Lesley-Ann Jones

Last updated

Lesley-Ann Jones
Lesley-Ann Jones signing.jpg
Jones signing books
Born Kent, England
OccupationAuthor
LanguageEnglish
ChildrenThree
Website
www.lesleyannjones.com

Lesley-Ann Jones is a British author, journalist and broadcaster who spent more than 20 years as a national newspaper journalist on Fleet Street.

Contents

Early life

Jones was born in Kent, England, the daughter of sports reporter Ken Jones, [1] and her uncle is former Wales footballer Cliff Jones. She is of Welsh descent. She read French and Spanish at the University of Westminster, and worked in the music industry before moving to journalism.[ citation needed ]

Career

In the 1980s, Jones worked for Chrysalis Records, London, where she wrote sleeve notes, prepared press releases and organised interviews for the national press. She moved into television at the inception of Channel 4.[ clarification needed ] The prime-time Saturday-night pop-music magazine series Ear Say, which she co-presented with Capital Radio DJs Nicky Horne and Gary Crowley, led to guest appearances on a variety of TV and radio shows, including Capital's You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet, a weekly music quiz produced by pop guru Phil Swern, and Radio Clyde’s Bill Padley Show, with Padley and singer/songwriter Jim Diamond.

Jones also wrote a weekly column for The Sun . She spent six years as a showbusiness feature-writer for the Daily Mail , Mail On Sunday and You magazine, touring with Paul McCartney, David Bowie, [2] the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Queen, [3] [4] and other star acts of the day.

As a freelance feature writer, her contributions to publications in the UK, US, Australia and Europe included interviews with Tony Blair, Frank Sinatra, Raquel Welch, Mel Gibson, Charlton Heston, Paul McCartney, Brigitte Bardot and Princess Margaret. She appeared weekly for several years on BFBS Forces Radio with Tommy Vance, and worked on documentaries on Stevie Nicks, Ken Russell and Jermaine Jackson. The Pampers nappies commercial she filmed with her baby daughter for Saatchi & Saatchi was aired across Europe for 18 months.

Following three years writing columns and features for the Sunday Express and the Mail on Sunday , she revised and updated her 1997 biography of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Republication by Hodder & Stoughton in October 2011 (paperback 2012) was due to coincide with the release of a Mercury biopic to commemorate the 21st anniversary of his death. Production of the film was delayed, and it was not released until 2018. [5] In 2025, she published a book alleging that Mercury had a secret daughter, born in the 1970s. [6]

In 2010, Jones was appointed Showbusiness Editor [7] for SKY/Freesat's music channel Vintage TV. She wrote and presented their celebrity interview series Me & Mrs Jones, produced by Transparent Television.

In December 2015, Jones wrote and co-produced The Last Lennon Interview for ShowBiz TV. [8] It was first aired on the 35th anniversary of John Lennon’s death.

Personal life

Jones lives in London and Kent. She has a son and two daughters.[ citation needed ]

Published works

References

  1. ↑ "Ken Jones RIP: From red-hot football reporter to authoritative and balanced all-round sports columnist". Sportsjournalists.co.uk. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  2. ↑ "The Culture Interview: Lesley-Ann Jones". The Advantages of Age. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  3. ↑ "Freddie Mercury Biographer Lesley-Ann Jones on the 'Incredibly Shy Man' She Knew". Billboard. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  4. ↑ David Kirby (13 July 2012). "'Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury,' by Lesley-Ann Jones and '40 Years of Queen,' by Harry Doherty". The Washington Post . Washington, D.C. ISSN   0190-8286. OCLC   1330888409.
  5. ↑ "Bohemian Rhapsody: Queen biopic surpasses $900m at box office". BBC. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  6. ↑ Hall, James (6 September 2025). "'I believe the strange saga of Freddie Mercury's secret daughter'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
  7. ↑ Jones, Lesley-Ann. "ME & MRS JONES – Transparent TV". transparent.tv. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  8. ↑ Peebles, Andy; Jones, Lesley Ann (8 December 2015). "JOHN LENNON". Showbiz TV.
  9. ↑ Jones, Lesley-Ann (2019). Tumbling Dice. Independently Published. ISBN   9781091752047.
  10. ↑ Jones, Lesley-Ann (2018). Bohemian Rhapsody: The Definitive Biography of Freddie Mercury. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN   9781444733693.
  11. ↑ Jones, Lesley-Ann (2016). Hero: David Bowie. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN   9781444758818.
  12. ↑ Jones, Lesley-Ann (2015). Imagine. Mulcahy Books. ISBN   978-1519274649.
  13. ↑ Jones, Lesley-Ann (2013). Ride a white swan : The Lives And Death of Marc Bolan . ISBN   978-1444758795.
  14. ↑ Jones, Lesley-Ann (2011). Freddie Mercury : The Definitive Biography ([New edition] ed.). London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN   9781444733679.
  15. ↑ Jones, Lesley-Ann (1997). Freddie Mercury The Definitive Biography. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN   0340672080.
  16. ↑ Jones, Lesley-Ann & Gray Jolliffe (1996). Excuses, Excuses. London: K. Cathie Ltd. ISBN   9781856261821.
  17. ↑ Jones, Lesley-Ann (1993). Naomi : the rise and rise of the girl from nowhere. London: Vermilion. ISBN   9780091782825.
  18. ↑ Eggar, Robin; Swern, Phil; Jones, Lesley-Ann (1984). The Sony Tape Rock Review. Rambletree. ISBN   9780947894009.
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