Allan Jones (editor)

Allan Jones (born 1951 or 1952) is a British music journalist and editor. Following graduation, Jones took a job in the stock room of Hatchards on Piccadilly. While there he applied for a writing opening at the rock weekly Melody Maker with a letter that concluded, "Melody Maker needs a bullet up its arse. I’m the gun – pull the trigger". He joined the staff in 1974, became editor ten years later. Jones was described on stage by Roger Waters as a "stupid shit" after writing a scathing review of Pink Floyd's The Wall show at Earls Court Exhibition Centre. During his tenure, Melody Maker provided early publicity for bands ranging from The Stone Roses to Pearl Jam. One of Jones's most significant early decisions was to resist the publisher's instruction to put Kajagoogoo on the cover; instead, Jones chose The Smiths.

In 1997, Jones left to become editor of music and film monthly Uncut, a position he retains today. Launched at the same time as Total Film and Neon (magazine), Jones changed the periodical's focus almost overnight from music to the intersection of music and film. Under his editorship Uncut won Consumer Specialist Magazine of the Year and International Consumer Magazine of the Year PPA Awards in 2003, and Consumer Specialist Magazine of the Year in 2004.

Jones was a fan of Jethro Tull and Yes in their early incarnations but as he explained in Uncut magazine in 2011, he lost interest in the bands as they embraced the excesses of progressive rock: "It didn't take punk to turn me off bands like Jethro Tull and Yes, who in their earlier incarnations I liked. They did it themselves with the wholly pompous music they started making when they began to take themselves too seriously. That did it for me and it had nothing to do with Year Zero, Johnny Rotten or Sid Vicious."

External links

• Jones's Blog (UNCUT Magazine)