Micky Jones
June 7, 1946 – March 10, 2010
Micky Jones was the founding lead singer and influential guitarist for ’70s Welsh rock band, Man. They were one of the acts that helped popularize what became known as British “pub rock,” a back-to-basics trend in rock that was also being cultivated by the likes of Brinsley Schwarz, Graham Parker, and Dave Edmunds. As time passed, Man’s sound grew more psychedelic, often drawing comparisons to the Grateful Dead or Quicksilver Messenger Service. In fact, it could be argued that they were the world’s first jamband. Though relatively unknown in the U.S., the band had several moderate hits in the U.K. and were very popular concert draws. The original group split up in 1976, but Jones reformed a variation of it in 1980 and continued to make a solid living along the pub rock circuit through the ’90s. In 2005, Micky Jones was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which lead him to permanently leave the group for treatment. The cancer ultimately took his life on March 10, 2010. He was 63.