The Jon Jones and the Beatnik Movement story started back in 2005 in the dark and dingy clubs, squats and alleyways of Bradford, UK. Four teenage friends (Joe, Stefan, Bob and Matt, later Mikey) were equally obsessed with ‘Raw Power’ era Stooges and with channelling their destructive partying power into amphetamine-fuelled, high-octane garage-punk.
Their early shows have become the stuff of local legend. They toured the UK and played regular sets at their very own club night ‘Rockers & Rollers’. By this time the line-up had changed to include lead guitarist Giles Sirius Hartman Stocks. The group, their night and their entourage, quickly grew in notoriety, as ‘R&R’ became a gathering place for like-minded people seeking an antidote to the proliferation of ‘twangy’ indie guitar music of the era.
2008 saw the release of their critically acclaimed EP ‘Engine Power’ (“Put it on to clear a room of all the losers with no time for real rock ‘n’ roll” - The Skinny) followed by a tour with fellow noise rockers The Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster. The following years saw Jason join on drums and band members recording and touring with other projects including Mother/Destroyer, Cut Yourself in Half and Kreeps who toured with The Horrors.
Fast forward to 2017 and the band came back with a bang. They released their limited 7” single ‘No Brainer’ on Leeds indie label Come Play With Me (B/W Leeds super-group Magick Mountain). The track was championed by Tom Robinson on BBC6 Music: “This’ll put hairs on your chest!”. A sold out show with US legends Meatbodies at Brudenell Social Club followed in the same year.
So, where to next? A highly anticipated first album is due for release in 2021, and though their sound has evolved since their earlier brand of no-nonsense psychobilly-tinged garage punk, the essence remains...
it’s overdriven, filthy and relentless.
It’s often hard to describe…
it’s Jon Jones and the Beatnik Movement.
Jon Jones and the Beatnik movement are:
Joe Ralph - Vocals
Giles Stocks - Guitar
Stefan Wilton - Bass
Jason Winder – Drums
Contact the band
jonjonesandthebeatnikmovement@hotmail.com