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Mick Jones | |
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 Jones performing withForeigner in 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Michael Leslie Jones (1944-12-27)27 December 1944 (age 80) Portsmouth, Hampshire, England |
| Origin | Andover, Hampshire, England |
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| Years active | 1961–present |
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Michael Leslie Jones (born 27 December 1944) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known as the founder, leader and only continuous original member of the British-American rock bandForeigner.[1][2] Prior to Foreigner, he was in the bandSpooky Tooth.[3]
Michael Leslie Jones was born on 27 December 1944 inPortsmouth, England.[citation needed] Jones started playing guitar at an early age, and decided to pursue a career in music.
He began his professional music career in the early 1960s as a member of the bandNero and the Gladiators, who scored two minor Britishhit singles in 1961. After the demise of Nero and the Gladiators, Jones worked as a songwriter andsession musician in France for such artists asFrançoise Hardy,Sylvie Vartan, andJohnny Hallyday, for whom he wrote many songs, including "Je suis né dans la rue" and "À tout casser" (which featuresJimmy Page on guitar). WhenThe Beatles toured France in 1964, they befriended Jones when Hallyday's girlfriend and future wife,Sylvie Vartan, played on the same bill as they did. Between 1965 and 1971, Jones recorded in France withTommy Brown (Thomas R. Browne) as State of Mickey & Tommy, as well as under other session names, including the Blackburds, Nimrod, and the J&B.
After leaving France to return to his home country, Jones joinedGary Wright, formerly of the bandSpooky Tooth, to form Wonderwheel in 1971. In 1972, Jones and Wright reformed Spooky Tooth and, after that, Jones was a member of theLeslie West Band. He also played guitar on the albumsWind of Change (1972) forPeter Frampton, andDark Horse (1974) forGeorge Harrison.
In 1976, Jones formedForeigner withIan McDonald, and recruited lead singerLou Gramm. Jones co-produced all of the band's albums and co-wrote most of their songs with Gramm. Jones is credited with writing the band's most successful single, "I Want to Know What Love Is", by himself.[4][5] Tensions developed within the band during the late 1980s, attributed to a difference in musical taste between Gramm, who favoured a more hard-edged rock, as opposed to Jones' interest in synthesisers. Gramm left the band in 1990 but returned in 1992. In 1989 Jones released his only solo album, titledMick Jones, on theAtlantic Records label. Jones is the only member to play on every Foreigner album.
In between his Foreigner commitments, Jones also started a side career as a producer for such albums asVan Halen's5150 (1986),Bad Company'sFame and Fortune (1986) andBilly Joel'sStorm Front (1989).
He co-wrote withEric Clapton the song "Bad Love" on Clapton'sJourneyman album,[6] and in 2002 co-wrote the song "On Her Mind" withDuncan Sheik.[7] In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he played withBill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. In 2024, Jones was selected for induction into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of Foreigner.[8]
Jones is married to socialite/writer/Jewellery designer Ann Dexter-Jones, mother ofMark,Samantha andCharlotte Ronson. He and Dexter-Jones have two children,Annabelle Dexter-Jones and Alexander Dexter-Jones. Married for nearly 25 years (1983–2007), they divorced in 2007. In March 2017, the couple remarried.[9] Jones also has two sons, Roman Jones and Christopher Jones, from previous relationships.
In February 2024, Jones revealed that he had been diagnosed withParkinson's disease years back, citing this as his reason for not touring with Foreigner since 2023.[10]
In addition to the Foreigner albums, Jones has produced the following:
| Title | Release | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Main | |||
| "Just Wanna Hold" | 1989 | 16 | Mick Jones |
| International | |
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| Other | |
