Stratford musician Terry John Jones whose former band was a John Peel favourite reveals he’s making a comeback
HE became a well-known face around Stratford during six years as a town host – but now Terry John Jones is going back to his musical roots.
As part of happier times at Stratforward – the old name for Stratford BID – he would be seen welcoming visitors, and popping in and out of businesses to keep people in touch with what was going on.
He also supported many of the buskers around the town but now, in a role reversal, he will soon be the one out and about with a guitar, as he sets off on a busking tour this weekend.
And while taking a chance on finding a good spot to perform, good weather and getting an appreciative audience is often a first step on a musical journey for many – for Terry, it’s a return to a world he was once very much part of.
His early years were spent up the road at Acocks Green, where, as previously documented in the Herald, he was part of a band that was championed by the legendary John Peel.
He was the teenage drummer for The Quads, in a line-up that also featured his two brothers and a friend of his older brother – and the track that catapulted them into the limelight was their debut single There Must Be Thousands.
Released in 1979, it had the youthful energy of the time and, while not knocking The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks from top spot in his affections, Peel rated The Quads’ opening salvo as up there with the best and he frequently played both sides of the single on his shows.
He once famously said, in 1999: “I would not swap my single of There Must Be Thousands for the entire recorded works of Oasis or Radiohead” – and a copy of it was found in a box of treasured singles discovered after his death.
While the vagaries of the music industry saw several brushes with fame never turn into the big time, they were together for a number of years and Terry has many memories from those days.
But when the band broke up, he turned his back on the music industry, eventually moving to Stratford and getting his first, albeit short-lived proper job at the Arden Hotel.
The time at Stratforward came after that and then, after a short spell at Banbury BID, he is now back in his adopted home town working for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
But it was about eight years ago he felt the call to return to music.
Encouraged by his mother’s words, “That is who you are, son. You are music,” he embarked on a journey of musical rediscovery.
He didn’t want to look back – by being in a band or being a drummer – so started singing lessons and refining his guitar skills, while developing his songwriting.
And that has now led to the release of new single, You Are the Love of My Life, on 16th August, available across all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, TikTok, and YouTube.
To add to his new acoustic style, which leaves the old days far behind, the track features another familiar name on the Stratford musical scene, Tori Rushton, on the cello – and Grace Shepherd on violin.
And he describes the song as a celebration of love in all its forms: “Yes, it’s a love song, and love is the glue that holds us together. Music is a connector that pulls us together.
“It’s about different loves, whether for your child, your elderly parent, or your partner.”
The tour is due to start this Saturday, 20th July in Stratford, before heading to Cheltenham on Sunday and then other dates in the Midlands and London.
