LESLEY-ANN
JONES
LESLEY-ANN JONES is an award-winning journalist and author with
over 20 years' experience in London, New York and Hollywood
After studying Modern Languages in London and Paris, and having
trained as a speaker and writer with the New York-based American
incentive company E.F. MacDonald and at the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts, she joined Chrysalis Records in London.
With artists such as Spandau Ballet, Jethro Tull, Special AKA, Midge
Ure & Ultravox and Blondie then affiliated to the label, Jones was
responsible for writing sleeve notes, preparing press releases and
organising interviews with the national press, which soon
facilitated a sidestep into television with the birth of Channel 4.
The prime-time Saturday night magazine series ‘Ear-Say’, which Jones
co-presented with Capital Radio DJs Nicky Horne and Gary Crowley,
led to her guesting widely on TV and radio shows - including regular
appearances on Capital Radio’s YAHNY (You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet, a
weekly quiz, produced by legendary pop guru Phil Swern) and Radio
Clyde’s Bill Padley show, which she co-hosted with Padley and
singer/songwriter Jim Diamond (‘I Should have Known Better’).
Spotted by Kelvin MacKenzie of The Sun, she was given her own
eponymous showbiz column, in which she chronicled her weekly
girl-about-town escapades.
Lured along the Street to the Daily Mail, she spent 6 years as
showbiz feature writer for the Daily Mail, Mail On Sunday and YOU
Magazine, touring with the biggest rock and pop acts of the day,
from Paul McCartney and David Bowie to the Rolling Stones, Elton
John and Queen. Highlights included her kidnapping in
Hollywood by Ozzy Osbourne and Rod Stewart, who had a downer on the
British press at the time.
Following the birth of her first of three children, Jones became a
freelance feature writer and TV and radio pundit, based in Los
Angeles. Her contributions to titles in the UK, USA, Australia
and Europe included interviews with Tony Blair, Frank Sinatra,
Raquel Welch, Mel Gibson, Charlton Heston, Brigitte Bardot and
Princess Margaret. She appeared weekly on BFBS Forces Radio as
showbiz gossip expert with the late Tommy Vance. Further TV work
included documentaries on Stevie Nicks, Ken Russell, Jermaine
Jackson, Motown, Naomi Campbell, and the sporting study Players,
Fighters and Writers with her father, award-winning sports writer
Ken Jones. She also appeared on Fax!, Music Box and Livewire
in the UK, and E! Entertainment and Hard Copy in the States, for
whom she presented a regular London strand.
The Pampers nappy commercial she filmed with her baby daughter for
Saatchi & Saatchi was aired across Europe for 18 months, one of the
campaign’s most successful ads.
SAMPLE LIST OF TALKS
(Note this is only a sample of available talks)
Leading Ladies and Hollywood Divas
- a contemplative spotlight on the most potent, most enduring icons
of Hollywood’s great dream factory. From the 1920s to the 1980s, I
discuss the personalities who have followed the tradition of the
romantic female lead, with insider tales which do full justice to
the subject matter. Sophisticated, glamorous, sensual, genteel:
thus were the great leading ladies of the 1930s and 40s. By
the 50s and 60s, the same could hardly be said. Leading ladies were
becoming unashamedly sexier, brasher, more confident; now it
was Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor who could guarantee a full
house. Then we wept with Meryl Streep and Nastassja Kinksi, got down
with Jane Fonda and dirty with Kim Basinger and Sharon Stone, were
seduced by Meg Ryan and Michelle Pfeiffer. Today, we are
spoiled for choice with the likes of Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz
and Charlize Theron. Fans of the movies and of good-old
fashioned escapism will love this trawl down Hollywood’s Memory
Lane.
Leading Men -
the dawning of the age of the silver screen presented the world with
a galaxy of male heart-throbs who moved, loved and dominated women
in the glare of the spotlight. With the advent of the talkies,
these stars climbed down from the heavens to become prototypes for
more worldly male roles, from the disreputably gallant to the
loveable boy next door. Each of the greats – Valentino, Gable,
Bogart, Brando, Newman and more – defined his period with a charisma
that transcends time and appeals as much to men as it does to women.
From the exotic matinee idols of the silent era to today’s
international superstars, from Douglas Fairbanks to Clint Eastwood,
Cary Grant to Jeremy Irons, James Dean to Brad Pitt, I chart how
perceptions of the male Hollywood idol have changed over the years.
Hollywood Reporter
– I was a showbusiness reporter in Los Angeles and New York for more
than two decades. In Paris, as a language student, I partied with
Jerry Hall and Grace Jones. I shared an apartment with Latoya
Jackson in Manhattan, and the home of Raquel Welch in Beverly Hills.
On Mustique, I lived in David Bowie’s home for two months while I
researched a biography of Freddie Mercury. In Switzerland, I
stayed as a guest of Queen as they recorded their latest album, and
was close friends with Linda McCartney, whose autobiography I was
working on when she died. I have spent much time with Joan Collins,
both in Beverly Hills and the South of France, and have spent more
time than I care to remember with Nancy Sinatra and her clan. I tell
the insider’s tale of life as a newspaper and magazine journalist,
television and radio presenter, and I explain how the rise of
publicists and PRs has changed the way I do my job.
The legacy of the Beatles
– long since the so-called British Invasion of the 1960s, the
Rolling Stones carry on rolling but the Beatles live on only in
loving memory. It is the Beatles, however, who still reign
supreme. Why is this? It’s a simple answer; that the Beatles left
their legacy at its perfect peak. In Rolling Stone magazine’s
definitive 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time issue, the Beatles took
the top slot for Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and appeared
twice more before the Stones’ Exile On Main Street, their greatest
album (just re-issued) ambled in at number 7. The Beatles have sold
over 1 billion albums worldwide, had more Number One singles than
any other artist or band in history, and the Paul McCartney-penned
Yesterday remains the most-played single on the radio, anywhere,
ever. I was working for Beatles producer George Martin in December
1980, and was with him the day John Lennon was murdered. I have
met, worked and socialised with Paul, George Harrison and Ringo
Starr, and was close to Linda McCartney – we were working on her
autobiography, Mac The Wife, when she became ill. Geoff Baker,
McCartney’s right-hand man for many years, remains a close friend of
mine, as does Tony Bramwell, who grew up with the Fab Four in
Liverpool and was their road manager for many years. I tell the
true story behind the Beatles’ magic, the in-fighting, the
back-biting, what caused the demise of the greatest group of all
time, and why their music remains indelible in our hearts.
Michael Jackson – I
spent 20 years covering the career of the King of Pop. I lived
with one of his sisters, and knew his brothers well. I
travelled with him to Tokyo, Rome and all over America, knew his
manager Frank Dileo, and met his close friends Brooke Shields, Barry
White, Elizabeth Taylor and Liza Minnelli – many times. I am one of
the few journalists ever to have been allowed into Neverland, his
Encino ranch, and right inside his private life. I explain why
Michael Jackson never stood a chance of having a normal life, the
true, tragic circumstances of his death, and show why his children,
also destined to be superstars, will never have a normal life of
their own.
Freddie Mercury and Queen
– one of the most commercially successful musical acts of all time,
with 18 Number One albums, 18 Number One singles, 10 number 1 DVDs,
7 Ivor Novello awards and worldwide sales of over 300 million
(source: EMI Records) Queen continue to win new fans from each new
generation, despite the fact that Freddie Mercury succumbed to Aids
in 1991, aged 45. Their stage musical We Will Rock You is now
in it’s ninth smash-hit year at London’s Dominion Theatre, and has
played in more than 25 countries around the world. As a rock
and pop columnist for the Daily Mail, I accompanied Queen on four
world tours. I travelled with them to Copacabana Beach in
South America, and to the first historic concert behind the
then-still-in-place Iron Curtain in Budapest in 1985. As one
of the few journalists permitted entry into their inner circle, I
was inspired to write my biography of Freddie Mercury, a best-seller
when it was published in 1997 and still in print to this day. I have
just signed contracts for the book’s update and re-release across
Europe. This is their story, warts and all.
David Bowie – I
first met David Bowie, the artist who has dominated five decades of
popular music, when I was 12 years old. It was a meeting which
was to shape my future, my ambition being to work with him, which I
did. In the BBC’s 2002 poll of 100 Greatest Britons, Bowie
ranked 29th. In Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Rock
Artists Of All Time, he came 39th, and was also voted 23rd Best
Singer Of All Time. He has also sold a staggering 136 million
albums. I chart his tale through every incarnation, from
Bromley boy to Space Oddity, from Ziggy Stardust to Young American,
from Mars to Berlin. The ultimate rock icon and master of
self-reinvention, David Bowie remains the primary influence of many
popular musicians composing and performing today.
The Eighties
- from Prince, Madonna, U2 and Bruce Springsteen to Wham!,
Lionel Richie, Bon Jovi and Cyndi Lauper: this was my era.
I was there. On the road, on the plane, all over the world
with them. What made this decade special in terms of musical
culture and the arts in general, why it remains magical to this day,
with whole radio stations and TV channels devoted to its output, and
why that era could never happen again.
The History of the Music Business
– and how the record industry has evolved from the original imports
of the 1950s to the digital music age we know today, with many
personal anecdotes, much insight and tributes. For 50 years,
rock and roll has continued to reinvent itself, to challenge and
outrage as well as excite and delight, to break all the rules and
make up its own as it goes along. This is a full-scale tribute
to the roller-coaster ride we call rock.
Creative Writing Workshops
– a beginner’s guide to writing fiction and non-fiction, with
tailored course notes to take away. My tried and tested
workshops can be adapted and taught to any age-group, from ten to a
hundred years. Everyone thinks they have a book in them, and
what better place to try than on a leisurely cruise?
She is author of the following published books:
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Freddie Mercury
The Definitive
Biography
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Naomi Campbell
The Rise And Rise
Of The Girl
From Nowhere
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Excuses Excuses
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Blade on A Mirror
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She is currently working on a novel, a personal memoir and a
children's book, with legendary 'Wicked Willie' cartoonist Gray
Jolliffe, as well as contributing regular features to titles such as
the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Sunday Express.