Brian Jones

Birth Name:

Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones

Birth Date:

February 28, 1942

Birth Place:

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England

Death Date:

July 3, 1969

Place of Death:

Cotchfield Farms, Hartfield, East Sussex, England

Age:

Cause of Death:

Homicide - drowning (disputed)

Claim to Fame:

Music

Long-time Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman said of Brian Jones, "He formed the band. He chose the members. He named the band. He chose the music we played. He got us gigs. ... he was very influential, very important, and then slowly lost it – highly intelligent – and just kind of wasted it and blew it all away. Best known as the founder and original leader of the Rolling Stones Brian Jones, initially a slide guitarist, went on to play a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones recordings and in concerts, including rhythm guitar, lead guitar, sitar, dulcimer, various keyboard instruments such as piano. After he was dismissed from his own band, he died tragically in the former A. A. Milne estate when he was murdered (disputed) in the swimming pool.

Why was Brian asked to left the Rolling Stones?

According to Oldham in his book Stoned, Jones was an outsider from the beginning. When the first tours were arranged in 1963, he travelled separately from the band, stayed at different hotels, and demanded extra pay. According to Oldham, Jones was very emotional and felt alienated because he was not a prolific songwriter and his management role had been taken away. He “resisted the symbiosis demanded by the group lifestyle, and so life was becoming more desperate for him day by day. None of us were looking forward to Brian totally cracking up”. The toll from days on the road, the money and fame, and the feeling of being alienated from the group resulted in Jones’ overindulgence in alcohol and other drugs. These excesses had a debilitative effect on his physical and mental health and, according to Oldham, Jones became increasingly unfriendly and antisocial.

And who allegedly killed Brian Jones?

Handyman and builder Frank Thorogood allegedly confessed the murder to the Rolling Stones’ driver Tom Keylock, Thorogood is alleged to have killed Jones in a fight over money; he had been paid £18,000 for work on Cotchford Farm but he wanted another £6,000 from the musician.The killing is alleged to have been covered up by senior police officers when they discovered how badly the investigation into Jones’s death had been botched by the local police.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Bouncers Lane

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, , GL52 5JT

Cheltenham Cemetery and Crematorium

Europe

Map:

Grave Location:

Section V / 11393

Grave Location Description

From the Brian Jones Fan Club:

Turn right into the cemetery and follow the road around to the left, at the second V junction bear right (the first junction is no entry, being part of the one-way system). Follow the road around to the right to the second 4 way intersection. On the left you’ll see a large oak tree with a bench beneath it. Turn right here and then left into the car park. Walking back to the bench you’ll find Brian’s resting place opposite. Approximately 30 yards (27 metres) behind Brian’s grave (almost in a straight line from the bench through his grave) rests his sister Pamela.