Jonathan Aubrey Moss (born 11 September 1957) is an English drummer, best known as a member of the 1980s new wave group
Culture Club
Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New R ...
. He has also played with other bands, including
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
the Nips
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
,
the Damned and
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of ...
.
Early life
Moss was born in Clapham Jewish Boys Home at
Wandsworth
Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Toponymy
Wandsworth takes its name ...
,
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, ...
, and was adopted when six months old by Rosetta (née Goldsmith, b. 1929) and Lionel Moss (b. 1927, d. 1999), a couple of Jewish ancestry. His father owned a clothing store called ''Alkit'', located at
Cambridge Circus. He grew up in
Hampstead, attending
Arnold House School (1962–1970) and
Highgate School
Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgat ...
(1970–1975).
During Moss' childhood, music began to have an important role in his life, and he would play well-known songs on his family's piano. His elder brother, David, was drummer in a school band and had a Wayward drum kit, which Jon borrowed to start playing when 13 years old.
/ref>
At Highgate School
Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgat ...
, Moss developed a fascination for sports, especially boxing, but he did not want a professional sporting career. It was also at Highgate that he formed his first band, Pig Williams, along with his friend Nick Feldman (who would later become a member and co-founder of Wang Chung). Together they performed at several school events. After finishing high school, Jon held various jobs, including working at his father's clothing store, as a cake salesman and as a sound engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
at Marquee Studios. In spite of regarding a college education as a waste of time, he briefly considered the idea of studying Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
at the University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.
Musical career
Beginning (1976–1980)
Alongside his friend Riff Regan, Moss joined the punk band London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1976,[Rimmer, Dave (1985) "Like Punk Never Happened," Faber and Faber, , p. 40-42][Kasper de Graaf & Malcolm Garrett (1983) "When Cameras Go Crazy – Culture Club," Virgin Books, , p. 62] after being tried out as a drummer with the Clash
The Clash were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave music, new wave moveme ...
; later, he said "The mix of personalities didn't work. Their attitudes were too different to mine." London released a single entitled "Everyone's a Winner", and were managed by Simon Napier-Bell. Eventually they recorded two singles, a four-track EP and an album for MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wi ...
in 1977.[Napier-Bell, Simon (2001) "Black Vinyl White Powder," Ebury Press, , p. 163] Following this, Moss went on tour with established punk group the Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...
, and the band got a record deal.
Soon afterward, Moss began drumming with the Damned, replacing Rat Scabies
Christopher John Millar (born 30 July 1955), known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known as the drummer for English punk rock band the Damned.
Career
Millar was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. He played drums with Tor ...
. He made the decision to join them after he was injured in a car crash on New Year's Eve 1977, suffering injuries that led to a week's hospital stay. Along with the Damned's guitarist, Lu Edmonds, he left the Damned to form new wave band the Edge. After just over a year, the Edge broke up.
Moss played with Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of ...
on their third single " Cartrouble" and its b-side "Kick!". At the time, Moss was under contract with a group called Jane Aire & the Belvederes; therefore, he was credited on the original single under the pseudonym "Terry 1 & 2".
Culture Club – early times (1981–1986)
Moss was advised by a friend that Boy George
George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...
was looking for a drummer for his band. When he became a member of the band—which was originally called in Praise of Lemmings—he suggested changing the name of the group to Culture Club
Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New R ...
.
In 1985, whilst still performing with Culture Club, he produced some tracks for the band Woyeyeh.
Other works and Culture Club reunion (1987–2002)
After Culture Club broke up in 1986, Moss released a single entitled "Jump to It" with the group Heartbeat UK.
In 1989, under the name Rubberman, Moss released one white label of an acid house
Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthes ...
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instr ...
track. Boy George used that backing track to create his own song "After the Love".
During 1991 and 1992, Moss was involved in another group, Promised Land, with his schoolfriend Nick Feldman. The two released two singles, "Something in the Air" and "Circle in the Square".
In 1995 he met Sebastian Wocker, vocalist of the indie band Yeah, and soon joined them. For two years the group played several concerts on the London circuit, made various television appearances and filmed one video, “Engerland”, in 1997, at the former home of Hendon F.C.
Hendon Football Club is a semi-professional Association football, football club based in Kingsbury, London, Kingsbury in the London Borough of Brent. They are currently members of the and play at Silver Jubilee Park in Kingsbury, London, King ...
Charities, B-side projects (2003–2010)
From 2003 to 2005 Moss joined several punk rock and rock bands, among them Fassbender, DanMingo and Dirth. In July 2005 he played drums on the charity single "People I Don't Know Are Trying to Kill Me", written by the journalist Neil McCormick
Neil McCormick (born 31 March 1961) is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been Chief Music Critic for '' The Daily Telegraph'' since 1996, and presented a music interview show for Vintage TV in the UK, Neil McCormick's Ne ...
, to help the families of the victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorism, Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on Transport in London, the city's ...
.
In 2006 Moss, Mikey Craig and Phil Pickett tried to launch Culture Club on a new tour with another lead singer, as George and Roy Hay had declined to tour. A UK tour was announced for December 2006, but was postponed to give the new line-up time to finish recording their album. Without official press statements, band manager Tony Gordon said in 2007 that the project was "on hold", while Jon stated that the project was shelved.
Culture Club – reunion (2011–2021)
Moss did not appear at Culture Club's concerts in Dubai and Sydney in December 2011, due to a back injury which required surgery. Despite rumours that the reunion project had been shelved, Boy George said in a March 2012 interview with Danny Baker
Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Throughout his career he has largely presented for London's regional radio and television.
Baker was born in Deptford to a working-class fa ...
on BBC Radio 5 that their new album would be released in 2013.
Meanwhile, Moss had been drumming with Mad Dog Bites, alongside Martin French (vocals), Godfrey Old (harmonica), Peter Noone (bass) and Conrad Blakemore (guitar).
In the Red Nose Day '13 at Whiteleys, Moss sang with the Rock Choir, helping them to fundraise for Comic Relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...
.
In 2014, Culture Club began recording a new album that was originally named ''Tribes''. The ''Tribes'' sessions were recorded in Spain and documented in the film ''From Karma to Calamity'' which aired on BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 . In July 2018, it was announced that the sessions had been reworked as ''Life'' and that the album was to be released on 26 October 2018 and credited to "Boy George
George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...
and Culture Club".
In early 2018 Moss formed pop band Ridiculous together with singer-songwriter Sebastian Wocker, The Cross bassist Peter Noone and film score composer Erran Baron Cohen
Erran Boaz Baron Cohen (born May 1968) is an English composer and trumpet player known for collaborations with his younger brother, Sacha Baron Cohen.
Life and career
Baron Cohen is a founding member of the world music group Zohar who are sign ...
. The band's debut performance took place at The Dublin Castle, Camden, London.
Culture Club toured the US and Europe from June to December 2018 in support of their ''Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'' album, along with supporting acts the B-52s
The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, ...
, Tom Bailey (formerly of the Thompson Twins) and Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist.
Raised in ...
(Europe dates only). Moss was originally part of the line-up.
In December 2019, Moss filed a writ at London's High Court naming the band trio as defendants. Moss' lawyers say he was told to “take a break” by manager Paul Kemsley
Paul Zeital Kemsley (born 17 August 1967) is an English businessman, property developer and media personality. Since 2016, he has regularly appeared on the American reality television show '' The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'', alongside his ...
; Moss demanded nearly £200,000 in missing payments and a share of profits.
Moss officially left Culture Club in May 2021.
Personal life
Moss has three children with his former wife, Barbara Savage.
Moss had an intimate relationship with Boy George during the height of Culture Club's popularity, although it was not public knowledge at the time. Their affair came to an end in 1986. The relationship was portrayed in '' Worried About the Boy'', a drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
shown on BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Jon
1957 births
Living people
People educated at Arnold House School
People educated at Highgate School
English adoptees
LGBT musicians from England
English Jews
LGBT Jews
People from Wandsworth
English new wave musicians
English punk rock drummers
English rock drummers
New wave drummers
Bisexual men
Bisexual musicians
The Damned (band) members
Culture Club members
Jews in punk rock
The Nipple Erectors members
Grammy Award winners