Jones was a founding member of General Public. Though he is listed in the credits of the band's 1984 début 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, including the North American top 40 single "Tenderness".
Leaving General Public behind, in 1984 Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite with film director Don Letts, who had directed various Clash videos and later the Clash documentary Westway to the World. The band's début album This Is Big Audio Dynamite 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 album, No. 10, Upping St., 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 album, Tighten Up, Vol. 88, featured album cover art painted by the ex-Clash bassist, Paul Simonon. Shortly following its release, Jones developed chickenpox and pneumonia, and spent several months in hospital. After his recovery, Jones released one more album with Big Audio Dynamite, Megatop Phoenix, before reshuffling the line-up, renaming the band Big Audio Dynamite II and releasing The Globe album. The BAD II lineup 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 lineup was reshuffled again in 1994, and they released the album Higher Power 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 album, Entering a New Ride was recorded in 1997, but was only released on the internet because of a disagreement with Radioactive Records, their then record label. 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.
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