Paul Jones (singer)

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For other people named Paul Jones, see Paul Jones (disambiguation).

Paul Jones
Jones in 1967
Jones in 1967
Background information
Birth namePaul Pond
Born (1942-02-24) 24 February 1942 (age 79)
Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
GenresPop music, blues
Occupation(s)Singer, musician, actor, radio and television presenter
InstrumentsVocals, harmonica
Years active1960s–present
Associated acts
WebsiteOfficial website
Jones in Sevenoaks, Kent, 2011

Paul Jones (born Paul Pond, 24 February 1942)[1] is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, radio personality and television presenter. He first came to prominence as the lead singer and harmonicist of the successful 1960s group Manfred Mann, with whom he had several Top Ten hit records from 1962 to 1966. He presented The Blues Show on BBC Radio 2 for thirty-two years, from 1986 to 2018.

Career[]

Paul Jones was born as Paul Pond in Portsmouth, Hampshire.[1][2] As "P.P. Jones" he performed duets with Elmo Lewis (better known as future founder member of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones) at the Ealing Club, home of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, whose singers included Long John Baldry and Mick Jagger. He was asked by Keith Richards and Brian Jones to be the lead singer of a group they were forming, but he turned them down.[3] He went on to be the vocalist and harmonica player of the successful 1960s group Manfred Mann.[1] Paul Jones had several Top Ten hits with Manfred Mann, including the international number one single "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (1964), before going solo in July 1966.[1][4] He remained with His Master's Voice.[4]

He was less successful without the band than they were with his replacement, Mike d'Abo, but did have a few hits, notably with "High Time" (1966) (UK no. 4), "I've Been a Bad, Bad Boy" (1967) (UK no. 5) and "Thinkin' Ain't for Me" (1967) (UK no. 32), before branching into acting.[1] While his solo career in the UK was mildly successful,[1] he sold few records in the United States. He had enough hits in Sweden to have a greatest hits album released there on EMI. His subsequent single releases in Britain in the late 1960s were on Columbia.

His performance opposite model Jean Shrimpton in the 1967 film Privilege,[1] directed by Peter Watkins, did not bring him stardom, although the film later became a cult classic.[4] Jones was cast as a pop singer in the film, and sang the songs "I've Been a Bad, Bad Boy" and "Set Me Free", which Patti Smith covered in the 1970s.[1]

In 1971 Jones participated in Carla Bley's album Escalator Over the Hill. On the same year he recorded Crucifix in a Horseshoe with White Cloud, a New York-based session group featuring Teddy Wender on keyboards and Kenny Kosek on fiddle.[5]

In 1973 Jones guest appeared in ITC The Protectors, in an episode called "Goodbye George", playing a character called Caspar Parton.[6]

In 1975 he guest-starred in a TV episode of The Sweeney ("Chalk and Cheese") as Tommy Garret, a boxer-turned-highwayman. In 1976 he performed the role of Juan Peron on the original concept album of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Evita alongside Julie Covington as Eva, Colm Wilkinson as Che and Barbara Dickson as the Mistress.[7] Jones had previously worked with Covington in the 1975 Christmas production Great Big Groovy Horse, a rock opera based on the story of the Trojan Horse shown on BBC2.[8] It was later repeated on BBC1 in 1977.[9] He also presented the BBC1 children's quiz Beat the Teacher in the mid-1980s.[10] His gold albums include one for Evita.

In October 1977, he starred as Sir Francis Drake in the musical premiere of Drake's Dream at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing featuring music and lyrics by Lynne and Richard Riley and book by Simon Brett. The production was directed by Nicolas Young and transferred to London's Shaftesbury Theatre for a limited season opening on 7 December 1977.[11] The Drake's Dream Original London Cast Album was recorded by President Records in 1977 and released on CD in 2017 by Stage Door Records.[12][11]

In 1978 he released a single on the RSO label, consisting of orchestrated versions of the Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" and the Ramones' "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker", both produced by Rice. Four years later he appeared as one of the guest vocalists on the British Electric Foundation's Music of Quality and Distinction, on a new version of "There's a Ghost in My House".

In 1979, he founded The Blues Band[7] and is a member of the Manfreds, a group reuniting several original members of Manfred Mann,[1] and has also played the harmonica as a session musician.

In autumn 1982, Jones took over the lead part of Sky Masterson from Ian Charleson in Richard Eyre's company in his celebrated production for the National Theatre of Guys and Dolls that had begun in February that year at the Olivier Theatre. He then led the same cast as Macheath in Eyre's production of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay at the Cottesloe Theatre.[citation needed]

After an initial run of three programmes in 1985, he started presenting a series for BBC Radio 2 on rhythm and blues on 10 April 1986, later to be known as The Blues Show, which became a fixture in the schedules for 32 years.[13] He played the harmonica on his programme's Radio 2 jingle.[14]

In 1987 he starred as Fred/Petruchio with Nichola McAuliffe as Lilli/Kate in the Royal Shakespeare Company's successful production of Kiss Me Kate both at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon,[15][16] and the Old Vic Theatre, London.[17]

From 1990 to 1993, he starred as the title character of Uncle Jack, a children's programme on BBC 1, which also featured Fenella Fielding as Jack's adversary; The Vixen.[citation needed]

In 2009 he issued Starting All Over Again on Continental Record Services (aka CRS) in Europe and Collectors' Choice in the US.[1] It was produced by Carla Olson in Los Angeles and features Eric Clapton, Jake Andrews, Ernie Watts, Percy Sledge, Alvino Bennett, Tony Marsico, Michael Thompson, Tom Morgan Jr., Oren Waters and Luther Waters.

Jones with The Manfreds, 2015

On 4 May 2009 Jones and his harmonica featured in a song during a concert by Joe Bonamassa at the Royal Albert Hall in London. That same month Jones featured, playing harmonica, on the release of "I'm Your Kingpin" by Nick Vernier Band.[18] In 2010 he featured on two versions of "You’re Wrong" from Nick Vernier Band's Sessions album.

In 2015, he released an album Suddenly I Like It, also produced by Carla Olson. Special guests on this album include Joe Bonamassa and Jools Holland.

Jones is currently the president of the National Harmonica League[19] and was awarded "harmonica player of the year" in the British Blues Awards of 2010, 2011 and 2012, as well as Blues Broadcaster of the year and a Lifetime Achievement award in 2011.[20]

In January 2018 it was announced that he would be replaced as presenter of BBC Radio 2's Blues Show by Cerys Matthews in mid-May.[21] His last broadcast as presenter was on 23 April 2018; his live guest was Eric Bibb and his last song played was Sonny Boy Williamson's "Mighty Long Time" (1951) which he described as "one of my handful of most favourite blues records."[22]

Personal life[]

Jones attended Portsmouth Grammar School and the , moving to the Edinburgh Academy for his last two years of school before winning an Open Exhibition in English to Jesus College, Oxford, although he did not graduate.

Jones was first married (1963–1976) to novelist and reviewer Sheila MacLeod. There were two sons from the marriage, Matthew and Jacob. He is married to the former actress, and latterly Christian speaker, Fiona Hendley-Jones. They met whilst both acting at the National Theatre. He converted to Christianity in the mid-1980s as the result of being invited by Cliff Richard to a Luis Palau evangelistic event. Jones had appeared opposite Richard in the 1960s on a television debate show where he had, at the time, opposed Richard's viewpoint. In December 2013 Jones was featured in BBC One's Songs of Praise, performing and talking with Aled Jones about his faith.[23]

Jones was pictured with his son, Matthew, for the front cover of Radio Times in 1973, along with actor Jon Pertwee (then starring in Doctor Who) and broadcaster Michael Parkinson.[24]

Solo discography[]

Jones on the Dutch television programme Fanclub, 1967

Albums[]

  • My Way (1966)
  • Sings Privilege & Others (1967)
  • Love Me, Love My Friends (1968)
  • Come into My Music Box (1969)
  • Crucifix in a Horseshoe (1972)
  • Starting All Over Again (2009)
  • Suddenly I Like It (2015)

Hit singles[]

  • "High Time" (1966) — UK #4,[25] NZ #10
  • "I Can't Hold on Much Longer" (1966) - Canada #71[26]
  • "I've Been a Bad, Bad Boy" (1967) — UK #5, Ireland #10, NZ #9
  • "Thinkin' Ain't for Me" (1967) — UK #32
  • "Sons and Lovers" (1968) — NZ #6
  • "Poor Jenny" (1968) — NZ #5
  • "Aquarius" (1969) — UK #45
  • "Stop, Stop, Stop" (1977) — South Africa #15

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j "Biography by Richie Unterberger". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  2. ^ Tony Cummings (28 May 2010). "Paul Jones: The broadcaster's journey from militant atheist to Christian convert". Cross Rhythms.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  3. ^ Paul Jones on Blues Britannia, BBC4, 11 March 2011
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London, UK: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 160. CN 5585.
  5. ^ "Privilege (1967) - Derek Ware, Peter Watkins". AllMovie. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  6. ^ "The Protectors Season 2 Episode 7: Goodbye George". Itctv.wordpress.com. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 685/6. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  8. ^ "Great Big Groovy Horse - BBC Two England - 25 December 1975 - BBC Genome". Radio Times (England ed.). 209 (2719): 51. 18 December 1975. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Great Big Groovy Horse - BBC One London - 21 December 1977 - BBC Genome". Radio Times (London ed.). 217 (2823): 47. 15 December 1977. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  10. ^ Neil Miles (14 September 2016). "BBC1 Beat The Teacher - 1986". Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b ""Drake's Dream" (Original London Cast Recording)". Stage Door Records. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  12. ^ Andrew Male (13 October 2016). "Nagasaki the musical? The label bringing West End disasters back to life". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  13. ^ "The Blues Show". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  14. ^ "BBC Radio 2 Jingle Package 2012 - Highlights" – via YouTube.
  15. ^ Official Paul Jones web site, Bio, Pauljones.eu, retrieved 1 January 2019
  16. ^ RSC Performances Kiss Me Kate, Stratford-upon-Avon, Collections.shakespeare.org.uk, retrieved 1 January 2019
  17. ^ RSC Performances Kiss Me Kate, Old Vic, Collections.shakespeare.org.uk, retrieved 1 January 2019
  18. ^ "Nick Vernier Band with Paul Jones". Retrieved 22 May 2014 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ Roger Trobridge. "National Harmonica League (UK)". Harmonica.co.uk. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  20. ^ "Winners of the British Blues Awards 2011". British Blues Awards.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  21. ^ "Cerys Matthews replaces Radio 2 DJ Paul Jones after 30 years of The Blues Show". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Final Blues Show episode". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  23. ^ "Paul Jones". BBC Radio 2. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  24. ^ "Radio Times Cover". Radio Times. 15 December 1973. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019.
  25. ^ Paul Gambaccini, Tim Rice & Jo Rice (1989). British Hit Singles (7th ed.). Guinness Publishing Ltd.
  26. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2020.

External links[]

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