Like A Rolling Jones

Hot Press’s encounter with the legendary Steve Jones begins slightly earlier than scheduled. I arrive at the Wilshire Blvd headquarters of hip Los Angeles radio station Indie 103.1 at 1.40pm, a good twenty minutes before Jonesy’s Jukebox – the decidedly offbeat show the Sex Pistols guitarist has been hosting five days a week since 2004 – is due to end.

When the station’s PR person leaves me sitting outside the door of the studio, Jones unexpectedly pops out to say hello. Wearing a thick pair of horn-rimmed glasses and about three days worth of stubble, the 52-year-old is tall, stocky and healthily tanned.
“Alright, mate,” he says in a London accent unchanged by almost three decades of California living. “Get yerself in here and put some cans on. We’re having a bit of a wind-up at the moment, but don’t say nuffink.”
There are few radio DJs who’d casually invite a journalist they’ve never met before into studio right in the middle of a live broadcast, but Jones isn’t your typical jock. Through a combination of disarmingly down-to-earth charm and a freewheeling disregard for the normal conventions, the punk guitarist and ex-junkie who once seemed to have no future now finds himself acclaimed as one of the most original and influential personalities in US rock radio.
The station management have given him a free hand to do, say or play anything he wants, once he stays within FCC rules. It’s not uncommon for Jones to spend several minutes noisily eating a sandwich live on air, whilst reminiscing about the pork pies he used to consume as a youth. Or to start strumming a guitar, making up a song as he goes. Earlier today he had The Breeders in studio, and they spent the entire interview talking about giving up cigarettes.
I enter the studio – a small, dimly lit room wallpapered with music and Chelsea FC posters – ever so slightly worried that the wind-up is going to be perpetrated on me. Jones quickly introduces me to producer Kevin Begley and his current guest, Paul Potts – the Vodafone salesman turned professional tenor through winning ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent (he’s in LA playing a showcase).
The Dead Kennedys’ ‘Holiday In Cambodia’ is playing and I suddenly realise what the joke is. As the song draws to a close, Jones gives the nod to Begley, who whacks up the volume full blast just as vocalist Jello Biafra starts shouting, “Pol Pot! Pol Pot! Pol Pot! Pol Pot!”
Jones cackles away, but Potts is only slightly amused (actually, he seems more baffled than anything else) and the brief interview that follows is more like a casual chat in the pub. But that’s how Jonesy’s Jukebox goes.
Twenty minutes later we’re sitting in a small office down the hallway. “So, did ya fly over especially to meet me?” he asks. “Em... no,” I reply. “Cunt!” he laughs. “All right, let’s get on wiv it...”

OLAF TYARANSEN: So you’re headlining at Ireland’s Electric Picnic in August.
STEVE JONES: You know what? I have no idea where we’re playing. Someone sent me all the stuff, but it keeps getting added to. A week ago it was 19 festivals and now I think we’re up to 25 or something.
Have you played Ireland before?
In 1996, I think the Pistols were banned from playing Ireland. Maybe not banned, but there was some weird reason we weren’t playing there. But I went to Ireland with the Greedy Bastards [unholy 1978 ‘supergroup’ comprised of Jones, Paul Cook, Phil Lynott, Brian Downey and others – OT] years before. We played at the Stardust – the place that burnt down – and U2 opened up for us. It was when they first started. I had a good time there. Course, that was when I was drinking.
You’ve been sober for 17 years now.
I actually haven’t had a drink in 23 years, but I’ve been off everything for 17. Seventeen-and-a-bit.
You’ve even quit smoking cigarettes, as I heard you tell Kim Deal on the show earlier.
Yeah. You smoke – I can smell it on ya!!
Pistols fans must be amazed that Steve Jones has got a proper job and has to show up punctually for work everyday.
I can’t believe it myself. It wouldn’t have happened when I was 25. I’m 52 now, so I was 48 when I started this. You’ve gotta grow up sometime.
Were you surprised to get the opportunity?
Yeah. It was a weird thing. It’s like what Paul Potts was saying earlier. You never know what’s coming around the corner. ’Cos I’d never ever thought about doing something like this before. It wasn’t something that ever occurred to me: “Oh, I wonder if I should try getting on radio?” And then I got a phone call from someone who I knew from the music business, who knew the programme director at the time. I just said, “I wanna be a DJ” – the words just came outta my mouth – and that was it. Three weeks after I said it, I was on air. And here I am, four years later.
How bad were your addictions?
I was a mess – heroin and all that – for many years. But I’m grateful that I’ve come through the other side.
What prompted your rehabilitation?
I’ve no idea. Luck of the draw. I’ve never wanted to die. I’ve never been that gloomy. Even in my worst days of kicking heroin. I might have thought about dying, but I always had a bit of hope in the back of me head. I always knew things would be alright in the back of me head so… You know, I guess some guys don’t get that feeling, and that’s when they top themselves or whatever.
Were you shooting smack or just smoking it?
I was shooting it. For about eight years.
Were you wealthy from the Pistols?
Nah, not at all. I was just pretty much a junkie, selling everything I had to feed the beast.
Are you religious?
Nah. I really don’t believe in it. I hate to say it, but I’m just not a religious guy.
Are you a spiritual guy?
Em… I guess so. I mean, I sometimes have a conscious contact with a higher power. ’Cos I’m not God. So I do do that, but I don’t believe in all that stuff. I don’t believe in any religion. Catholic, Christian, whatever. It’s all bullshit. It’s a form of control from many, many, many years ago. And it’s all warped and distorted and perverted. And it causes wars.
You’ve said before that music saved you from a life of crime.
That’s a bit of a cliché, but I guess it did in a way. I think coming to America saved me from a life of crime. When I saw a documentary on the prisons here. Christ! That scared the shit outta me!
Have you ever been in prison?
Em… young man’s prison – in Ashford. I was in there for a month or two. It was like a real nick – it had the nick doors and everything. I didn’t like that. That was the last place I was ever in. I was in an ‘approved school’ for a year-and-a-half. And in a remand home a few times.
Is it true that you stole your first guitar from Mick Ronson?
No. My first guitar was the white Les Paul, the one that I had, which came from Sylvain Sylvain from the New York Dolls. Which Malcolm McLaren brought back with him. He was managing the New York Dolls for about 10 minutes and then he brought that guitar back with him and he gave it to me. So I actually didn’t nick that guitar. Though I have nicked a few guitars. I never nicked a guitar from Mick Ronson. Where’d you hear that anyway?
I read it on... erm... Wikipedia.
Well, it’s wrong! Do you know anyone can type anything they want on Wikipedia? Anyone can go on there at any time and add or take off anything that’s on Wikipedia, which is really weird.
I would’ve thought the anarchy of that would appeal to you.
Not really, ’cos you can get in trouble by someone writing something about you. Like saying you’re a fuckin’ child molester. If you don’t read it, how ya gonna know?
Do you keep an eye on what’s written about you online?
Not really, no.
On the show yesterday you sounded pissed off about social networking sites and were talking about deleting people from your MySpace friends list.
Off the MySpace, yeah. If they don’t put me in their top eight then I get rid of them. ’Cos I’m not asking to be their friend, they’re asking to be my friend and if they wanna be my friend, they should at least put me in their top eight or 16 or whatever it is. Yeah, I’m not into the numbers like a lot of people seem to be. And I don’t know what you gain from it, really.
What’s your lifestyle like in LA? Rumour has it that you’re a fan of health food restaurants.
Yeah, not all the time. I eat a bit of everything. I’m not a vegetarian. I love the weather here. I like the openness of it. I like being by the ocean.
Are you an American citizen?
I’ve got a green card.
I’m surprised you were able to get one!
Why?
Well, coming from such a notorious background.
I’m respectable now. I don’t think they care. When I first got here, I was a bit dodgy. It took me a while to get the green card.
Do you hang out with Johnny [Lydon] much?
Not a lot. We speak a lot on the phone, but I don’t see him a lot. But I’ll be seeing him a lot this summer.
Is it true that you’re recording new Pistols’ material as well as rehearsing the old stuff?
Well, we haven’t done that yet. I think we might be closer than we ever have been before to maybe knocking out some new ideas. So we haven’t as yet, but hopefully we will. I’d like to do some new songs just out of curiosity, you know?
What are your thoughts on Malcolm McLaren these days?
I couldn’t give a toss about him, to be honest with you. He’s just wrong. That bloke is just wrong.
He certainly came out of The Filth And The Fury very badly.
He comes out of everything badly. He claims he’s the big messiah and all that, as he’s doing some two bob documentary – getting a couple of grand under the table. It’s pretty pathetic. I used to defend him, but I couldn’t give a toss about him anymore. He just has a go, he don’t know what he’s saying, he don’t care who he’s hurting. It’s all about his ego – and it’s lame.
When’s the last time you saw him?
He actually came on my show a couple of years ago. I went off him after that.
Did something happen on the show?
No. A little while after that. He said a few things in some interview after being on here about… something. And it was just lame, you know. And I’d always defended him where people didn’t. He’s just lame. You know, I don’t even wanna talk about him [shakes head disgustedly].
Are you in a relationship these days?
Nah. I was always pretty horny back in the day. I’m still pretty horny today, but I can take it or leave it. I ain’t got the energy to run after ’em these days. Which is fine. A lot less hassle. I’m kind of happy about that. Because you can waste a lot of time just trying to get laid, you know. There’s no reward in it. But I’m kind of happy these days. Happiest I’ve ever been, I think.
Is that down to this radio gig?
Yeah, it gets you out of your shell. I’m an isolator. I like to isolate and not just be around anyone. And this forces me to be around people. It’s better for me, because of that. And they say, as you get older… you know, the people who live a long time are active. So as you get old you should stay active. It’s when you kind of give up that you shrivel away. So I’m gonna try and take that to heart.
Who’s been the worst guest on Jonesy’s Jukebox?
Um...there’s literally only been about four or five. I’ve had hundreds of guests. It’s a toss up between Jerry Lee Lewis, the guy from The Replacements [Paul Westerberg], Eric Burdon [Animals vocalist]… who else was there? It’s a toss-up between them three. They were the worst.
Were you rowing with them on air?
It got a little bit heavy with Jerry Lee. I made the mistake of putting my foot in it by asking him about what was it like going to England when you were married to your 13-year-old cousin. He was just like a bull with the red flag. And it was a bit hard to get him back on track. I mean, he’s not the most talkative guy. You ask him a question, and you get these ‘yes’ and ‘no’ kind of answers. So that was tough. But everyone said afterwards that it was intense and it was great radio, but I just didn’t like being the one that asked the question.
You’re sitting at very close quarters in the studio, as well.
It’s very small in there, yeah. But that’s what’s good about it. It’s intimate in there, you know. And I can’t knock Jerry Lee Lewis – I love them real old rock and rollers. And I’ve enormous respect for them. But it was difficult.
Who was your best interviewee?
Oh Gawd! There’s been loads. I think one of my best was Cliff Richard, actually. I didn’t know him, but I ran into him in a restaurant here. He walked in and I was looking at him going, “That can’t be Cliff Richard.” And I went up to him and said, “I’ve got a radio show here and I’m a big fan; why don’t you come on?” And I think he thought I was taking the mickey out of him.
Did he know who you were?
Not really. He’s kind of in a bubble. But he took me number, and I guess he did some homework, and about six months later I got a call from his publicist or agent or whatever saying he wants to come on. He was out here doing a showcase.
Were you serious when you told him you were a fan?
I genuinely like him. I’m not trying to be all cool or whatever. I love his voice. And I actually would like to do an album with him. Like an unplugged kind of deal, with me and a couple of other guys playing guitar and maybe some other things, and do some of them old songs. ’Cos his voice is still amazing. We did about six songs on the show. I was rehearsing the day before with my mate Naveen Andrews, who’s in that TV show Lost. And he’s a really good guitar player. So I was like, “Cliff Richard is coming on! We’ve gotta rehearse some songs!” And he’s good with all the little fiddly bits. And sure enough, he came on with a guitar. You couldn’t shut him up, Cliff. He was brilliant. That was one of the best moments for me. I know a lot of people in America don’t know who he is, but for me that was a highlight.
Do you ever swear on the show?
Nah. You get fined, you know. I haven’t yet, somehow. It’s actually more fun when you can’t swear than if you could. I’d say it gets kind of boring if you was on Sirius Satellite [home of shock-jock Howard Stern], where you’re allowed to swear. I mean, there’s been a few times when I’d have liked to say ‘cunt’. But I don’t mind it.
You’ve never slipped up?
Maybe once or twice. ’Cos sometimes you forget. You get so relaxed in there, talking to people, that you forget where you are. That’s what happens. But the swearing thing happens more with guests. Guests that you wouldn’t think are gonna swear, real straight goers, they get so relaxed – and they’re the ones who swear. It’s not like the rock and rollers. It’s bizarre.
Are you still playing with Hollywood United Football Club?
Yeah. Played last Monday night. Scored a goal. We won 5-0 in the over 40’s. There’s three different teams. There’s the young guys, there’s us, and then there’s a girls team. The older guys are called ‘Dad’s Army’.
Are they all celebrities?
No, not really. Just a couple of guys. Anthony La Paglia, from that show Without A Trace. It comes and goes. It’s mainly English blokes who’ve been out here for years and we love it – it’s fun just having a bunch of blokes to play football with. Normal stuff. I need that in my life, you know.
Do you miss the UK much?
Not really. I go back now and again. I miss pie and mash-ups and going to football matches, and that’s about it. Oh, and walking – I like to walk.
Are you still estranged from your mum?
No. We’re talking. Gawd bless her. We talk about once every week or two weeks on the phone. And I see her when I go back there.
That’s a bit of a turnaround, isn’t it?
It is, yeah. On my part. I always felt like I was the victim, but I had to grow up a bit and realise that she did the best she could. She’s alright.
You played on Ian Brown’s The World Is Yours album last year.
Yeah, I did. A couple of tracks. I didn’t see him, though. It was just flown over here and I took it in a studio and put the guitar on. Cookie played on it too [Paul Cook]. He played drums on a couple of tracks. I think Ian Brown wants to do a record with me and Cookie. Which I think could be good. More organic without all the bits and pieces on it.
You seem to be entering a more creative phase.
Yeah. I dunno. I mean, I think in this day and age, if you’re doing something like that, it’s just a labour of love because nobody buys records anymore. I like Ian Brown. I like his voice. Like I say, I’m just trying to keep busy. It might never happen, but we’ve been talking about it.
What can Irish fans expect from the Pistols’ show at the Electric Picnic?
Well, last November we did a bunch of shows. We played five nights in the Brixton Academy and one in Manchester and one in Glasgow. And it was great. We’re playing better than ever. We’re getting along better than we ever did. I think it’s safe to say we’re all growing up a little bit, and kind of being more accepting of each other. If it wasn’t like that I wouldn’t be doing it. ’Cos I don’t need the aggravation anymore. You know, we’re a dysfunctional family – and I love ‘em all!