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Janie Jones

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For other uses, see Janie Jones (disambiguation).

Marion Mitchell (born 1941[1] in Seaham, County Durham), better known by her stage name Janie Jones, is a former English singer. She became renowned for holding sex parties at her home during the 1970s, and was jailed for her involvement in 'controlling prostitutes'.[2][3] She first achieved notoriety in August 1964, when she attended the film premiere of London in the Raw, wearing a topless dress.[4]

Career

Jones began her show-business career as a cabaret artist in late 1950s London. She performed first at the Windmill Theatre, and later in clubs in Mayfair and elsewhere in London.[5] Her sister Valerie Mitchell later released a single called The Windmill Girls, the theme tune of the 1966 film Secrets of a Windmill Girl.[6]

She began recording songs and embarked on another career as a pop singer in the 1960s, her greatest success coming in 1966 with the novelty song "Witches Brew",[7] which was her first single and peaked at number 46 in the UK Singles Chart.[8]

Subsequent releases failed to have any impact in the UK chart, but were all collected and released on the compilation album, We're in Love with the World of Janie Jones, in 1997.[9]

At the height of her fame as a singer, Jones appeared on various television programmes, including Thank Your Lucky Stars and Mike and Bernie's Show.[10]

After being released from prison, she still made occasional appearances on the small screen including The Russell Harty Show, where she sang two songs in 1977,[11] the BBC's The Time of Your Life in 1984, where she appeared in a reconstruction of the summer of 1964,[12] and The James Whale Radio Show, in an episode focusing on the theme of Scandal in 1990.[13]

Discography

Source[14]

  • "Witches Brew" / "Take-A My Tip" (11/65) HMV POP1495 - UK: No. 46
  • "Gunning For You" / "Go Go Away From Me" (3/66) HMV POP1514
  • "Tickle Me Tootsie Wootsies" / "High And Dry" (4/67) Columbia DB8173
  • "Charlie Smith" / "Nobody's Perfect" (5/68) Pye 7N17550
  • "Girl's Song" / "I've Never Met A Boy Like You" (9/68) Major Minor MM577
  • "Back On My Feet Again" / "Psycho" (1970) President PT309
  • "House of the Ju-Ju Queen" / "Sex Machine" (as Janie Jones & The Lash, 1983) Big Beat NS91 Janie Jones RPM177

Imprisonment

The cabaret singer was sentenced to seven years imprisonment (serving three years)[2] in 1974 for her involvement in 'controlling prostitutes'.

Whilst in jail, she met and befriended the 'Moors murderess' Myra Hindley, and made numerous television appearances insisting that Hindley was a reformed woman and should be considered for release. However, Jones developed a deep hatred for Hindley in 1986, when Hindley finally confessed to her other crimes.[15] In 1993 she wrote an autobiography titled The Devil and Miss Jones: The Twisted Mind of Myra Hindley.

The Clash

She is the subject of a song by The Clash called "Janie Jones", which was released in 1977 on the band's eponymous debut album.[16] In 2006, the song was covered by Babyshambles. Jones appeared in the music video for the Babyshambles version, being chauffeured around London together with Mick Jones.

In 1983,[17] Jones, backed by members of The Clash and the Blockheads and credited as Janie Jones & The Lash, recorded a single, "House of the Ju-Ju Queen" b/w "Sex Machine", which was produced by Joe Strummer and released the following year. In December 1983, the British music magazine, NME, reported that Jones was on the 'comeback trail'.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Janie Jones". Probert Encyclopaedia. Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b Mendick, Robert (20 October 2012). "Jimmy Savile: Secret of BBC's first sex scandal". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  3. ^ Edwards, Susan (2 September 2003). "The legal regulation of prostitution: a human rights issue". In Graham Scambler (ed.). Rethinking Prostitution: Purchasing Sex in the 1990s. Routledge. pp. 61–62. ISBN 9781134807000. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  4. ^ "In Love with Janie Jones: The Clash and the Bad Girl Who Inspired One of Their Greatest Songs". Dangerous Minds. 9 September 2010. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Janie Jones". Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  6. ^ Anne Etienne, Benjamin Halligan, Christopher Weedman: Adult Themes: British Cinema and the X Certificate in the Long 1960s (2023), pp. 157-8
  7. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1314. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  8. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 289. ISBN 978-1-904994-10-7.
  9. ^ "We're in Love with the World of Janie Jones - Janie Jones | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Durrants Press Cuttings". Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Episode dated 13 May 1977". IMDb.com. Russell Harty, Janie Jones. 13 May 1977. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. ^ "The Time of Your Life". The Radio Times. No. 3166. 12 July 1984. p. 61. ISSN 0033-8060. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  13. ^ Scandal, Janie Jones, James Whale, 23 March 1990, archived from the original on 20 March 2018, retrieved 20 March 2018{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. ^ "Janie Jones". Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  15. ^ Geraldine Bedell (18 April 1993). "Profile: Beyond forgiveness?: Myra Hindley". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  16. ^ a b Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 387. CN 5585.
  17. ^ "Janie Jones and the Lash - House of the Ju-Ju Queen".
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