Edgar Jones (musician)

Edgar Jones
Edgar Jones in Tokyo
Background information
Birth name	Edgar William Jones
Also known as	Edgar Summertyme, Peg Majoly
Born	4 December 1970 (1970-12-04) Liverpool, England
Genres	English Beat, Blues rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, bass guitarist
Instruments	Bass guitar, vocals
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Imaginary Records, Viper, Loud Soul
Associated acts	The Stairs, Free Peace, The Big Kids, The Isrites, Edgar Jones & The Joneses

Edgar William Jones, previously known as Edgar Summertyme (born 4 December 1970 in Liverpool) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Jones was originally the bass player and singer-songwriter for The Stairs and has played in other bands such as The Isrites, The Big Kids, Edgar Jones & The Joneses and Free Peace. He has also played as a session musician for several artists including Ian McCulloch, Paul Weller, Saint Etienne and Ocean Colour Scene.

The Stairs

Main article: The Stairs

Jones formed The Stairs with Ged Lynn and Paul Maguire, a 60s-oriented band with English Beat, Garage Rock, Blues Rock and Psychedelic influences. The bands manager Jason Otty would often play harmonica and the band would later feature 2nd guitarists Carl Cook and Daniel Kierney before splitting in 1994. The band achieved cult status with the album Mexican R'n'B (1992).

Other bands

Jones also formed The Isrites with Sean Payne later of The Zutons, Paul Maguire's younger brother and Luke Goldberg later of Book, and The Big Kids again with Sean Payne and Russell Pritchard later of The Zutons, and Howie Payne of The Stands. Although both bands split before releasing anything, material has since been issued on several compilations released by The Viper Label.

Jones formed Free Peace in August 2008 with his nephew Nick Miniski and guitarist Stuart Gimblett. An EP was released via gigs, mail order and independent record shops in Liverpool and were in the process of recordings their debut album, which was set to be released on their own label, Loud Soul in October 2009 . The band saw Jones return to the 3 piece rock sound of The Stairs and they had reportedly finished about 20 songs for their debut album. Despite regularly gigging, including major support slots with Oasis, the band split up with an album entitled "Stormy Weather" released under the name "The Edgar Jones Free Peace Thing" in September 2011 on The Viper Label over s year after the band disbanded.

Solo career

Having ditched the Summertyme pseudonym, Edgar released his first solo album as Edgar "Jones" Jones in 2005 entitled Soothing Music for Stray Cats which encompassing elements of jazz, R&B, soul and doo wop and was recorded on a portastudio donated by Johnny Marr. Edgar then followed the album up with Gettin' a Little Help from The Joneses backed by The Joneses in 2007 and The Masked Marauder in 2009.

Edgar Jones & The Joneses line-up

• Edgar Jones – vocals, bass (2003–2008)
• Kristian Ealey – vocals (2003)
• Candie Payne – vocals (2003)
• Mike Marshall – guitar (2003–2004)
• Nick Miniski – drums (2003–2004)
• Paul Molloy – guitar (2005)
• Jamie Backhouse – guitar (2005–2008)
• Austin Murphy – saxophone, guitar (2005–2008)
• Grenville Harrop – drums (2005–2006)
• Hugo Harrison – double bass (2005–2006)
• Robert Stringer – piano (2005–2008)
• Karl Penney – drums (2006–2008)
• Paul Blakesley – bass, double bass (2006–2008)

Collaborations

Since the breakup of The Stairs, Jones has worked with Ian McCulloch on Mysterio (1992), Paul Weller (live and appears on Live at the Royal Albert Hall DVD (2000)), Johnny Marr in an early version of The Healers (where he was replaced by Alonza Bevan previously of Kula Shaker), Saint Etienne, Cherry Ghost on their Thirst For Romance (2007) and Lee Mavers following the departure of John Power from The La's.

Associated acts

• The Stairs (1990–1994)
• The Isrites (1997–1998)
• The Big Kids (1999–2001)
• Edgar Jones & The Joneses (2003–2008)
• Free Peace (2008–2010)

Solo discography

Albums

• Soothing Music for Stray Cats (2005)
• Gettin' a Little Help from The Joneses (2007)
• The Masked Marauder (2008)
• Stormy Weather (2011)

Singles

• "More Than You've Ever Had!" (2006)
• "The Way It Is" (2007)
• "Mellow Down Pussycat!" (2007)

Compilation appearances

• The Great Liverpool Acoustic Experiment (2002) – "Mister Can You Tell Me? " (as Edgar Summertyme)
• Unearthed: Liverpool Cult Classics, Vol. 3 (2004) – "Keep It On" (with The Isrites)
• 21st Century Liverpool Underground (2005) – "I'm Bored", "Too Much Baby", "For a Moment", "Up to No Good Again", "Hot Potatoes", "Hey, Hey, Now, Now" (with The Big Kids)

Session discography

• The Stairs – Mexican R'n'B (1992)
• Ian McCulloch – Mysterio (1992)
• Saint Etienne – Sound of Water (2000)
• Ocean Colour Scene – Mechanical Wonder (2001)
• The Stairs – Right in the Back of Your Mind (2006)
• Cherry Ghost – Thirst for Romance (2007)
• The Stairs – Who Is This Is (2008)
• Black – The Given (2009)
• Free Peace – Free Peace EP (2009)
• Mike Bader - Rogue State (2011)

External links

• Edgar Jones & The Joneses on Myspace
• Free Peace on Myspace
• www.loudsoul.co.uk
• www.the-viper-label.co.uk
• Edgar Jones discography at Discogs
• http://microgroove.jp/archives/2006/04/soothing_music_for_stray_cats.html