Growing Up with Graham Jones
From the dedicated dad who lives down the road, to the 80s sensation who rubbed shoulders with Rod Stewart, Graham Jones takes us on a trip down memory lane.
I sit reflecting on just how strange it is when one of ‘the dads’ from your local surf life saving club turns out to be the bass player from the 1980s pop sensation ‘Haircut 100'. I cannot remember a time when I did not know who Graham Jones was - my friend’s dad that is. He was there at the barbecues, in my primary school watching nativities, buying raffle tickets at fairs. Only when he produced a Christmas CD was I told the extent of his musical expertise - a bass player with a regular spot on ‘Top of the Pops’. My parents well remember the prime of ‘Haircut 100’. My mum reminisces on a time when Nick Haywood (Front man and lead vocalist) was the nation’s heart-throb and my dad still has his copy ‘The Rock Yearbook 1983’ in which the ‘pop-funk’ band are featured. The universe has indeed slipped into parallel dimensions.
​
Today, meeting Graham at our local beach bar in Porthtowan, the conversation isn’t our usual back and forth about the surf conditions. Today, I am eager to talk to him about his experience as an 80s icon. He sits casually on a sofa, its the same sofa we sat on last week to watch the rugby. He sports a brown leather jacket with a deliberately shabby finish - it has a real vintage feel. We order a drink each, me a sparkling water and him a mocha - its the type of drink I would expect Graham to order, but maybe not a ‘punk rocker’.
Having listened to the band’s music, I would primarily place it within the genre of Pop but Graham explains that it is “a sound born from punk, new wave and soul”. He had been in a punk band when he met Nick Haywood, through the grapevine of their girlfriends. Nick, at the time, was in a new wave band. “Think ‘Talking Heads’ ” Graham tells me. Each attended one another’s gigs and hit it off both musically and personally. “And the rest is history” Graham laughs. Its a phrase only acclaimed musicians can get away with saying without the need for any explanation.
​
It is fascinating to listen to the recollections of such a different music scene. Bands would have to compete vigorously for exposure in pre-internet/TikTok times, and being spotted was the primary aim. “What happens first is you end up going around the circuit. Its hard trying to get gigs. So what we ended up doing was putting on our own gigs and private parties. We would invite friends and invite the press, hoping that they would come. We had one chap that came along and he worked for ‘Sounds’”.
​
With ‘Sounds’, ‘Melody Maker’ and ‘NME’ being the music mouths of the time, getting the word spread by them was equivalent to going viral and it was that reporter from ‘Sounds’ that put the band on the map. "This guy did a review on us and we actually got a quarter of a page, which was massive. Then record companies started having a sniff around and coming to see us” he begins to explain - but is interrupted by the waitress delivering our food. He nods: “Thanks Sue love, love to Darren” before dropping us back onto the roadmap to stardom: “Yeah so then they start asking: ‘got any songs?’ Then they want to hear the songs that might become singles. Then they ask if you’ve got an album’s worth of material. Then they come along and watch you at rehearsals and see gigs and ask for demos and then its up from there!”
​
From here came the flood of opportunities, culminating in ‘Top of the Pops’ - an experience Graham remembers to be “quite bizarre”. He enlightens me on the staging of the show: “You’re miming. Nothing is live on there. Next time you watch, have a look. All of the drums have got plastic symbols,; all of the bases have got pads on them. They play your record through a sound system, you get a few little beeps counting you in so you know when to start miming.”
​
I think back to the handful of times I have watched the show. Being born in 2001, this has mostly been on Christmas Day. Its hard to believe such an energy could be artificially crafted. The interaction between the musicians and dancers has always felt electric. When I am told “Its like a little conveyor belt of bands and public” I can’t help but feel cheated. Despite this, I am learning that, ‘Top of the Pops’ had groundbreaking effects for musicians of this time:
​
“If your record sells enough units to get you in the Top 40, then you get an invitation to go on ‘Top of the Pops’, and once you get on, your profile just sky rockets.” Graham explains.
​
There is something about this process that feels sacred to me. Both old legends and new additions to the music industry, coming together in a lottery of the general public’s musical taste. ‘Haircut 100’ found themselves dropped in a mosh pit of music legends. “People like Queen, Rod Stewart, Kate Bush, Elton John - all the high bands” to name a few.
​
Finding an identity among such stars is a process Graham describes as “Really fucking hard” .
​
Despite this, ‘The Haircuts’ went from strength to strength, landing tours, parties and a dedicated fan base. A normal day no longer meant the 9-5 and pint at the local. “Well a normal day would be: Wake up and go to the window and hear screaming fans who were camped outside, try and ignore the doorbell, head off in a taxi to record company or press office for phone pre tour interviews, maybe a photo shoot for a teen mag like ‘Oh Boy’, head off to the BBC for ‘Top of the Pops’ or similar TV show, out clubbing at 'Le Beat Route’, ‘Wag' or ‘The Blitz’.” Graham smiles.
​
There is a certain energy about his body language as he reminisces on the whirlwind that was “Haircut 100”. It has always been hard to think of the man that brought cupcakes to the beach on his daughter’s 5th birthday party as anything other than a pretty great dad. But now, sat opposite him, I can see the version of him that topped the charts. I can see the man who rubbed shoulders with superstars.
​
As we get up to leave the cafe, Graham turns to me: “I never took anything for granted. Thing is, you are put in a privileged position. Its not guaranteed that its gonna last. I always remembered who I was and never took anything for granted”. This appreciation for his opportunities is what makes Graham Jones, the dad from the surf club. We walk down the beach to meet our families and go back to discussing just how awful the surf forecast is for the rest of the week.
​