Steve Jones (musician)
Stephen Philip Jones (born 3 September 1955) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of the punk band Sex Pistols. Following the split of the Sex Pistols, he formed the Professionals with former bandmate Paul Cook. He has released two solo albums, and worked with Johnny Thunders, Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick, Bob Dylan and Thin Lizzy. In 1995, he formed the short-lived supergroup Neurotic Outsiders with members of Guns N' Roses and Duran Duran. He played with Suicidal Tendencies frontman Mike Muir's Cyco Miko, which is still an ongoing project. Jones was ranked #97 in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[4]
Steve Jones
Stephen Philip Jones
3 September 1955[1][2]
Shepherd's Bush, London, England[1]
Chipping Barnet, Hertfordshire, England
- Musician
- songwriter
- Guitar
- vocals
1972–present
Generation Sex[3]
Early life[edit]
Jones was born in Shepherd's Bush,[1][5] London, where he grew up with his young mother, who worked as a hairdresser, and his grandparents. He first moved to Benbow Road in Shepherd's Bush and then to Nine Elms in Battersea. Jones befriended future bandmate Paul Cook in his childhood. He was an only child and his father, Don Jarvis, a professional boxer, left when he was two years old. He revealed in his 2016 autobiography Lonely Boy that he was sexually abused by his stepfather, Ron Dambagella, which he blamed for his later sex addiction and inability to form lasting relationships.[6]
He was a student at the Christopher Wren School, now Phoenix High School, London in White City Estate, Shepherd's Bush, though he rarely attended. He revealed that he was functionally illiterate until he was in his 40s.[7] With 14 criminal convictions, he was the subject of a council-care order and spent a year in a remand centre, which he said was more enjoyable than being at home. Jones has said that the Sex Pistols saved him from a life of crime.
Career[edit]
1970s[edit]
Jones co-founded The Strand (named after a Roxy Music song) with Paul Cook and Wally Nightingale in the early 1970s but later changed its name to The Swankers. After the band dropped Nightingale in August 1975 they reformed as the Sex Pistols with Jones, Cook, Glen Matlock, and John Lydon. Jones was the oldest member of the band.
In October 1976, Jones was filmed as an extra in the movie The Squeeze, released in 1977.[8]
Jones is a self-taught guitar player, primarily playing Gibson Les Paul electric guitars in his early years. He had allegedly only been playing for three months before his first Sex Pistols gig, and has said that practising under the influence of black beauties helped him focus well on learning the instrument.[9]
His usual guitar was a cream-coloured Gibson Les Paul Custom which Malcolm McLaren had acquired from Sylvain Sylvain of The New York Dolls. According to the Sex Pistols documentary The Filth and the Fury, he had stolen equipment from a truck parked behind the Hammersmith Odeon where David Bowie was playing the Ziggy Farewell concerts, when he and some of his friends posed as road-crew members, stealing amplifiers and other equipment.
Bill Price, the engineer on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, called Jones one of the tightest guitar players he has ever worked with; this is due to his "chuggy" playing in the studio as Price described it as having very little sustain and echo, which required overdubs to hide.
Due to bassist Sid Vicious's musical incompetence, Jones played the primary bass-guitar parts for "Bodies" and "Holidays in the Sun" on Never Mind the Bollocks (a part played by Vicious is buried in the mix on "Bodies" and Matlock appears on the other songs as they had previously been recorded as singles and B-sides).[10]
When the Sex Pistols were interviewed by Bill Grundy on the Thames Television's local news Today programme on 1 December 1976, Jones swore at Grundy after being goaded to do so, assisting the notoriety of the band.[11]
Equipment[edit]
While with the Sex Pistols, Jones mostly played two Gibson Les Paul Customs,[23] a black 1954 Gibson Les Paul Custom and his most famous white 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom (with the pin-up girls on it) that formerly belonged to Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls.[24] In the late '90s, Jones was offered free Burny Les Paul Customs, straps, picks and cables if he played their guitar. They made two models for him which he used on the 2002–2003 North American Piss Off Tour. At around 2005 he went back to using Gibsons, but has still been seen playing his Burny. In 2008, Gibson put out a "Steve Jones Signature Les Paul Model"[25] to the exact specs of his original white 1974 Les Paul Custom.
While Jones typically, since the 1980s, plays through Marshall JCM 800 Stacks, he used a silverface Fender Twin Reverb (reportedly stolen from Bob Marley at the Hammersmith Apollo) with Gauss speakers to record Never Mind The Bollocks.[23][24] He also used Musicman Amps and a Fender Super Reverb during the 1978 US Tour.
Jones also plays Hamer Sunburst double-cut guitars, and prefers the White Les Paul Custom as his primary guitar.
Jonesy's Jukebox[edit]
In February 2004, Jones began hosting a daily radio program in Los Angeles, called Jonesy's Jukebox, on Indie 103.1 FM, where he could do whatever he wanted (within FCC rules), with no direction from station management. Jones mixed an eclectic playlist with rambling and often humorous interviews of guests from the entertainment industry. He kept an acoustic guitar in the studio and frequently performed stream of consciousness songs about the current topic of discussion. Notable guests included Eddie Vedder, Chrissie Hynde, Johnny Ramone, Billy Corgan, Susanna Hoffs, Leif Garrett, Brian Wilson, Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop, Josh Homme, Robert Plant, Gary Oldman, Corey Taylor and Johnny Rotten.[26]
Indie 103.1's last broadcast of Jonesy's Jukebox was on 14 January 2009. Indie 103.1 ceased to exist as a broadcast-radio station on 15 January 2009.[27][28] In November 2009, he guested on BBC Radio's 6Music with five Sunday shows, titled A Month of Sundays with Steve Jones, playing a mix of tunes from his childhood through to the current day. In December 2009, the show was revived and ran via internet radio on IAmRogue.com, a website run by producer Ryan Kavanaugh.[28][29] This incarnation of the show ended in late March 2010.[28] Jones was picked up by LA radio Station, KROQ, in October 2010 to continue his Jonesy's Jukebox segment.[28][30] Jones's last show on KROQ was March 2013.
Jonesy's Jukebox returned to the radio in late 2015 on 95.5 KLOS in Los Angeles. Starting 1 January 2016, the show expanded to five days a week, Monday to Friday. KLOS is a mainstream classic rock station featuring bands like Van Halen, Aerosmith and Pink Floyd. Guests on the show often reflect the KLOS format and have included Paul Cook, Lars Ulrich, Dave Mustaine, Simple Minds, Paul Stanley, Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Danny Trejo, Puddles Pity Party, Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, Gary Oldman, Johnny Depp, Lenny Kravitz, Judas Priest, Yes, Juliette Lewis, Bill Burr, Mike Tramp, The Zombies, Brian May, Jack Black, David Coverdale, Rob Schneider, Stewart Copeland, Rick Springfield, Retta, John Cooper Clarke, Seymour Stein, Dave Davies, Micky Dolenz, Duff McKagan, Corey Taylor, Linda Ramone, Fred Armisen, Billy Idol, Chris Jericho, Liz Carey, Carmine Appice, Gary Numan, Josh Homme, Adam Sandler, Ace Frehley, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Jerry Cantrell, Kim Thayil, Mike McCready and Anthony Kiedis. Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy are frequent recurring guests.[31] Beginning late 2019, due to Jones' health, following a heart attack, the show was cut back to once a week.
In 2018 Steve Jones received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame due to his work as a radio disc jocky. [32]
Personal life[edit]
Around 1990 Jones was able to quit drugs and alcohol with the help of a 12-step program.[33] Jones is a vegetarian.[34] In 2019, Jones had surgery following a heart attack.[35] He has never married[36] and resides in Southern California, where he has worked as a disc jockey on several local radio stations. Jones is a supporter of Chelsea F.C., having supported the club since his childhood.[37]
Jones was portrayed by Tony London in the 1986 Alex Cox film Sid and Nancy and by Toby Wallace in the 2022 Craig Pearce - Danny Boyle FX biographical drama miniseries Pistol.