Jesus Jones
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2014}}
{{short description|English alternative rock band}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name = Jesus Jones
|image = Jesus Jones 2011.jpg
|caption = Jesus Jones performing in 2011
|image_size =
|background = group_or_band
|origin = Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England
|genre = {{flatlist|
- Alternative rock{{cite magazine |url=http://www.popmatters.com/feature/149146-right-there-right-then-jesus-jones-alternative-history-of-1991/ |title=Right There, Right Then: Jesus Jones' Alternative History of 1991 |last=Raggett |first=Ned |date=3 October 2011 |magazine=PopMatters |access-date=15 April 2017}}
- grebo{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-marquee-mw0001024970 |title=Jesus Jones - Live at the Marquee |last=Greene |first=Jo-Ann |website=AllMusic |access-date=13 April 2017}}
- dance-rock{{Cite journal| title=The Year In Music|journal=Spin|date=December 1991|volume=9|issue=9}}
- indie dance{{Cite book |title=The Alternative Hero |last=Thornton |first=Tim |publisher=Knopf Doubleday |year=2009 |isbn=978-0307272362|page=181}}
}}
|years_active = 1988–present
|label = {{flatlist|
}}
|associated_acts =
|website = {{url|www.jesusjones.com}}
|current_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 continue to record and perform, as of 2025.{{cite book | first= Martin C.| last= Strong | year= 2000 | title= The Great Rock Discography | edition= 5th | publisher= Mojo Books | location= Edinburgh | page= 504| isbn= 1-84195-017-3}}{{cite web| publisher=Jesus Jones| date=2024| title=Jesus Jones: Tour Dates| url=https://www.jesusjones.com/tour-dates/ |accessdate=2024-07-30}} Their track "Right Here, Right Now" was an international hit, and was subsequently globally licensed for promotional and advertising campaigns. The single was also nominated for a Grammy award at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1991, as was its album, Doubt.{{Cite web|date=2020-11-23|title=Jesus Jones|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/jesus-jones/7772|access-date=2021-01-25|website=GRAMMY.com|language=en}} They also achieved chart success with the songs "Real Real Real", "International Bright Young Thing" and "Info Freako".
Career
=''Liquidizer, Doubt'' and ''Perverse'' (1989–1995)=
In 1989 Jesus Jones released their debut album Liquidizer, featuring the singles "Info Freako", "Never Enough" and "Bring it on Down".
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.{{why?|date=September 2019}} 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.{{cite book | first= John | last= Tobler | year= 1992 | title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years | edition= 1st | publisher= Reed International Books Ltd | location= London | page= 486 | id= CN 5585}}{{cite book | first= David | last= Roberts | year= 2006 | title= British Hit Singles & Albums | edition= 19th | publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London | isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 282}} In June 1990, Jesus Jones appeared at the Glastonbury Festival.{{cite book | first= John | last= Tobler | year= 1992 | title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years | edition= 1st | publisher= Reed International Books Ltd | location= London | page= 471 | id= CN 5585}}
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. In 1991, Jesus Jones were the only UK winners when they won the Best New Artist award at the MTV Awards.{{cite book | first= John | last= Tobler | year= 1992 | title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years | edition= 1st | publisher= Reed International Books Ltd | location= London | page= 488 | id= CN 5585}} In April 1991, the British music magazine NME reported that their US tour had sold out before Jesus Jones arrived in the country.{{cite book | first= John | last= Tobler | year= 1992 | title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years | edition= 1st | publisher= Reed International Books Ltd | location= London | page= 483 | id= CN 5585}}
The follow-up to Doubt was Perverse (1993), a darker and more industrial based album, 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.{{cite web|author=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/perverse-mw0000095195 |title=Perverse – Jesus Jones | Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic |access-date=2015-12-28}}
=''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, and was published as a book to buy from the usual outlets. 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 (2004–2015)=
With the exception of the release of the Culture Vulture EP in 2004, no new material from the band had been released between 2001 and 2018. 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, such as London T+C 1991 and London Astoria 1993.
In 2005, the Live at the Marquee DVD was released on Secret Recordings of a filmed gig from 2002.
The single "Right Here, Right Now" was resurrected in 2006 as an advertising jingle for the American retailer Kmart, in an image campaign for CBS News, and in promotional advertisements for the now-defunct television channel TechTV. In 2007 Hillary Clinton used the track for her electoral campaign. Ford Motor Company used "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.{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10636151|title=Jesus Jones tune massacre|date=2010-04-04|publisher=nzherald.com}}
In 2011 the band released The Collection & Other Rarities, which included many of their B-side tracks as well as demos and rarities.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-collection-mw0002386585 |title=The Collection – Jesus Jones | Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic |access-date=2015-12-28}}
File:Mike Edwards - Jesus Jones.jpg
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.{{cite web|url=http://jesusjones.com/news/album-reissues-with-extras-cddvd-packs |title=Album Reissues with Extras CD+DVD packs |date=9 October 2014 |publisher=Jesus Jones |access-date=2015-12-28}}
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 was 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."{{cite web|url=http://sootmagazine.com/quick-dirty-jesus-jones/ |title=Quick & Dirty: Jesus Jones – Soot MagazineSoot Magazine |website=Sootmagazine.com |date=2015-12-21 |access-date=2015-12-28}}
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 three 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.{{cite web|url=http://jesusjones.com/news/jesus-jones-touring-australia-and-new-zealand-in-march-2015 |title=touring Australia and New Zealand in March 2015 |date=30 October 2014 |publisher=Jesus Jones |access-date=2015-12-28}}
= Later activities (2015-current) =
Jesus Jones have released further albums, namely "Passages" and "Voyages" in 2018 with further singles "Still Smiling" and "Animal Instinct" distributed online on youtube, spotify, bandcamp in 2024.
They continue to actively tour the world, with EMF UK dates in October 2025.
Band members
- Mike Edwards (born Michael James Edwards, 22 June 1964, Educated at St Laurence Secondary School in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, 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)
- Gary Thatcher - bass on selected dates.
- Iain Baker (born Iain Richard Foxwell Baker, 29 September 1965, Carshalton, Surrey) – keyboards, programming (1988–present)
- Gen (born Simon Edward Robert Matthews, 23 April 1964, Devizes, Wiltshire) – drums, additional percussion (1988–1997 then 2014–present)
;Former members
- Tony Arthy – drums (1999–2013)
Discography
=Studio albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Album details ! scope="col" colspan="10"| Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em;"| Certifications |
|---|
| style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| UK UK chart peaks:
! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| AUS
! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| CAN
! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| EUR
! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| FIN ! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| GER
! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| NED ! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| NZ ! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| SWE ! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| US |
| scope="row"| Liquidizer
| | 32 || 118 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| Doubt
|
| 1 || 23 || 35 || 10 || — || — || — || 6 || — || 25 |
|
| scope="row"| Perverse
|
| 6 || 32 || 38 || 39 || 13 || 96 || 63 || 50 || 29 || 59 | |
| scope="row"| Already
|
| 161 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| London
|
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| Passages
|
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | |
| Voyages
|
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| align="center" colspan="15" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
=Compilation albums=
- 1993 Scratched: Unreleased Rare Tracks & Remixes (Japan only)
- 1999 Greatest Hits
- 2002 Never Enough: The Best of Jesus Jones
- 2011 The Collection: A Selection of Band Favourites and Rarities
- 2018 Zeroes and Ones: The Best of Jesus Jones (2-CD compilation)
- 2022 Some of the Answers (15-CD boxed set)
=EPs=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" style="width:2em;"| Year ! rowspan="2" style="width:8em;"| Title ! rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Tracks ! colspan="1"| Peak chart positions |
| style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| UK |
|---|
| 1989
| style="text-align:left;"| Food Christmas |
| 63 |
| 2004
| style="text-align:left;"| Culture Vulture |
| — |
| 2016
| style="text-align:left;"| How's This Even Going Down? |
| — |
| 2016
|Suck it Up |
| - |
| 2019
|Liquidizer EP |
| - |
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
=Singles=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" style="width:2em;"| Year ! rowspan="2" style="width:15em;"| Title ! colspan="10"| Peak chart positions !rowspan="2" style="width:8em;"| Album | |||||||||
| style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| UK ! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| AUS
! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| CAN
! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| EUR
! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| FIN ! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| GER
! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| NED ! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| NZ ! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| US ! style="width:2em;font-size:90%;"| US | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="3"| 1989
| style="text-align:left;"| "Info Freako" | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —
| rowspan="3"| Liquidizer |
| style="text-align:left;"| "Never Enough"
| 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| style="text-align:left;"| "Bring It on Down"
| 46 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| rowspan="3"| 1990
| style="text-align:left;"| "Real Real Real" | 19 | 117 | 10 | 48 | — | — | 59 | 37 | 4 | 26
| rowspan="5"| Doubt |
| style="text-align:left;"| "Right Here, Right Now"
| 31 | 35 | 18 | 87 | 13 | 84 | 61 | 29 | 2 | 1 |
| style="text-align:left;"| "International Bright Young Thing"
| 7 | 79 | 58 | 29 | — | — | — | 22 | — | 6 |
| rowspan="2"| 1991
| style="text-align:left;"| "Who? Where? Why?" | 21 | 167 | — | 82 | — | — | — | 48 | — | — |
| style="text-align:left;"| "Right Here, Right Now" (re-issue)
| 31 | — | — | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1992
| style="text-align:left;"| "The Devil You Know" | 10 | 54 | 47 | 34 | — | — | 77 | 15 | — | 1
| rowspan="3"| Perverse |
| rowspan="2"| 1993
| style="text-align:left;"| "The Right Decision" | 36 | 184 | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 |
| style="text-align:left;"| "Zeroes and Ones"
| 30 | — | — | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| rowspan="2"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| "The Next Big Thing" | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —
| rowspan="2"| Already |
| style="text-align:left;"| "Chemical No.1"
| 71 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| rowspan="3"| 2002
| style="text-align:left;"| "Nowhere Slow" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —
| rowspan="3"| London |
| style="text-align:left;"| "Come on Home"
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| style="text-align:left;"| "In the Face of All of This"
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005
| style="text-align:left;"| "Right Here Right Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —
| {{N/A|Non-album single}} |
| rowspan="2"| 2016
| style="text-align:left;"| "How's This Even Going Down?" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —
| rowspan="2"| Passages |
| style="text-align:left;"| "Suck it Up"
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| colspan="15" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
=Video albums=
- 1991 Big in Alaska
=Other=
- 1990 Live (a.k.a. Move Mountains & 4 More) (US-only live 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)
- 2005 Live at the Marquee (Live DVD)
- 2008 The Remixes (Remix download album)
- 2010 BBC in Concert 26th February 1991 London T+C
- 2010 BBC in Concert 30th March 1993 London Astoria
- 2013 Liquidizer Live DVD
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite magazine|title=Jesus Jones|magazine=Music Technology|page=50|date=January 1990|volume=4|issue=2|issn=0957-6606|oclc=24835173}}
External links
- [http://www.jesusjones.com Official website]
- [https://www.jesusjonesarchive.info Archive of gigs, discography, history & photos]
- [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jesus-jones-p4608 Allmusic entry for Jesus Jones]
- [https://www.cmapworld.org cmapworld.org] fansite.
- [https://www.facebook.com/JesusJonesOfficialFanClub/ Facebook official fan group]
{{Jesus Jones}}
{{MTV Video Music Award for Push Best New Artist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:English alternative rock groups
Category:English electronic music groups
Category:Musical groups established in 1986
Category:Musical groups from Wiltshire