The Four Jones Boys

Originally The Mell-O-Macs, Bernard Burgess, Johnnie Harrison and John Padley were later joined by Ron Robinson, all in their early twenties, becoming The Four Jones Boys, taking advantage of the song 'The whole town`s talking about the Jones boy' as their signature tune. One of their first bookings as a quartet was a three month season at Doncaster Grand. From here on The Jones Boys never seemed to be short of work, whether it be T.V. or stage, never quite the star turn, but always busy. During 1956 they played the summer season at Portsmouth Theatre Royal with comedy magician David Nixon and were later in the pantomime 'Robinson Crusoe' at Belfast Opera House. The following year it was summer at Blackpool North Pier in 'Show Time' with Tommy Cooper and Ruby Murray. Before the season was over Ruby and Bernard Burgess were engaged and, following what the papers called "a whirlwind romance", were married. Signed up by Decca The Jones Boys cut their first disc, 'When I let you go' backed by 'A real romance', in July 1955. Unfortunately this and their other Decca sides were pleasant but not particularly memorable tunes, having no great impact on the buying public. Decca also used the Boys as backing group on four Annette Klooger sides. After spending most of 1957 in the recording wilderness they came back on the Columbia label, with several up-tempo sides reflecting the increasing rock influence of the time. In 1959 Ruby Murray and The Jones Boys played another summer season together at Gt.Yarmouth Wellington Pier, but by the following year Burgess had left the group to join Ruby in a double act. He was replaced by Clem Ratcliffe from the Morton Fraser Harmonica Gang. Keeping busy in variety plus service camp tours around Europe, the Boys suffered quite a setback when John Padley was severely hurt in a car accident in fog while returning from a concert at Carlisle on the night of Friday 9th October 1959. At the time they were negotiating an Australian tour, but all these plans had to go on hold while they carried on as a trio until John was back on the road in February 1960. The group were still touring in cabaret at home and abroad while playing summer season at the smaller resorts, at least into the 1970`s. Bernie Burgess gave up performing during the sixties, returning behind the scenes (he had started as a call-boy in Northampton, and worked his way up on that side of the business before becoming a performer) managing his wife Ruby and other artists. For a few years in the early seventies he also ran The Cresta Club at Solihull, West Midlands. When his marriage to Ruby ended in 1977 he continued his booking agency from home at Wootton in Northamptonshire.