‘When my daughter was born blind it changed my whole outlook on life’
Linda Stewart talks to musician and broadcaster George Jones (75), who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his showband Clubsound. He lives on the Ards Peninsula with his wife Hilary and has two children, Jason (49) and Natalie (46), and three grandchildren Sophie (19), Jessica (17) and Ethan (12)
Q Tell us about your childhood
A I was born in a working class area of east Belfast, in a kitchen house with a scullery, in the Bloomfield area of east Belfast. I had a sister who was 10 years older than me and her name is Lally.
My father, George, had two lorries — he was what was known in those days as a carrier. He picked up deliveries from the docks and took them to places like Belfast Ropeworks, which was the biggest ropeworks in the world at that stage. We lived in the street beside it — one wall of the ropeworks was one side of the street.
We were not that well off, like many families after the war. My father was a very hardworking man, never much for sentiment, and my mother Marion was just the typical hardworking wee housewife who kept the house running on whatever money came in. My sister became a telephonist in Telephone House at Cromac Street.
We spent our childhood playing in the street. There were a couple of lorries on the street and we played on them, or we would go to Orangefield — back then it was forest and rivers and we went up there and became cowboys, or soldiers, and we caught little fish in the river. If we were feeling really adventurous we went to Belvoir and camped overnight but normally we packed up and came home before dark.
I went to Elmgrove Primary School — Van Morrison went to the same school. We grew up together in east Belfast and then I transferred into Belfast Technical High School at the College of Technology.
Q What are you most proud of?
A I suppose my family really, because they’ve stuck with me in my mad travelling over 50 or 60 years in the music business. On a more commercial side, my proudest moment would have been winning the Sony award for the best UK local radio presenter in 1991.
Q The one regret you wish you could amend?
A I took the family to South Africa after getting caught up in the Abercorn restaurant bomb in Belfast (on March 4, 1972, in which two women were killed and 130 people injured) when I was playing with my band upstairs.
I’ll never forget it — I remember waiters being blown across the floor and broken glass. Everything went into slow motion, the alarms went off and there was screaming.
We were so lucky to get out of there alive — the poor people who lost their lives and limbs below in the Abercorn restaurant had no way of getting out. It was a horrendous thing and it stayed with me for many years.
In those days they used to interrupt TV programmes to say a bomb had gone off so I was worried about Hilary seeing it, so I tried to make my way out to the foyer to the payphone and it was practically all blown away except for the joists. We tried to get people over to the stage because there was an emergency exit behind it.
After that, we felt we wanted to get out of the country for the family’s sake. We signed a contract for a year in Claridges Hotel in Durban, but before we could go we had to work for eight or nine months in England before the contract come into effect.
In those months the band rose to a height that we had never dreamed of. Unfortunately we had the contract signed and we had to go, and it was the worst year of my life. During that year, we took my little son with us, and he nearly died of typhoid — he was on the critical list for five or six weeks. As soon as he got back on his feet, I sent my wife and son home and I waited out the contract.
But two months later, my sister phoned to say my father was dying. I left the contract and they took a lot of money off me — I got home an hour before the funeral.
My regret was that we didn’t stay in England and we went to South Africa because it triggered a lot of bad things in my life. I came home with virtually nothing except my guitar. I had no home so we stayed with Hilary’s mum and dad.
A year or so later, Natalie was born and she was blind. It was a rough time, but we got through all that, we built ourselves up again from nothing and we decided that, Troubles or no Troubles, we needed to stay.
In 1974 we reformed Clubsound and became massively popular again and we played all over Northern Ireland, no matter where. It’s our 50th anniversary this year and there were plans to play a gig at the City Hall but it’s been cancelled due to the coronavirus.
Q What about phobias? Do you have any?
A My greatest phobia is going blind. You wake up in the pitch black and you have to turn the light on to make sure everything is ok. I do a lot of artwork and I would hate to lose my sight. This is not a reflection on my daughter’s condition — it didn’t start after she was born blind. I’ve had this all my life.
Q The temptation you cannot resist?
A Peanuts probably — I eat far too many of them. And lemon meringue pie. My biggest temptation is that I love to watch football and I would watch it at all hours of the night. I am a fan of Manchester United and if they’re on I just have to watch.
Q Your number one prized possession?
A It would probably be my guitars. I cherish them — they are the tools of my work and I treasure them because it took a long time to get the ones I wanted. The ones I have were made for me. Also photographs and memories of the journey of my life — I cherish those very much.
Q The book that’s most impacted your life?
There’s a small book of poems called The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam — the poems are short but are so powerful and meaningful. Also The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
(left), because there are so many connotations and meanings you could take out of it. CS Lewis lived in Bloomfield and because I’m a Christian I really appreciate his Christian ethics. I would mention the Bible as well because it has helped me since I become a Christian.
Q If you had the power or the authority, what would you do?
A Feed the world and ban money because I think we are ruining this world for money. My mother taught me that money is the root of all evil and we’re seeing what it’s doing to the world for the sake of greed and causing starvation.
Q What makes your blood boil every time without fail?
A The amount of advertisements on TV and radio — I can’t take it. Every single moment that we have is used to advertise products. Also, man’s inhumanity to man and man’s inhumanity to animals are two other things that make my blood boil.
Q Who has most influenced you in life?
A My sister Lally — she bought me my first guitar when I was aged 11 and my father wouldn’t. He thought it was a load of rubbish. She was a brilliant singer and a member of glee clubs, although she never went on stage. She saw my love for music and she encouraged me to get started on my journey in life and always inspired me to do the best I could.
Q Your top three dinner party guests, dead or alive, and why?
A The first would be Buddy Holly (above right) who’s been my greatest inspiration. I was very sympathetic with him because I wore glasses which I thought were awful, but I saw him wearing glasses and he was a massive star — but it’s his music as well that I love.
The second would probably
be Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King because they both sacrificed their lives to try to change the world.
The third would be Bruce Hornsby — I love his music, I love everything about him. I was very privileged to interview him and I think he’s an incredible character.
Can I have another? I definitely would love John Lennon (right) because the Beatles changed the world and he was one of the most influential members of the band.
Q The best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A The best piece of advice I ever received was from a broadcasting colleague when I was starting a radio career — he said when you’re talking on the radio, speak as if you are speaking to one person. Regarding general life advice, it would be from my mum — we lived in a working class area and she always said: “Never forget who you are and where you come from.” The whole line was summed up with: “Always be yourself.” I’ve interviewed Hillary Clinton, rock stars, archbishops and I’ve always been myself. It has helped me in my interviewing career because it has brought the interview just down to a normal chat. It has helped me to be grounded — I’ve never had any airs and graces about myself. In Northern Ireland people have a tendency to spot that.
Q The unlikely interest or hobby that you love?
A My hobby is painting and it was sparked off by my sister. When I was a teenager I always did a bit of doodling and cartoons. I couldn’t afford to go to the college of art, but I did a postal course and it trained me in sketching and shading.
All the sketches that I did, my sister gave them to me in an envelope three or four years ago and that started my painting career which has blossomed over the last three or four years. I never dreamed that I would be selling paintings.
It’s a lovely feeling at my age to step into something new and especially during Covid-19 it’s been a great escape route for me.
Q The poem that touches your heart?
A Daffodils by Wordsworth. I’ve loved it all my life, even as a school child. It’s a poem about escapism and getting away from everyday life — it paints a wonderful picture.
Q The happiest moment of your life?
A Getting married and my children being born — you just don’t get any happier than that. I’ve had lots of happy moments in my career but they just don’t reach the sort of heights that that does.
Q And the saddest moment of your life?
A My saddest moment was my radio show being axed in 2006 — it sparked off the biggest change in my life and career. I loved my show, Just Jones, and I’d done it for 21 years. I loved my listeners so it was a very sad time in my life, and it’s one of the reasons I’m painting now.
Q What event changed your life?
A I suppose my daughter being born blind changed my and my wife’s whole outlook on life and on families who have a disabled child. Seeing Natalie growing up and coping in life, after that one moment when we thought all was lost, for her to come through that and for us to come through was a big, big change in our lives.
Q What’s the ambition that keeps driving you onwards?
A I suppose it’s what anybody’s ambition is, to do the best you can to achieve happiness and contentment. If I have to do it through music or art, that would give me a great sense of achievement. I’ve had 51 years doing great things in music and I’ve travelled to so many places, and I’m so grateful that I’ve achieved it. I think if you stop achieving, you’ve called it a day and I don’t want to do that.
Q What’s the philosophy you live by?
A Being a Christian, it’s about loving your neighbour, your family, and to help your fellow man.
Q How do you want to be remembered?
A As someone who made people happy. Through all I’ve done in radio, music, art, and comedy, if I’ve made people smile, that’s the way I’d like to be remembered.