Mal Jones

Mal Jones

TAKE A listen

to Mal Jones

I blame my mum.

She was one of 8 kids who all attended Moreton Baptist Church.

Mum sang in the choir and two of her sisters sang in choirs in Liverpool so I was brought up with music. The big change for me came when I joined 1st Moreton Boys Brigade who had a bugle/drums band. I joined and took up the bugle, was eventually awarded the silver bugle and wrote my first piece of music for the band and called it MORETON. All this took place at Moreton Methodist Church.

I blame my Mum.
She was one of 8 kids who all attended Moreton Baptist Church.

Mum sang in the choir and two of her sisters sang in choirs in Liverpool so I was brought up with music. The big change for me came when I joined 1st Moreton Boys Brigade who had a bugle/drums band. I joined and took up the bugle, was eventually awarded the silver bugle and wrote my first piece of music for the band and called it MORETON. All this took place at Moreton Methodist Church.

There was a chap there (Jeff Aspinall) who played in a popular folk trio called The Billy Boys, and out of the blue started a sing along after Sunday evening service. Jeff ran the evening with help from George Peckham (youth club leader) and singers from the audience.

We were all captivated by this new and exciting development in our lives

…we all wanted to be up there singing our songs, so I sent off to Littlewoods catalogue for a guitar and started learning a few chords.

There were a few of us who had caught the bug, best of the bunch brothers Gordon and Brian Jones. (Brian was still in short pants at this time)

Jeff was unfortunately killed in a car crash, just yards from his home. The illuminated cross on the front of the church was in memory of him. Working shifts at Shotton steelworks interrupted my continued playing but went on to help at Brians new club the Wayfarers where I saw Silly Wizard (Gordon’s new band) for the first time. I was due to open the second half but said they don’t want to listen to me, put the band back on.

I heard the phrase musical gypsy once and that really applied to me. I got back into performing at the Wellington Folk Club run by Bob Buckle and Roger Parker.

My only guitar at this time was a Yamaha 12 string but only had 6 strings on it. I was too embarrassed to take it to the club and Roger frequently let me use one of his very posh guitars.

From there (in no particular order) I was employed by Wirral Leisure Services to run, the FOLK in the Park concerts in Vale Park New Brighton on Sunday afternoons hosted by Tinlantin.

It was during this time that I was singing with Still Water,then Bad penny. I was asked to start a club at the Albion Hotel and signed up George and Gill Peckham and a duo called Ages Apart. We ran the club on a Singers night, Guest night and a Residents night. It was coming up for my residents night and I knew I was going to struggle. In Liscard one day I bumped into Bill Mowbray (ex Tinlantin) and asked him if he fancied helping me out on my night. Not only did he say yes but got in touch with Tim Kendal (Tinlantern Bass player) and the rest as they say is history.

Ages apart moved away and Jeff Hurst came in, not only to sing on the Albion album but to design the whole cover too.

Around this time the seeds were being sown for Burgundy Road. This was Bill and I wanting to record lots of songs we hadn’t done yet. It was when I asked Jo

Gibson to record a song with us that things started to fall into place. The final line up was myself, Bill Mowbray, Jo Gibson, Clare Mc Dermot and Mike Watson as engineer and guitarist.

Other bands over the years have included, Mockbeggar, Burgundy Road, Dragons brew etc. These later bands have a wealth of stories attached to them and who knows they might come out one day.

So that’s it folks, a BIG thank you to everyone involved with my musical journey and a special thanks to Brian Jones for all the time and hard work he has put in to make this web site such a wonderful success.

Join Brian Jones as he chats with Wirral folk stalwart Mal Jones – a singer, guitarist and self-described “musical gypsy” whose life in music began playing bugle in 1st Moreton Boys Brigade band and grew into decades of songs, clubs and friendships.

gallery
HIGHLIGHTS

READY FOR ANOTHERstory

READY FOR ANOTHERstory

Take a look in to all our artists for your next trip down memory lane…