Brian Jones

by Alan Clayson

Although he wasn't someone you'd trust with either your heart or your wallet, Brian Jones was the most rock 'n' roll of the Rolling Stones, the group that - alongside The Beatles - soundtracked the 1960s. He was the epitome of the doomed rock hero, characterized by a loveless upbringing, bohemian wanderings, illegitimate offspring, drug busts, neurotic self-absorption and a tragic death.
As founder member of The Rolling Stones, it was Jones who determined the early musical direction of the band, secured the bookings and took care of the business. Yet, as their fame gathered momentum, Jones's creative input was sidelined by the overpowering Jagger-Richards songwriting partnership and the inevitable effects of an increasing dependence on drink and drugs, culminating in his 'sacking' in June 1969, one month before his death.
Brian Jones launched a six-volume study of The Rolling Stones with an enlightening account of the tortured life of the man who plummeted from the heights of adulation to the depths of despair, leaving the band he started to enjoy a further 30-plus years of music making.

Genres: Music

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Alan Clayson (Dover, England, 1951) is of a late 1970s vintage of composer-entertainers that also embraces the likes of Wreckless Eric, Tom Robinson, Elvis Costello and John Otway. While he is still making regular concert appearances, he has become better known as an author of around thirty books - mostly musical biography. These include the best-sellers "Backbeat" (subject of a major film), The Yardbirds and The Beatles book box.

He has written for journals as diverse as The Guardian, Record Collector, Ink, Mojo, Mediaeval World, Folk Roots, Guitar, Hello!, Drummer, The Times, The Independent, Ugly Things and, as a 'teenager, the notorious Schoolkids 0z. He has also been engaged to perform and lecture on both sides of the Atlantic - as well as broadcast on national TV and radio.

From 1975 to 1985, he led the legendary Clayson and the Argonauts - who reformed in 2005, ostensibly to launch Sunset On A Legend, a long-awaited double-CD retrospective - and was thrust to 'a premier position on rock's Lunatic Fringe' (Melody Maker).

As shown by the existence of a US fan club - dating from an 1992 soiree in Chicago - Alan Clayson's following grows still as well as demand for his talents as a record producer, and the number of versions of his compositions by such diverse acts as Dave Berry (in whose backing group, he played keyboards in the mid-1980s), New Age Outfit, Stairway - and Joy Tobing, winner of the Indonesian version of Pop Idol. He has worked too with The Portsmouth Sinfonia, Wreckless Eric, Twinkle, The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things, Mark Astronaut and the late Screaming Lord Sutch among many others. While his stage act defies succinct description, he has been labelled a 'chansonnier' in recent years for performances and record releases that may stand collectively as Alan Clayson's artistic apotheosis were it not for a promise of surprises yet to come.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some new material here about the late Brian Jones, founding member of The Rolling Stones. I will say that it is a little bit of a strange read because the writer, Alan Clayson, uses (rightfully so) English slang words that most typical American readers won't pick up on. I like the music from The Rolling Stones, especially their early work, and this book deals with Brian Jones & The Stones from their origins as a group to Brian's death in the summer of 1969.

A quick read at around 200 pages. Good book for any person that likes Brian Jones or The Rolling Stones.

[Eamonn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed many of Alan Claysons writings on sixties groups. He's very good at capturing the essence of groups like the Nashville Teens. I tend to avoid Beatles & Stones related titles as they tend to go over the same ground. This isn't necessarily guilty of that, but it's like reading a partial Stones biog. Interesting but not particularly revelatory.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent bio of the enigma who founded the Stones. New material and well worth a read for the obsessed.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book on an enigmatic musician whose history has been further blurred by a mysterious death as well as by the fact that the band he founded went on to greater success without him.