Irwin Thomas (born Irwin Thomas Whittridge, 6 January 1971) is an American-born Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He performs professionally using the
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Jack Jones from when he was the lead vocalist-guitarist in the band
Southern Sons
Southern Sons was an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in 1989 by members of The State (band), The State along with lead vocalist and guitarist Irwin Thomas, who was then using the stage name Jack Jones. ...
(1990–1996).
His other bands collaborations include
Electric Mary, She Said Yes and
Ahmet Zappa
Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974) is an American musician and writer, and trustee of the Zappa Family Trust.
Early life
Ahmet Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children born to musician Frank Zappa and b ...
. He is known for his collaborations with
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...
and
Rick Price
Rick Allan Price (born 6 July 1961) is an Australian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. His debut album, ''Heaven Knows (Rick Price album), Heaven Knows'', was released in July 1992, and peaked at No. 3 on the A ...
.
He released his debut solo album, ''The Evolution of Irwin Thomas'', in 2002.
Early life
Irwin Thomas Whittridge was born in 1971 in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York City. His father Pvt. Irwin Thomas Whittridge Snr (born, June 1908 – June 1971), who went under the stage name of Jack Goode, was a
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
performer. His mother, Renalda Whittridge (née Green), was an Australian-born folk singer and dancer; she returned to Australia in 1980, with her son.
He was later known as Jack Thomas Whittridge Jones.
Music career
While at a secondary school in the city of
Traralgon
Traralgon ( ) is a town located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia and the most populous city of the City of Latrobe. The urban population of Traralgon at the was 26,907. It is the largest and fastes ...
, in the mid-1980s, Thomas was a member of rock groups Get off the Cat and then Survival.
[Irwin Thomas/Jack Jones at the ]Australian Rock Database
The Australian Rock Database was a website with a searchable online database that listed details of Australian rock music artists, albums, bands, producers and record labels. It was established in 2000 by Swedish national Magnus Holmgren, who had ...
:
* Jack Jones:
* John Farnham Band (1990–91):
* Southern Sons (1990–95):
* ''Good Vibrations – A Concert for Marc Hunter'' (1998):
* Irwin Thomas (2001–present):
[Spencer et al, (2007), "Jack Jones" profile.]
In the late 1980s, he was a member of Hans Valen, which covered material by United States heavy rocker,
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
; and then he was in Gnomes of Zurich.
As Jones, he auditioned as lead vocalist for a Melbourne-based rock, pop group, the State.
The State
A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "stat ...
had formed in 1987, with the line-up of Peter Bowman on lead guitar and backing vocals (ex-Cutters), Phil Buckle on guitar and lead vocals (Cutters), Geoff Cain on bass guitar and
Virgil Donati
Virgil Donati (born 22 October 1958) is an Australian drummer, composer and producer. He holds the drum sticks in the Traditional grip, traditional style and is also proficient at the Keyboard instrument, keyboard. Donati formed Planet X (band), ...
on drums (Taste, Cutters).
[McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo]
'Southern Sons'
Retrieved 8 February 2010. He was considered too young for that group.
In mid-1990, Thomas, as Jones (on lead guitar), worked alongside Buckle in
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...
's backing band to record that artist's album, ''
Chain Reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events.
Chain reactions are one way that syst ...
'' (September 1990).
Jones, on lead vocals and lead guitar, was asked by Buckle to form the
Southern Sons
Southern Sons was an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in 1989 by members of The State (band), The State along with lead vocalist and guitarist Irwin Thomas, who was then using the stage name Jack Jones. ...
, with former the State members: Bowman, Cain and Donati.
In April 1991, Buckle explained to Charles Miranda of ''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' that Jones was recruited because "
he State
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
were going nowhere fast. At this stage
n late 1989Buckle realised that his songs had potential but his voice didn't".
Southern Sons' debut
self-titled album was released on 1 June 1990, which peaked at No. 5 on the
ARIA Albums Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
.
Their first single, "Heart in Danger", was released in August, it also reached No. 5 on the related ARIA Singles Chart.
Jones and Buckle toured Australia and Europe as members of Farnham's backing band to promote ''Chain Reaction''.
Southern Sons were a support act on Farnham's tours in 1990 and 1991.
The group also undertook their own headlining national tours.
Buckle disputed media criticism that Southern Sons "sounded too similar to John Farnham's music"; he felt that although "Jack Jones, has a similar voice, they are very different. He believes the Sons guitar work makes for a harder sound."
Bowman left the group as a four-piece in mid-1992.
As a member of Southern Sons, Thomas co-wrote some of their later material, including three tracks on their second album, ''
Nothing But the Truth'' (November 1992),
and six of eleven tracks for their third album, ''
Zone
Zone or The Zone may refer to:
Places Climate and altitude zones
* Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span
* Frigid zone, ...
'' (1995).
[ Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Zone; or at "Performer:" Southern Sons] The latter album was co-produced by the band with former member, Bowman.
By the end of 1995 the group disbanded.
During the 1990s, Thomas worked as a session musician on albums by other artists including
Lisa Edwards
Lisa Anne Edwards (born 25 September 1958) is an Australian solo and session singer and musician. In July 1992 she had a top 5 hit on the ARIA Singles Chart with her cover version of Godley and Creme's "Cry". Edwards is primarily a backin ...
' ''Thru the Hoop'' (June 1993),
Debra Byrne
Debra Anne Byrne (born 30 March 1957), formerly billed as Debbie Byrne, is an Australian pop singer, variety entertainer, theatre and TV actress and writer, director and choreographer of cabaret. From April 1971 to March 1975 she was a founding ...
's ''Sleeping Child'' (July 1994),
Phil and
Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, he is known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and use of percussive effects on ...
's ''
Terra Firma'' (April 1995),
Bachelor Girl
Bachelor Girl are an Australian pop duo, formed in 1992 by Tania Doko as vocalist and James Roche as musician, producer and arranger. Their 1998 debut single, "Buses and Trains", was a top-10 hit in Australia and New Zealand; it peaked in the ...
's ''
Waiting for the Day
''Waiting for the Day'' is the debut studio album by Australian band Bachelor Girl. The album was released in Australia through Gotham Records on 9 November 1998 (see 1998 in music). The album charted in the top twenty on the Australian ARIA Album ...
'' (November 1998),
and Farnham's ''Live at the Regent Theatre 1st July 1999'' (1999) as well as touring in Farnham's backing band for the I Can't Believe He's 50 Tour.
In 1996, Thomas and Donati formed a trio, Hong Kong Meeting, with Steve Hunter on bass guitar.
Late in the next year Thomas and Donati joined
Tina Arena
Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, musical theatre actress and record producer. She is one of Australia's highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwid ...
's backing band for her national tour in support of her third solo studio album, ''
In Deep'' (August 1997).
In the following year, Thomas formed the Jack Jones Band with
Garry Gary Beers
Garry William Beers (born 22 June 1957), known as Garry Gary Beers, is an Australian musician and was the bass guitarist for the new wave rock group INXS.
Career
Garry William Beers was born to Lola (died 2011) and William Beers. William Bee ...
on bass guitar (ex-
INXS
INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...
) and Alex Formosa on drums.
In March 1998 they performed at the Good Vibrations benefit concert by various artists for
Marc Hunter
Marc Alexander Hunter (7 September 195317 July 1998) was a New Zealand rock and pop singer, songwriter and record producer. He was the lead vocalist of Dragon (1973–11/1979, 8/1982–1989, 1995–11/1997), a band formed by his older brother, ...
, the ailing lead singer of New Zealand-Australian band,
Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
, who had been diagnosed with
throat cancer
Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...
.
Thomas covered the tracks "Are You Old Enough", "Voodoo Chile" and "Both of Me", he also performed a duet with Tommy Emmanuel on "Nothing to Lose".
A double-CD and a VHS of the concert, both titled ''Good Vibrations – A Concert for Marc Hunter'', were released in mid-1998.
Hunter died in July 1998.
Thomas reverted to his birth name in 2000, working with
Ahmet Zappa
Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974) is an American musician and writer, and trustee of the Zappa Family Trust.
Early life
Ahmet Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children born to musician Frank Zappa and b ...
in Los Angeles, and with Beers. He has released music as a solo artist, first for
BMG BMG may refer to:
Organizations
* Music publishing companies:
** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008
*** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...
and then as an independent artist, with ''The Evolution of Irwin Thomas'' appearing in 2002. Since 2004 he has also been involved with Melbourne band
Electric Mary, and he is also in a band called
She Said Yes, led by Tania Doko, the former lead singer of
Bachelor Girl
Bachelor Girl are an Australian pop duo, formed in 1992 by Tania Doko as vocalist and James Roche as musician, producer and arranger. Their 1998 debut single, "Buses and Trains", was a top-10 hit in Australia and New Zealand; it peaked in the ...
.
Private life
Jones was married to New Zealand-born Australian actress
Rebecca Gibney
Rebecca Catherine Gibney (born 14 December 1964) is a New Zealand actress known for her roles on Australian television in ''The Flying Doctors'', ''Halifax f.p.'', ''Packed to the Rafters'', ''Winter (TV series), Winter'' and ''Wanted (2016 Aus ...
from 1992 to 1995, which ended in divorce.
In December 1994, Gibney promoted her recent
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film, ''
Lucky Break''; she described her differences from her character, to ''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' David Bongiorno: "She's so unlike any other character I've played before. She's a woman you love to hate... And there's a part of me in there, because I know I wouldn't let my husband (Jack Jones of Southern Sons) go easily at all!"
Discography
Albums
* ''The Evolution of Irwin Thomas'' (2002) Gotham Records
* ''
California Dreaming
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 196 ...
''
(with Rick Price
Rick Allan Price (born 6 July 1961) is an Australian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. His debut album, ''Heaven Knows (Rick Price album), Heaven Knows'', was released in July 1992, and peaked at No. 3 on the A ...
) (2017)
Sony Music Australia
Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. SMEA also formerly published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of Sony ...
EPs
* ''Made in China'' (2007)
Singles
* "Get Up and Get Out of Your Mind" (2002)
* "Let's Go" (2006)
* "Get Your Radio On" (2006)
* "I Can't Wait" (2006)
* "Into Trouble" (2006)
* "Peace Now" (2006)
* "Disconnected" (2009)
* "
Hold Me in Your Arms"
(with Dami Im
Dami Im ( , , ; born October 17, 1988) is a South Korean-born Australian singer and songwriter. She represented Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm, Sweden with the song " Sound of Silence", placing second and ach ...
) (2017)
* "
California Dreamin'
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 196 ...
" (2017)
(with Rick Price
Rick Allan Price (born 6 July 1961) is an Australian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. His debut album, ''Heaven Knows (Rick Price album), Heaven Knows'', was released in July 1992, and peaked at No. 3 on the A ...
) (2017)
* "
Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
" (2018)
(with Scott Darlow
Scott Darlow is an Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist, didgeridoo player and public speaker from Melbourne, Victoria
Biography
Darlow was born in Melbourne, Australia to Salvation Army parents, the second of four children, Darlow move ...
, Sarah McLeod
Sarah McLeod (born 18 July 1971) is a New Zealand film and television actress. Her most notable role was in the Peter Jackson films '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' and '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' ...
, Adam Brand and Todd Hunter
Todd Stuart Hunter NOTE: Requires user to input song title, e.g. POLITICS (born 22 June 1951) is a New Zealand musician and composer known for his involvement in the band Dragon. Their best known songs are "April Sun in Cuba", "Are You Old Enou ...
)
Other appearances
References
;General
* Note: Archived
n-linecopy has limited functionality.
*
Note:
n-lineversion established a
White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltdin 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition.
;Specific
External links
*
Irwin Thomas @ IAC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Irwin
1971 births
American emigrants to Australia
Australian guitarists
Living people
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century guitarists
21st-century Australian male singers
Australian male guitarists
The Fabulous Caprettos members