The Jons

Local band The Jons have been named the winners of Southend’s Battle of the Bands.


In a musical spectacular, The Jons saw off competition from Lazarus Rose, Vacant Touch and The Peppermint Apes to win the seven-week competition, organised by Southend Radio 105.1.


The Jons, whose music is described as an infectious blend of bouncy ska, punk and indie, wowed the crowds at Southend’s Marine Parade on Saturday night (31 October), with hundreds of fans enjoying their energy-charged performance, and then taking part in a text vote to make them the winners.

- http://longpier.blogspot.com/2009/11/jons-win-southends-battle-of-bands.html

WINNERS of the 2009 Southend Battle of the Bands competition, The Jons have certainly made their mark since picking up the award in October.
Described as an infectious blend of bouncy ska, punk and indie, it didn’t take the Southend band long to win the judges over with their energetic performance at the finals in October.
But despite their success, the five lads still can’t believe they did so well.
“It’s an amazing feeling to have won,” explains Tom McFaull, lead vocalist of The Jons. “I still get texts through from Sam saying ‘We Won!’ It still hasn’t really sunk in yet. But we’re all absolutely chuffed as it gives us the chance to really get ourselves heard.”
The band, which includes Tom on vocals, Jack Burgess and Neil Hickson on lead guitars, Ollie Stone drumming and Sam Catton on bass, all admit that it was by pure chance that they entered the competition.
“We had turned up for a radio show and the bouncer asked us if we were part of the 2009 Battle of the Bands,” explains 18-year-old Tom. “We didn’t know anything about it, but we found out that there was a cancellation so we managed to nab the spot. We were lucky - it’s given us the break we need.”
Even though the band has been together for three years, Tom has only been a part of the line up for the past nine months, but has already made a big impact on the group.
“A lot of our songs now were taken from ideas before I joined the group,” said Tom, who is originally from Upminster. “But when I became a part of the band, it gave everyone else free range to focus on what they needed to.”
And with a famous musician in the family, it’s no wonder that Tom has found his feet in The Jons.
“My dad is Colin McFaull,” continues Tom. “He was a part of the punk rock band Cock Sparrow back in the 70’s, so I guess my dad has to be my biggest idol.
“Just imagine growing up and seeing your dad performing to crowds of 6,000 punks. That’s when I knew that I wanted to be like my dad.”
So where does the name ‘The Jons’ come from? “It’s a combination of all our names,” explains Tom. “Originally the band were called ‘JONS’ because of Jack, Olly, Neil and Sam. But then they threw me into the mix to make ‘The’. They would have been buggered if my name was Percy!” he laughs.
“Most of our lyrics relate to every day life really,” continues the singer.
“We’re not going to start singing about falling in love with a girl or anything. We’re just a group of normal lads enjoying singing about life.
“We play happy, feel-good music that’s full of energy. And when we perform live, we love jumping around on stage and just having a great time.”
So is there any group in the charts that the group aspire to be like?
“Not particularly,” he admits. “It’s actually really exciting to think that we don’t sound like another band out there at the moment. It just proves that we are unique.”
- http://www.theenquirer.co.uk/Battle+of+the+Jons%20id=1331