The Life of Brian Jones

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His Life

Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones was born in the town''''s Park Nursing Home on February 28th 1942, the first of three children for his parents Lewis, an aircraft designer, and Louisa, a piano teacher. Within the next few years, his sisters Pamela and Barbara arrived. Pamela died from leukaemia as a toddler. Passing through Cheltenham Grammar School, the young Jones became increasingly insubordinate, and was suspended for rebelling against teachers and prefects. Still, he sailed through nine O - Levels and two A - Levels. Jones was a bright student throughout his school years with a reported IQ of 135, but he wasn''''t interested in academia, he was in love with music. Louisa had taught him piano, and he''''d graduated with instinctive ease to the recorder and clarinet. At age 15, he was playing washboard in a school skiffle band. A year later he played saxophone with a local jazz combo. Lewis was coming to view his son''''s all-consuming passion for music as ''''evil'''', and distracting.

When he was 16 he became a father for the fist time with his 14-year old girlfriend Valerie. His parents, were furious. A huge family row ensued, and Brian was packed off to Germany while the dust settled. Valerie, to whom he had pledged his love, was exiled to France to sit out her pregnancy before returning to Cheltenham to have her child, a boy named Simon was the first of Brian''''s illegitimate children.

In 1959 after a one night stand with a married woman called Angeline resulted in Brian''''s second child, this time a daughter who''''s lived most of her life not knowing who her real father was. Today she lives in quiet seclusion with three children of her own. Back to 1960 and an unconcerned teenage Brian Jones took up with Pat Andrews, a 15-year-old Cheltenham shop-girl, and soon she got pregnant. Their son, Julian Mark, was born in October 1961, and they moved in together into Pat''''s sister''''s home for a couple of months but Brian would never be a good father. Every weekend he went to London, falling deeply under the spell of the blues and mixing with musicians. One early friend was Oxford singer Paul Jones, with whom he formed a makeshift group. But his ambitions really came into focus when he heard Alexis Korner perform an electric blues set at Cheltenham Town Hall. Brian was overwhelmed, he dashed home for his guitar, introduced himself to Korner and showed off his skills, and they became lifelong friends. Visiting Korner in London, Brian met many of the leading players, he started calling himself Elmore Jones, and then Elmo Lewis after his hero Elmore James, bought an electric guitar and practised night and day so he could emulate his hero. When he was 19 he moved to London. Early in 1962, Alexis Korner had opened a weekly R & B night at the Ealing Jazz Club, west London, with his own outfit, Blues Incorporated. On April 7th, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were in the audience to see Charlie Watts drumming with them. Brian Jones sat in for an electrifying rendition of Elmore James'''' "Dust My Broom".
"Brian was the first person I ever heard playing slide electric guitar", recalled Keith Richards. "Mick and I both thought he was incredible"

The Band

Mick and Keith, both from Dartford, had a band called Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys, inspired by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Jimmy Reed. They chatted with Brian, who said he was forming a group although he made no overtures. He intended to be careful in his recruiting, and he wanted Paul Jones as his singer.

Brian advertised for musicians in Jazz News, and pianist Ian "Stu" Stewart from Cheam, Surrey responded. Brian bagged Stu, and they spent weeks auditioning in one pub, and then another after Brian was caught stealing cigarettes. Paul Jones had dropped out, so Brian and Stu proceeded with singer/harmonica player Brian Knight and guitarist Geoff Bradford.
It was Stu who invited Mick Jagger along, one day in June. Jagger, now singing with Blues Incorporated, arrived with Keith Richards and the Blue Boys'''' drummer-turned-bassist Dick Taylor, and all three lived up to Brian''''s exacting standards. They were in. Shortly afterwards Geoff Bradford left to join Brian Knight.

Brian named the band The Rollin'''' Stones and they made their debut at London''''s Marquee club on July 12th. They advertised for a full-time drummer in Melody Maker and selected Tony Chapman from London band The Cliftons. But Brian wanted Charlie Watts. In the autumn of 1962, under Brian''''s leadership, the Stones made their first recording at Curly Clayton''''s studio in north London.

The crucial springboard to fame for the band was provided by Giorgio Gomelsky, a young music promoter and blues enthusiast. In his new club, the Crawdaddy, in Richmond. They were going to play on the opening night and it was a huge success, they played many times after that. The breakthrough had happened, and a month later, in March 1963, the Stones recorded five songs at IBC studio with engineer Glyn Johns, Brian often referred to these recordings as one of his proudest achievements.

The downfall

Andrew Oldham(press officer)shifted the focus to Jagger as a sex symbol, forcing Brian to the sidelines. He then instructed Jagger and Richards to write songs, which removed Jones'''' musical authority. But Brian was still the people''''s favourite. The important decisions were now being made by the Oldham/Jagger/Richards power base at Mapesbury Road. Brian wasn''''t considered important enough to be consulted. The parts he played in the studio were sometimes wiped out, or not recorded at all. He was excluded from press interviews. His musical role was steadily reduced to that of a colourist, adding exotic touches to existing compositions and although this would often be enough to turn a great song like ''''Paint It Black'''' into something truly sensational, Brian realised he''''d lost control of his own band. Jones competed with Jagger for the limelight on stage, and he tried to write, but his confidence vanished. Thereafter, the insecurity and paranoia he felt was fuelled by his voracious appetite for alcohol, uppers, downers and LSD. He became a playboy prince, hanging with rock''''s elite, and became drug addicted.

Returning to Linda from America in November 1964, he rebelled against the life of domesticity he''''d initiated with the birth of their son, his fourth child, in July. At this same time, Brian found out that another lover, Dawn Molloy was pregnant. Despite his promises of love and marriage to Linda, he escaped to London to avoid the whole mess.
By now he was exhausted – stressed, strung out, assailed by asthma attacks, resentful of his treatment by the band and profoundly disturbed by Oldham''''s ousting of his one remaining

Anita Pallenberg met Brian at a Stones gig in Munich on September 14th 1965, she recalls, "I asked Brian if he wanted a joint and he said yes, so he asked me back to his hotel and he was so upset about Mick and Keith still, saying they''''d teamed up on him". In their private-lives, Brian and Anita continued to swan around London in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. They moved into a flat at Courtfield Road, South Kensington. In Anita, who was every bit as impulsive and tempestuous as Brian, he had met his match. Brian and Anita started to look identical and along with John and Yoko they became one of rock''''s most famous couples. However, turning to his music to maintain a semblance of well being and sanity he composed the film score for 1967''''s ''''A Degree of Murder'''', staring Pallenberg.

The more Brian felt victimised, the more he drank and took drugs, and the more unreliable his performances became, compounding the band''''s frustration. It was a vicious circle, and Brian couldn''''t touch Mick and Keith. They were hot, taking the Stones to another number one with ''''Satisfaction'''' and then ''''Get Off Of My Cloud'''' in 1965, scoring a number two with ''''19th Nervous Breakdown'''' in February 1966 and regaining pole position three months later with ''''Paint It, Black''''. The Jagger/Richards partnership also triumphed with the band''''s fourth LP, ''''Aftermath'''' in April 1966 and for the first time they''''d written a whole LP and it made number one. However, it was Brian who''''d supplied its exciting experimentalism, contributing dulcimer, marimbas, harpsichord and sitar. However, the band''''s change in musical direction in mid/late ''''66 seemed to give Brian a second wind and presented him with the opportunity to invigorate his musical prowess. He promptly became the unique ''''sound'''' of the group with his mastery of different instruments at session after session.

Keith arranged a holiday to duck the media scrum. Brian and Anita went too. Stones chauffeur and minder Tom Keylock drove all three, in Richards'''' Bentley, to France, from where they would continue to Spain and Morocco, there to meet Mick, Marianne. Brian took ill and he spent his 25th birthday in hospital. It seems he encouraged the rest of the group to continue without him, which is when Anita and Keith began their love affair.

Finally arriving in Marrakech, Brian was frequently stoned. Anita''''s refusal to join in an orgy with a local whore provoked Brian into a violent attack, whereupon she rushed to the protective Richards. Now there was a getaway plan. While Brian was whisked off to visit a group of Moroccan musicians, the Stones party checked out of the hotel and disappeared. He returned to find himself abandoned and had to he sedated."First they took my music, then they took my band and now they''''ve taken my love". Brian was devastated; his position in the Stones was now truly compromised. After years of conflict with Jagger, he could hardly bear seeing Richards together with Anita. But what he didn’t know was that it was Tom Keylock who had orchestrated Keith and Anita''''s escape from Morocco, leaving Brian behind.

On December 12, the Court Of Appeal replaced his sentence with a £1000 fine and three years probation, hearing that he might harm himself in prison. The psychiatrist''''s report described an intelligent and sensitive person losing touch with reality. He broke away on a couple of occasions escaping to Morocco and, spending time in the Rif Mountains where he discovered Jajouka and the Master Musicians. Fascinated and intrigued by this strangely hypnotic ethnic music he gained the villagers trust and went on, with sound engineer George Chkiantz, to record their music.

Late into 1968 Brian bought himself a country house. Picturesque Cotchford Farm, in the village of Hartfield, East Sussex, was the former home of Winnie The Pooh author A A Milne. Surrounded by landscaped gardens and extensive woodlands, Brian saw it as a place of peace and sanity. He stopped taking drugs but he continued drinking. He became passionate about his gardens, acquired dogs, swam, and tried to fit into the community. Brian hired some builders. He wanted to make renovations, and Londoner Frank Thorogood who''''d previously worked at Redlands - rounded up a team of three labourers. Thorogood was an old friend to Tom Keylock, and it''''s believed that as well as supervising the building work he was going to keep Brian in line and report back to Keylock about him. Frank was also permitted to bill the Stones'''' office directly for expenses incurred by his gang, and these were later charged to Brian.
Frank''''s relationship with Brian was particularly difficult. Jones allowed Thorogood to live in the flat above the garage on weekdays to save him commuting. He treated him to dinner at the farmhouse and they often drank into the early hours. Brian’s girlfriend a Swedish student named Anna Wohlin moved into the farmhouse in mid-1969. The builders were roundly taking advantage. They did little work, even though Thorogood was draining large sums from Brian''''s bank account.

Jagger, Richards and Charlie Watts came to Cotchford Farm on Sunday June 8th 1969. It was later reported that they''''d come to sack Brian from the band. In a misleading Stones PR statement Brian said "I no longer see eye to eye with the others over the discs we are cutting. We no longer communicate musically. The Stones'''' music is not to my taste any more. The only solution is to go our separate ways, but we shall remain friends. I love those fellows". He appeared to accept the situation, although Charlie wasn''''t so sure, "we took his one thing away, which was being in a band".

And Frank Thorogood strode around Cotchford Farm as though he owned it. Jones rang Fred Trowbridge, the Stones'''' accountant and stoppe...