He began his professional music career in the early 1960s as a member of the band
Nero and the Gladiators, who scored two minor British
hit singles in 1961. After the demise of Nero and the Gladiators, Jones worked as a songwriter and
session musician in France for such artists as
Françoise Hardy,
Sylvie Vartan, and
Johnny Hallyday, for whom he wrote many songs, including "Je suis né dans la rue" and "
À tout casser" (which features
Jimmy Page on guitar). When
The Beatles toured France in 1964, they befriended Jones when Hallyday's girlfriend and future wife,
Sylvie Vartan, played on the same bill as they did. Between 1965 and 1971, Jones recorded in France with
Tommy Brown (Thomas R. Browne) as State of Mickey & Tommy, as well as under other session names, including the Blackburds, Nimrod, and the J&B. After leaving France to return to his home country, Jones joined
Gary Wright, formerly of the band
Spooky Tooth, to form Wonderwheel in 1971. In 1972, Jones and Wright reformed Spooky Tooth and, after that, Jones was a member of the
Leslie West Band. He also played guitar on the albums
Wind of Change (1972) for
Peter Frampton, and
Dark Horse (1974) for
George Harrison. In 1976, Jones formed
Foreigner with
Ian McDonald, and recruited lead singer
Lou Gramm. Jones co-produced all of the band's albums and co-wrote most of their songs with Gramm. Jones is credited with writing the band's most successful single, "
I Want to Know What Love Is", by himself. Tensions developed within the band during the late 1980s, attributed to a difference in musical taste between Gramm, who favoured a more hard-edged rock, as opposed to Jones' interest in synthesisers. Gramm left the band in 1990 but returned in 1992. In 1989 Jones released his only solo album, titled
Mick Jones, on the
Atlantic Records label. Jones is the only member to play on every Foreigner album. In between his Foreigner commitments, Jones also started a side career as a producer for such albums as
Van Halen's
5150 (1986),
Bad Company's
Fame and Fortune (1986) and
Billy Joel's
Storm Front (1989). He co-wrote with
Eric Clapton the song "
Bad Love" on Clapton's
Journeyman album, and in 2002 co-wrote the song "On Her Mind" with
Duncan Sheik. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he played with
Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. In 2024, Jones was selected for induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of Foreigner. == Personal life ==