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Lesley-Ann Jones | |
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![]() Jones signing books | |
Born | Kent, England |
Occupation | Author |
Language | English |
Nationality | British |
Children | Three |
Website | |
www |
Lesley-Ann Jones is a British author, [1] journalist and broadcaster who spent more than 20 years as a national newspaper journalist on Fleet Street. Of Welsh descent, she was born in Kent, England. She read French and Spanish at the University of Westminster, and worked in the music industry before moving to journalism.[ citation needed ]
In the 1980s, she 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 the singer's death. However, production of the film was delayed, and it was not released until 2018. [5]
In 2010, she was appointed Showbusiness Editor [6] 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, she wrote and co-produced The Last Lennon Interview for ShowBiz TV. [7] It was first aired on the 35th anniversary of John Lennon’s death.
The mother of a son and two daughters, she lives in London and Kent, England.
Her father was sports reporter Ken Jones, [8] and her uncle is ex-footballer Cliff Jones.