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Artist
Spencer P. Jones
12+ albums
countryNew Zealandcowpunk
about
Spencer Patrick Jones (1956-2018) was a guitar player and singer-songwriter from Te Awamutu, New Zealand. From 1976 he worked in Australia and was a member of various groups including The Johnnys, Beasts of Bourbon, Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls, Chris Bailey and The General Dog, Maurice Frawley and The Working Class Ringos, and Sacred Cowboys. Spencer has also issued ten albums as a solo artist. In May 2012 Australian Guitar magazine rated Jones as one of Australia's Top 40 best guitarists. Spencer Patrick Jones was born in 1956 and grew up on a farm in Te Awamutu, New Zealand. His father was a funeral director, farmer and then news agent. When his family moved to Auckland, Jones and his siblings studied piano. On his 14th birthday he was given a guitar and became a self-taught musician. From 1976 he has worked in Australia and his early groups were The Emotional Retards, Country Killed, Cuban Heels (1979–81), Beats Working (1981–82) and North 2 Alaskans (1982–83). In 1983 Spencer joined The Johnnys, a pub rock band, on lead guitar and backing vocals. Jones co-wrote their debut single, "I Think You're Cute", with their bass guitarist and lead vocalist, Roddy Rayda, which was issued in October. When Rayda left early in the next year, Spencer took over lead vocals. In April 1986 The Canberra Times described the group as a "combination of country punk, mayhem and cowboy image". In August that year Mushroom Records issued their debut album, Highlights of a Dangerous Life
