The Jim Jones Revue were an English band composed of Jim Jones, Rupert Orton, Nick Jones, Gavin Jay, Elliott Mortimer (later replaced by Henri Herbert) with garage and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

influences.

History

The band was formed after Jim Jones met Rupert Orton (

Beth Orton Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall ...

's brother) at his ''Not The Same Old Blues Crap'' club night in London. In 2008, the band recorded their self-titled debut album in just 48 hours, in a rehearsal space in

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

, London. The album was released on 8 September 2008 via Punk Rock Blues Records. A collection of singles and B-sides entitled ''Here to Save Your Soul'' was released on 5 October 2009. The band then recorded their second album, ''Burning Your House Down'', which was produced by Jim Sclavunos of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman. In interview Jim Jones has explained that they also chose Sclavunos for his work with bands like

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

and The Cramps. This second album was released on 16 August 2011 through Punk Rock Blues Records /

PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1982 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, In September 2024, the company was acquired by Universal Music Group. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European i ...

. On 2 September 2010, the band previewed ''Burning Your House Down'' at London nightclub Madame Jojo's in front of a sold-out audience, which included

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...

as well as members of Grinderman and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. They appeared on the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' (CBS-TV) on 7 September 2011. The band released their third album ''The Savage Heart'' on 12 October 2012 through Punk Rock Blues Records /

. The band pianist, Henri Herbert, put on an impromptu performance on a public piano at St. Pancras International train station, London. The video was uploaded on 6 July 2013 and has since gone viral, receiving more than 19,000,000 views. In June 2014 the band announced that they would cease performing and recording in October 2014 after their "Last Hurrah" tour. Jim Jones has since been leading th
Jim Jones All Stars.

Musical style

Their style has been compared to early

artists

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

and

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

as well as to

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

bands such as

The Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...

MC5 MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...

and

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's Johnny Sharp wrote that the band's "string-shredding guitar, furiously chattering piano and blistering, blustery rhythm" meant that "you’re bombarded with sonic viscera". In reference to the band's second album, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

's'' Michael Hann said that, "''Burning Your House Down'' sounds like a gangfight set to 12-bar blues" and that "The Jim Jones Revue imagine that rock'n'roll didn't really need to evolve after 1956; it just needed to get much, much louder, and wildly more distorted".

Discography

Albums

* ''The Jim Jones Revue'' (Punk Rock Blues Records) (2008) #"Princess & the Frog" #" Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" #"Rock N Roll Psychosis" #"Fish 2 Fry" #"512" #"Another Daze" #"Meat Man" #"Make It Hot" #"Who's Got Mine?" #"Cement Mixer" * ''Burning Your House Down'' (Punk Rock Blues Records /

) (2010) #"Dishonest Jon" #"High Horse" #"Foghorn" #"Big Len" #"Premeditated" #"Burning Your House Down" #"Shoot First" #"Elemental" #"Killin' Spree" #"Righteous Wrong" #"Stop the People" * ''The Savage Heart'' (2012) # "It's Gotta be About Me" # "Never Let You Go" # "7 Times Around the Sun" # "Where Da Money Go?" # "Chain Gang" # "In and Out of Harm's Way" # "Catastrophe" # "Eagle Eye Ball" # "Midnight Oceans & The Savage Heart"

Compilations

* ''Here To Save Your Soul'' (Punk Rock Blues Records) (2009) #"Rock N Roll Psychosis" #"Big Hunk O' Love" #"Cement Mixer" #"Good Golly Miss Molly" #"Princess & The Frog" #"Freak Of Nature" #"Burning Your House Down" #"Elemental"

Singles

* ''Princess & The Frog'' (Punk Rock Blues) (2009) * ''High Horse'' (Punk Rock Blues /

) (2010) * ''Shoot First'' (2010) * ''Dishonest John B/W Rocket Orton'' (28 March 2011) * ''It's Gotta Be About Me'' (28 September 2012) * ''Where Da Money Go?'' (24 December 2012)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jim Jones Revue, The English garage rock groups PIAS Recordings artists