Jesus Jones

Jesus Jones
Jesus Jones performing in 2011
Background information
Origin Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England
Genres
Years active 1988–present
Labels
Website www.jesusjones.com
Members
  • Mike Edwards
  • Jerry De Borg
  • Al Doughty
  • Iain Baker
  • Gen (Simon Matthews)
Past members Tony Arthy

Jesus Jones are a British alternative rock band from Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, formed in late 1988, who recorded and performed from the late 1980s to the 2000s.[5] Their track "Right Here, Right Now" was an international hit, and was subsequently globally licensed for promotional and advertising campaigns. They also achieved chart success with the songs "Real Real Real", "International Bright Young Thing" and "Info Freako".

Career

Formation and Liquidizer (1986–1989)

Incorporating elements of electronic music styles such as house and techno to an indie rock format, along with fellow British groups such as The Shamen, Pop Will Eat Itself and EMF, Jesus Jones were one of the leading purveyors of the early 1990s alternative dance scene. In late 1988, while on holiday in Spain, Mike Edwards, Iain Baker, and Jerry DeBorg decided to leave the band they were in at the time, and form their own band. The name of the band came about when they realised that they were three "Joneses" sitting on a beach in Spain surrounded by people called Jesus.

They achieved initial critical acclaim with their 1989 album Liquidizer, and in particular, the single "Info Freako", which featured buzzing rock guitars with samples and a hip-hop sensibility, relatively new at the time.[5] The track was particularly championed by Bruno Brookes on his BBC Radio 1 programme.

Doubt and Perverse (1990–1995)

In the spring of 1990, Jesus Jones recorded their second album, Doubt, but their record label was forced to delay its release until the beginning of 1991. The album sold well, due to the success of "Right Here, Right Now". The song is about the swift end of the Cold War, and reached No. 2 in the US and No. 31 in the UK.[6][7] In June 1990, Jesus Jones appeared at the Glastonbury Festival.[8]

Other singles from Doubt included "Real, Real, Real" and "International Bright Young Thing", which became two of their biggest hit singles in the UK, reaching No. 19 and No. 7 respectively in the UK Singles Chart.[7] In 1991, Jesus Jones were the only UK winners when they won the 'Best New Artist' award at the MTV Awards.[9] In April 1991, the British music magazine NME reported that their US tour had sold out before Jesus Jones arrived in the country.[10]

The follow-up to Doubt was Perverse (1993), which, though a big seller, did not reach the worldwide hit status of Doubt. Perverse was one of the first rock albums recorded entirely digitally.[11]

Already and London (1996–2003)

After the release of the Perverse album, Jesus Jones took an extended hiatus and did not return to the recording studio until December 1996. After the recording of their fourth album, drummer Gen left the band before the album was released. They released their fourth album, titled Already, in 1997 after which Jesus Jones and their record label EMI parted company. The final months of the band are chronicled in the PDF book written by Mike Edwards "Death Threats From An 8 Year Old In The Seychelles", which was available for a time from the band's website. The band remained in contact and came back with a new drummer Tony Arthy with the low-selling London in 2001 on the indie record label Mi5 Recordings. EMI issued Never Enough: the Best of Jesus Jones, a greatest hits compilation album whilst the band moved from the North American-only Mi5 to the newly established Mi5 Recordings UK.

Later activities (2004–present)

With the exception of the release of the Culture Vulture EP in 2004 no new material from the band has been released. However, in 2010, a series of download albums were released to Amazon.co.uk. The release consisted of six different albums containing 'in concert' performances at the BBC. Most were EPs but a few were live albums.

The single "Right Here, Right Now" was resurrected in 2006 as an advertising jingle for the American retailer Kmart, an image campaign for CBS News, and was used in promotional advertisements for the now defunct television channel, TechTV. Ford Motors was using "Right Here, Right Now" in their 2010 televisual advertising campaign. A cover of the song was also recorded by New Zealand band The Feelers to use in advertising for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.[12] In 2011 the band released The Collection & Other Rarities, which included many of their B-side tracks as well as demos and rarities.[13]

In November 2014 EMI reissued all four of the band's albums in a special CD+DVD bundle. In addition to the original album's tracks the reissues feature radio sessions, long-deleted b-sides, rare remixes and alternate versions. The DVDs include rare live concert footage and other extras.[14]

In a 2015 interview for the online periodical 'Soot Magazine' band leader Mike Edwards acknowledged that, besides re-recording some older tracks with new arrangements, he is in the process of writing material for a new album: "I am writing new stuff – I was actually writing some new material yesterday and I have loads of little bits and pieces ticking over."[15]

Since the mid-2000s, Jesus Jones have continued performing live. In August 2011 the band went on a short tour (dubbed on one poster "The World's Smallest World Tour"), playing 3 shows in Australia before closing with a show in Japan. In November 2011 the band were due to perform in the UK in Birmingham and London, but the dates were postponed due to bass player Al Doughty being ill. They took place in January 2012. The band also toured the UK in December 2013 as part of The Wonder Stuff's 'Sleigh The UK' tour. In March 2015 the band again returned to Australia and New Zealand for a five city tour.[16]

On 24 December 2013 the band announced the resignation of drummer Tony Arthy. Having been with the band for 13 years, Arthy had replaced original drummer Simon 'Gen' Matthew who had left after the rocky completion of Already. On 1 January 2014 the band announced that 'Gen' would be rejoining the band.[17]

The band announced that a new album will be released in 2017 called Passages. On November 9, 2017, Iain Baker posted an update via PledgeMusic.com that the album release was being postponed until April 20, 2018 due mainly to the logistics of the release.

Band members

  • Mike Edwards (born Michael James Edwards, 22 June 1964, Educated at St Laurence Secondary School in Bradford on Avon, Witshire, England) (London) – vocals, guitars, keyboards (1988–present)
  • Jerry De Borg (born Jerry de Abela Borg 30 October 1960, Kentish Town, London) – guitars (1988–present)
  • Al Doughty (born Alan Jaworski, 31 January 1966, Plymouth) – bass (1988–present)
  • Iain Baker (born Iain Richard Foxwell Baker, 29 September 1965, Carshalton, Surrey) – keyboards, programming(1988–present)
  • Gen (born Simon Edward Robert Matthews, 23 July 1964, Devizes, Wiltshire) – drums, additional percussion (1988–1997 then 2014–present)
Former members
  • Tony Arthy – drums (1999–2013)

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album UK US Sales
1989 Liquidizer 31 —
1991 Doubt 1 25
1993 Perverse 6 59
1997 Already 161 —
2001 London — —
2018 Passages — —

Compilation albums

EPs

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
UK
[19]		 US
 US
Main.
 US
Alt.
1989 "Info Freako" 42 — — — Liquidizer
"Never Enough" 42 — — —
"Bring It on Down" 46 — — —
1990 "Real Real Real" 19 4 — 26 Doubt
"Right Here, Right Now" 31 2 7 1
"International Bright Young Thing" 7 — — 6
1991 "Who? Where? Why?" 21 — — —
"Right Here, Right Now" (re-release) 31 — — —
"Welcome Back Victoria" (promo) — — — —
1992 "The Devil You Know" 10 — — 1 Perverse
1993 "The Right Decision" 36 — — 12
"Zeroes and Ones" 30 — — —
1997 "The Next Big Thing" 49 — — — Already
"Chemical No.1" 71 — — —
2002 "Nowhere Slow" — — — — London
"Come on Home" — — — —
"In the Face of All of This" — — — —
2005 "Right Here Right Now"
(Robbie Rivera featuring Jesus Jones)		 — — — — Non-album single
2016 "How's This Even Going Down?" — — — — Passages
2016 "Suck It Up" — — — —

Video albums

  • Big in Alaska (1991)

Other

  • 1989, The Food Christmas EP 1989 (EP with Crazy Head and Diesel Park West)
  • 1990, Live (a.k.a. Move Mountains & 4 More) (US-only live EP)
  • 1991, Who? Where Why? (Crisis Mix) (Remix EP)
  • 1991, Live in Alaska (German-only live VHS)
  • 1993, A Perverse Conversation with Jesus Jones (US-only interview promo)
  • 1993, Zeroes & Heroes (Double EP)
  • 1997, 4 Track Sampler for Promo Only (Promo EP)
  • 1998, Back 2 Back Hits (US-only 'Best of' with EMF)
  • 2002, Never Enough The Best of Jesus Jones (Videos DVD)
  • 2003, Live at the Marquee (Live DVD)
  • 2005, Live at the Marquee (Live download album)
  • 2008, The Remixes (Remix download album)
  • 2010, BBC in Concert 26th February 1991 (Live download album)

References

  1. ↑ Raggett, Ned (3 October 2011). "Right There, Right Then: Jesus Jones' Alternative History of 1991". PopMatters. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Greene, Jo-Ann. "Jesus Jones - Live at the Marquee". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "The Year In Music". Spin. 9 (9). December 1991.
  4. ↑ Thornton, Tim (2009). The Alternative Hero. Knopf Doubleday. p. 181. ISBN 0307272362.
  5. 1 2 Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. p. 504. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  6. ↑ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 486. CN 5585.
  7. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 282. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  8. ↑ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 471. CN 5585.
  9. ↑ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 488. CN 5585.
  10. ↑ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 483. CN 5585.
  11. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Perverse – Jesus Jones | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  12. ↑ "Jesus Jones tune massacre". nzherald.com. 2010-04-04.
  13. ↑ "The Collection – Jesus Jones | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  14. ↑ "Album Reissues with Extras CD+DVD packs". Jesus Jones. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  15. ↑ "Quick & Dirty: Jesus Jones – Soot MagazineSoot Magazine". Sootmagazine.com. 2015-12-21. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  16. ↑ "touring Australia and New Zealand in March 2015". Jesus Jones. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  17. ↑ "Jesus Jones". Facebook. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  18. 1 2 "Certified Awards Search" (To access, enter the search parameter "Jesus Jones" and tick "Exact match"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
  19. ↑ "Jesus Jones – The Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. The Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
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