Michael Geoffrey Jones (born 26 June 1955) is a British musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as co-founder and lead guitarist of punk rock band the Clash, until his dismissal by frontman Joe Strummer in 1983. In 1984, he formed Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts. Jones has played with the band Carbon/Silicon along with Tony James (formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik) since 2002 and was part of the Gorillaz live band for a world tour in 2010. In late 2011, Jones collaborated with Pete Wylie and members of the Farm to form the Justice Tonight Band.
Michael Geoffrey Jones was born on 26 June 1955 in Wandsworth, London, England, to a Welsh father, Tommy Jones, and a Russian Jewish mother, Renee Zegansky. He spent much of his early life living with his maternal grandmother, Stella Class, who was born in 1899 to Jewish parents in Russia and escaped the Russian pogroms by migrating to the United Kingdom. Jones' cousin is Grant Shapps, the former Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield. Jones went to Strand School in south London, and the West London School of Art (Chelsea College of Art), because "[he] thought that's how you get into bands and stuff".
But even before the [New York] Dolls, I used to follow bands around. I followed Mott the Hoople up and down the country. I'd go to Liverpool or Newcastle or somewhere—sleep on the Town Hall steps, and bunk the fares on the trains, hide in the toilet when the ticket inspector came around. I'd jump off just before the train got to the station and climb over the fence. It was great times, and I always knew I wanted to be in a band and play guitar. That was it for me.
He started gaining recognition as a guitarist in the early 1970s with his glam rock band, the Delinquents. A short time later, he met Tony James and formed the proto-punk band London SS. By 1976, that band had broken up and remaining members Jones, Paul Simonon and Keith Levene were seeking a new direction.
When Jones 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 for the band. One of the songs he wrote, "Train in Vain", was allegedly about Jones' relationship with Viv Albertine, guitarist of the Slits. Following the release of Combat Rock, the Clash were at the height of their popularity in 1983, but a "toxic" atmosphere had developed within the band. Jones wanted to take a break and rest, while Strummer and Simonon wished to take advantage of their recent success and continue working. Strummer later described Jones as having become "intolerable" to work with during this time, often failing to show up, and when he did, acting like "Elizabeth Taylor in a filthy mood." Meanwhile, the personal relationship between Jones and Simonon had deteriorated to the point they were not on speaking terms, with Simonon feeling the band had to fire Jones or break up. Strummer and Simonon fired him on 1 September 1983. Jones later expressed remorse for his behavior, stating, "I was just carried away really, I wish I had a bit more control." His departure marked "the beginning of the end" for the Clash, who released one poorly-received album without Jones then disbanded.
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.
While promoting the band's 2013 box set, Sound System, which Jones says will be the final time he works on Clash music, he discussed the band reuniting prior to Strummer's death.There were a few moments at the time I was up for it (Hall of Fame reunion in 2003), Joe was up for it. Paul wasn't. And neither, probably, was Topper Headon, who didn't wind up even coming in the end. It didn't look like a performance was going to happen anyway. I mean, you usually play at that ceremony when you get in. Joe had passed by that point, so we didn't. We were never in agreement. It was never at a point where all of us wanted to do it at the same time. Most importantly for us, we became friends again after the group broke up, and continued that way for the rest of the time. That was more important to us than the band.
In an October 2013 interview with BBC Radio 6 Music, Jones confirmed that Strummer did have intentions of a Clash reunion and in fact new music was being written for a possible studio album. In the months prior to Strummer's death, Jones and Strummer began working on new music for what he thought would be the next Mescaleros studio album. Jones said "We wrote a batch – we didn't use to write one, we used to write a batch at a time – like gumbo. The idea was he was going to go into the studio with the Mescaleros during the day and then send them all home. I'd come in all night and we'd all work all night." Jones said months had passed following their work together when he ran into Strummer at an event. Jones was curious as to what would become of the songs he and Strummer were working on and Strummer informed him that they were going to be used for the next Clash album.
After his expulsion from the Clash, Jones was a founding member of General Public, with vocalists Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger of the Beat. Though he is listed in the credits of the band's 1984 debut studio 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, however, including the North American top 40 single "Tenderness".
Leaving General Public behind, Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite in 1984 with film director Don Letts, who had directed various Clash music videos and later the Clash documentary Westway to the World (2000). The band's debut studio 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 studio album, No. 10, Upping St. (1986), 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 studio album, Tighten Up, Vol. 88 (1988), featured album cover art painted by 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 studio album with Big Audio Dynamite, Megatop Phoenix (1989), before reshuffling the line-up, renaming the band Big Audio Dynamite II and releasing The Globe (1991) album. The BAD II line-up had an international No. 1 hit with their song "Rush", topping the Billboard Modern Rock charts in the US 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 line-up was reshuffled again in 1994, and they released the studio album Higher Power (1994) 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 studio 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.
In 2002, Jones teamed up with his former London SS colleague, Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik member Tony James to form a new band named Carbon/Silicon. The band has toured the United Kingdom and the United States and has performed a number of anti-fascist benefit concerts; they have also recorded four studio albums: A.T.O.M (2006), Western Front (2006), The Crackup Suite (2007) and The Carbon Bubble (2009), which were available online for free. Their first physical CD release was The News EP. The band encourage their fans to share their music on P2P networks, and allow the audio and video taping of their shows. Their first song, "MPFree", is an anthem for P2P file sharing.