I am please to announce that I have released a new digital single as of 22nd March. It’s a reworking of a song written and recorded for the Critically acclaimed Department S album When All Is Said And All Is Done, which was released in 2016 on Westworld/Plastichead.
This is being released on Pete Jones’ label Jabberjab ART and Media UK.
I have taken the original recording and re-recorded guitar and vocal parts to freshen it up a bit, perfect for these apocalyptic times. It can be downloaded at the usual digital outlets but my preference is CDBaby who I’ve worked with for many years and I trust them to pass on the money
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Musicians playing on this are:
Pete Jones: Guitars, bass, vocals, synths, programming
A wonderful night was had by all at the Rock n Roll Book Club earlier in February at the Dublin Castle. It is usually held on the first wednesday of every month run by Bugbear Promotions (Tony Gleed) and the very talented Julie Hamill who probed Pete Jones to within a plectrum of his life with a live interview. The evening also saw the debut appearance from Southdown Laundry Club who delivered two remarkably powerful pieces of poetry/soundscape work. Check it out. (Warning: Explicit language). It really was a hoot..comedy gold in fact.
Pete Jones Interview with Julie Hamill
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Furthermore….. To round off a wonderful evening, The Rock N Roll Book Club band took to the stage! A special one-off performance starring Pete Jones, Leigh Heggarty (Ruts DC) Alan Galaxy (Ex-Department S) Andy Thompson (The Tuesday Club) Spizzenergi and his guitarist Luca Commencini, Eddie Roxy (Department S). They played a number of Public Image songs from the first two albums which sounded immense, sung by Andy Thompson. Spizz joined in for a very rough rendition of This Is Not a Love Song and Public Image. If only he had managed to remember the words it would have been ok! It was all done in good fun though and everyone had a laugh. To round the music off, Eddie Roxy got up to sing a couple of Department S songs – On My Own Again and of course, Is Vic There?
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A great night was had by all. The audience was a star-studded affair; Duncan Reid, members of Spizzenergi’s band, Paul Simon from Pete’s old band Cowboys International and both members of Rogue Sector all came looking for free beer, to no avail! ha ha…
The only downside of the evening was that I managed to catch a massive wood splinter behind my finger nail which is now hanging off!…ouch!
I am thoroughly pleased to announce that I shall be appearing in person at the February 2020 Rock N Roll Book Club event, staged at the Dublin Castle in London’s Camden Town. I will be interviewed live by Julie Hamill talking about my new book, “They Call Me Joyless” and all things related to PiL, Department S, Brian Brain et al. followed by a one-off performance of an all-star band put together specially for the event. Tony Gleed will be spinning discs to keep the toes a tapping.
Be there or be absent
The Pete Jones Book Club All Star Rock Combo Band UK Ltd.
We will be performing mainly PiL material with some extra surprises and guests thrown in for good measure (and possibly thrown right out again!). We will be following the traditional Public Image Ltd. format in that there will be no rehearsals, set lists or song lengths agreed before hand. It could be a train wreck! but excitingly watchable nonetheless.
Tickets are only £6 and are available from www.wegottickets.com or £8 on the door (if it doesn’t sell out). Put the date in your diary; Weds 5th Feb 2020 7:30pm start.
The album is a limited edition release and is numbered, coloured, 180gm vinyl in a gatefold sleeve. It’s a beautiful piece of work. Leigh Heggarty from Ruts DC is guest guitarist on the track Psycho Drill
This is likely to sell out fast so reserve your copy now!!
I have some pre-release promo CD copies of my new album, CONTRIVANCES FOR THE SOUL, available for review. Please mail me at: jabberjab@hotmail.com if you’d like a copy.
It’s release time again.. Psycho Drill (Rogue Sector Remix) is available as a digital download from Friday 3rd May from all your favourite outlets. Those clever chaps from Rogue Sector have cut and diced a track from my forthcoming album, Contrivances For The Soul, and served up a real treat.. please check it out and let me know what you think. There will also be a video available so look out for that too.
It’s not a new song. I wrote and recorded it in 2007 but it never got a release so I thought I’d give it an airing now. Thanks for your support.
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In other news; I have been managing building work at my house including the inclusion of new studio space so its all been a bit chaotic for the last few months.
It’s all finished now, back amongst the leafy glades of Harpenden which is uplifting at this time of year. I have completed connecting up bits of gear after unravelling all the cables so ready to crack on with new and existing projects.
Stay safe fuckers! Keep in touch via the mailing list
After 100 shows, my last Department S gig went with a bang at Minehead last weekend. It was a weekend of mixed emotions; I was quite sad that my tenure with the band was coming to an end but I was reminded of how many lovely people I’ve met along the way. I got a bit carried away flinging my guitar around at the end of the set but it seems to have survived. Those Fender basses can take a great deal of punishment. Thanks to all those that have supported me over the last 5 years, I’ve made loads of new friends and I hope to see you at a gig some time soon.
Minehead is a great festival and this year had some massive performances from the likes of The Undertones, The Skids, The Rezillos, The Vapors, The Members, Toyah, 999 and Big Country.
Pic Steve white
It was also a weekend that saw Phil Thompson doubling up on guitar duties by playing his first gig with the Rezillios. It was a bit strange standing in the crowd watching him play with another band, as if he was cheating on me! He played a blinder and the band sounded as good as ever. I’m looking forward to hearing the results of new recordings from them later in the year.
I‘m gonna spend some time on the sofa, and work some more on my solo material. The Contrivances For The Soul album is still due for June this year and in the meantime, the Psycho Drill single and Rogue Sector remix are doing well. I will be thinking about returning to the live stage later in the year with a brand new line-up. Watch this space, but dont hold your breath.
You’ll see a new track released soon. It’s an old recording form 2008 but it never was released properly so I’ve decided to put it out as a digital release now. Blood Red, Bible Black will be out in April.
My new digital only single Psycho Drill is out today, 15th Feb. It’s taken from my Contrivances For the Soul Album, due for release in June 2019 on limited edition numbered and coloured vinyl. There will be a release party at a table for one this evening.
Guitar duties on Psycho Drill are handled by my dear friend and Ruts DC guitarist Leigh Heggarty. You will currently find him on ’40 years of The Crack’ tour with Ruts DC ably supported by the wonderful Professionals
Its available form all the usual digital stockists or listen for 0.000001p on Spotify if you must.
I will soon be releasing a new track – Psycho Drill – taken from my forthcoming album Contrivances For The Soul on February 15th. This will be a digital-only release through my own J.A.M. UK record label. The album will be released through Plastichead and will be a limited edition vinyl release in a gatefold, numbered sleeve. It will also be available for digital download through the usual channels.
Psycho Drill Features the amazing guitar talents of Mr Leigh Heggarty who most people will know, plays for Ruts DC. He will also be joining Alvin Gibbs from The UK Subs for some live dates this year. My loveable friends Rogue Sector will be doing a remix of this track just as soon as they can make time in the studio… i’m looking forward ti hearing that!
The release date for my album has been pushed back to June due to a massive pressing backlog at Plastichead.
In other news, you may have seen the announcement that Department S guitarist Phil Thompson (now known as Phil Marx) has been offered the guitar slot for The Rezillos. I’m really pleased for Phil, he obviously impressed Fay and Eugene when we did some live dates with them last year. He is a perfect fit for the job and I’m sure he will do really well. The Rezillos are planning to record some new material this year and Phil will undoubtedly be at the heart of the songwriting process.
My book is still going through the laborious editing process. Since my decision to leave Department S in April this year, it has meant the last chapter or two of the book has to be rewritten to cover my reasons for leaving. Things are usually more complicated than they first appear and all will be become clear!
One thing is for sure, I’M NOT RETIRING!! I’ve got plenty to do going forwards and of course, I’m always on the lookout for interesting projects to get involved with.
