Editing Jon Moss

{{Short description|English drummer (born 1957)}}
{{About|the drummer|the association football referee|Jon Moss (referee)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name              = Jon Moss
| background        = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| image             = File:Jon Moss (2011).jpg
| caption           = Moss on "Spring Heeled Jack" for a blues night jamming session, 2011
| birth_name        = Jonathan Aubrey Moss
| alias             = 
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|df=y|1957|9|11}}
| birth_place       = [[Wandsworth]], [[South London]], England
| genre             = {{flatlist|
* [[Punk rock]]
* [[New wave music|new wave]]
* [[pop rock]]
}}
| occupation        = Drummer
| years_active      = 1976–present
| label             = 
| past_member_of    = {{hlist|[[Culture Club]]|[[the Nips]]|[[The Damned (band)|the Damned]]|[[Adam and the Ants]]}}
| website           = 
}}
'''Jonathan Aubrey Moss''' (born 11 September 1957) is an English drummer, best known as a member of the 1980s pop group [[Culture Club]]. He has also played with other bands, including [[London (punk band)|London]], [[the Nips]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/nippleerectorsshanneinterview.htm |title=The Nipple Erectors – Shannne Bradley Interview |publisher=Punk77.co.uk |date=26 August 2001 |access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref> [[The Damned (band)|the Damned]] and [[Adam and the Ants]].

==Early life==
<!-- Please do not introduce /reintroduce material that is not cited or is cited by sources that are not reliable -->
At [[Highgate School]], Moss developed a fascination for sports, especially boxing, but he did not want a professional sporting career. It was also at Highgate that he formed his first band, Pig Williams, along with his friend [[Nick Feldman]] (who would later co-found [[Wang Chung (band)|Wang Chung]]). Together they performed at several school events. After finishing high school, Jon held various jobs, including working at his father's clothing store, as a cake salesman and as a [[sound engineer]] at [[Marquee Studios]]. In spite of regarding a college education as a waste of time, he briefly considered the idea of studying [[Greek language|Greek]] at the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.culture-club.co.uk/content/jon_index.htm |title=Official Culture Club Website |publisher=Culture-club.co.uk |access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref>

==Career==
===Beginning (1976–1980)===
Alongside his friend [[Riff Regan]], Moss joined the [[Punk rock|punk]] band [[London (punk band)|London]] in 1976,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/london-mn0001017203|title=London &#124; Biography, Albums, Streaming Links|website=AllMusic}}</ref><ref name="Rimmer">Rimmer, Dave (1985) "Like Punk Never Happened," Faber and Faber, {{ISBN|978-0-571-13739-8}}, p. 40-42</ref><ref name="Kasper de Graaf & Malcolm Garrett">Kasper de Graaf & Malcolm Garrett (1983) "When Cameras Go Crazy – Culture Club," Virgin Books, {{ISBN|0-907080-85-5}}, p. 62</ref> after being tried out as a drummer with [[the Clash]]; later, he said "The mix of personalities didn't work. Their attitudes were too different to mine."<ref name="Kasper de Graaf & Malcolm Garrett"/> London released a single entitled "Everyone's a Winner", and were managed by [[Simon Napier-Bell]]. Eventually they recorded two singles, a four-track EP and an album for [[MCA Records]] in 1977.<ref name="Napier-Bell">Napier-Bell, Simon (2001) "Black Vinyl White Powder," Ebury Press, {{ISBN|978-0-09-186992-2}}, p. 163</ref> Following this, Moss went on tour with established punk group [[the Stranglers]], and the band got a record deal.

Soon afterward, Moss began drumming with [[The Damned (band)|the Damned]], replacing [[Rat Scabies]]. He made the decision to join them after he was injured in a car crash on New Year's Eve 1977, suffering injuries that led to a week's hospital stay. Along with the Damned's guitarist, [[Lu Edmonds]], he left the Damned to form new wave band the Edge. After just over a year, the Edge broke up.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mhuey/damned/ |title=Chapter 2: The Bubble Bursts |publisher=Personal.umich.edu |date=24 September 1957 |access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref>

Moss played with [[Adam and the Ants]] on their third single "[[Cartrouble]]" and its b-side "Kick!". At the time, Moss was under contract with a group called Jane Aire & the Belvederes; therefore, he was credited on the original single under the pseudonym "Terry 1 & 2".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.adam-ant.net/Cartrouble.html|last=Ant|first=Adam|title=Cartrouble|website=Adam-Ant.net|publisher=Universal Music Publishing Group.}}</ref> In 1980, he played with the last incarnation of [[The Nips]] (formerly The Nipple Erectors).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~mroman/articles/LostDecade1988.html |title=Excerpt from the book 'The Lost Decade' |first=Ann |last=Scanlon| website=University of Wisconsin-Madison |year=1988 |access-date=5 November 2024}}</ref>

===Culture Club – early times (1981–1986)===
Moss joined [[Culture Club]] after a phone call from the bands singer [[Boy George]]. [[Culture Club]] was in need of a drummer, and [[Boy George]] knew of Moss through an acquaintance. After rehearsing with the band, Moss decided to stay. When he became a member of the band—which was originally called Sex Gang Children—he suggested a name-change, being unhappy with the current name of the group. The band ultimately settled for Culture Club, drawing inspiration from the diversity of the group’s members. 

In 1985, while still performing with Culture Club, he produced some tracks for the band Woyeyeh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pc-pdx.com/bands/Jon-Moss |title=JON MOSS &#124; Shows + Photos + Biography + More &#124; Portland Show-Guide |publisher=Pc-pdx.com |access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref>
[[File:7inch5inch ubt.jpeg|right|thumb|Image of Moss on a 5" vinyl record of the Culture Club song "[[Move Away]]"]]

===Other works and Culture Club reunion (1987–2002)===
After Culture Club broke up in 1986, Moss released a single entitled "Jump to It" with the group Heartbeat UK.

In 1989, under the name Rubberman, Moss released one [[white label record]] of an [[acid house]] [[instrumental]] track. Boy George used that backing track to create his own song "After the Love".

During 1991 and 1992, Moss was involved in another group, Promised Land, with his schoolfriend Nick Feldman. The two released two singles, "Something in the Air" and "Circle in the Square".

In 1995 he met Sebastian Wocker, vocalist of the [[indie pop|indie]] band Yeah, and soon joined them. For two years the group played several concerts on the London circuit, made various television appearances and filmed one video, "Engerland", in 1997, at the former home of [[Hendon F.C.]]

===Charities, B-side projects (2003–2010)===
From 2003 to 2005 Moss joined several punk rock and rock bands, among them Fassbender, DanMingo and Dirth. In July 2005 he played drums on the charity single "People I Don't Know Are Trying to Kill Me", written by the journalist [[Neil McCormick]], to help the families of the victims of the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060619152155/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/07/19/bmneil19.xml "Bono told me: 'Your song needs to be heard now'"]. Daily Telegraph (19 July 2005). Retrieved 9 July 2011.</ref>

In 2006 Moss, [[Mikey Craig]] and [[Phil Pickett]] tried to launch Culture Club on a new tour with another lead singer, as George and [[Roy Hay (musician)|Roy Hay]] had declined to tour.<ref>[[Culture Club#Reunions]]</ref> A UK tour was announced for December 2006, but was postponed to give the new line-up time to finish recording their album. Without official press statements, band manager Tony Gordon said in 2007 that the project was "on hold", while Jon stated that the project was shelved.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2006-11-02-culture-club-clash_x.htm |title=Boy George's ex-bandmates slam singer |work=USA Today |date=2 November 2006 |access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref>

===Culture Club – reunion (2011–2021)===
Moss did not appear at Culture Club's concerts in Dubai and Sydney in December 2011, due to a back injury which required surgery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://shapersofthe80s.com/2012/01/02/2012 |title=2012 ➤ Moss misses Culture Club's new dawn in Australia &#124; ➢➢ Shapers of the 80s ➣➣ |publisher=Shapersofthe80s.com |date=2 January 2012 |access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref> Despite rumours that the reunion project had been shelved, Boy George said in a March 2012 interview with [[Danny Baker]] on [[BBC Radio 5 Live|BBC Radio 5]] that their new album would be released in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/boy-george-gets-black-eye-nightclub-attack050412 |title=Boy George gets black eye in nightclub attack |publisher=Gay Star News |date=5 April 2012 |access-date=17 June 2013 |archive-date=30 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730000321/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/boy-george-gets-black-eye-nightclub-attack050412/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Meanwhile, Moss had been drumming with Mad Dog Bites, alongside Martin French (vocals), Godfrey Old (harmonica), Peter Noone (bass) and Conrad Blakemore (guitar).<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/nJEljecSCgo Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20151018124641/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJEljecSCgo Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJEljecSCgo |title=Mad Dog Bites – Talking 'Bout You – Hampstead Xmas Festival 2012 |via=YouTube |date=5 January 2013 |access-date=17 June 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In the [[Red Nose Day 2013|Red Nose Day '13]] at [[Whiteleys]], Moss sang with [[Rock Choir|the Rock Choir]], helping them to raise funds for [[Comic Relief]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.christinalaroque.com/2013/03/rock-choir-and-christina-support-red-nose-day/?info=page&replytocom=2 |title=Rock Choir and Christina support Red Nose Day! |publisher=Christinalaroque.com |date=11 March 2013 |access-date=17 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512225604/http://www.christinalaroque.com/2013/03/rock-choir-and-christina-support-red-nose-day/?info=page&replytocom=2 |archive-date=12 May 2014 }}</ref>

In 2014, Culture Club began recording a new album that was originally named ''Tribes''. The ''Tribes'' sessions were recorded in Spain and documented in the film ''From Karma to Calamity'' which aired on [[BBC Four]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b054v27d|title=BBC Four – Boy George and Culture Club: Karma to Calamity|publisher=BBC|access-date=30 October 2018}}</ref> In July 2018, it was announced that the sessions had been reworked as ''Life'' and that the album was to be released on 26 October 2018<ref name="SDE">{{cite web|url=http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/culture-club-announce-new-album-life/|title=Culture Club announce new album, 'Life'|work=Super Deluxe Edition|last=Sinclair|first=Paul|date=31 July 2018|access-date=30 October 2018}}</ref> and credited to "Boy George and Culture Club".

In early 2018 Moss formed pop band Ridiculous together with singer-songwriter Sebastian Wocker, [[The Cross (band)|The Cross]] bassist Peter Noone and film score composer [[Erran Baron Cohen]]. The band's debut performance took place at The Dublin Castle, Camden, London.

Culture Club toured the US and Europe from June to December 2018 in support of their ''[[Life (Boy George and Culture Club album)|Life]]'' album, along with supporting acts [[the B-52s]], [[Tom Bailey (musician)|Tom Bailey]] (formerly of [[the Thompson Twins]]) and [[Belinda Carlisle]] (Europe dates only). Moss was originally part of the line-up, but was replaced by [[Garrison Brown]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=George |first=Boy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQziEAAAQBAJ&dq=garrison+brown+drummer&pg=PT206 |title=Karma: My Autobiography |date=9 January 2024 |publisher=Mango Media Inc. |isbn=978-1-68481-539-5 |language=en}}</ref>

In December 2019, Moss filed a writ at London's High Court naming the band trio as defendants. Moss' lawyers say he was told to "take a break" by manager [[Paul Kemsley]]; Moss demanded nearly £200,000 in missing payments and a share of profits.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twnews.co.uk/gb-news/boy-george-sued-by-ex-lover-and-drummer-jon-moss-after-he-booted-him-out-of-culture-club |title=Boy George sued by ex-lover and drummer Jon Moss after he booted him out of Culture Club |publisher=TWNEWS |access-date=15 December 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Moss officially left Culture Club in May 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/BoyGeorge/status/1396828726663462917 |title=Boy George on Twitter |via=Twitter|access-date=25 May 2021}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=November 2024}}

==Personal life==
Moss grew up with his brother David Moss, who went on to become an IT teacher at Stoke College independent school.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet the Staff - Stoke College Suffolk |url=https://www.stokecollege.co.uk/our-people/meet-the-staff/ |access-date=19 July 2023 |website=Stoke College |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Moss has three children with his former wife, Barbara Savage.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barber |first=Lynn |date=7 August 1999 |title=Did you really want to hurt each other? |url=http://www.independent.ie/woman/celeb-news/did-you-really-want-to-hurt-each-other-26260451.html |access-date=1 September 2017 |work=Irish Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/boy-georges-culture-club-finally-3677610|title=Boy George's Culture Club finally reunited after 15 years split|last=Martin|first=Gavin|date=12 June 2014|work=mirror|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

Moss had an intimate relationship with Boy George during the height of Culture Club's popularity, although it was not public knowledge at the time.<ref>{{cite news|last=Harrington |first=Richard |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/11/15/boy-george-the-man/59944def-e309-4cfc-828d-449410acd5f4/ |title=Boy George, The Man |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=15 November 1995 |access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/173812/Boy-George-regrets-publicly-airing-Moss-romance|title=Boy George regrets publicly airing Moss romance|date=7 May 2010|website=Daily Express}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://shapersofthe80s.com/2014/10/05/➤-catch-up-on-new-romantic-landmarks-reported-here-at-shapers-of-the-80s/ | title=Romance blossoms: Drummer Jon Moss gives George a peck in 1981 | publisher=Shapersofthe80s.com | date=5 October 2014 |access-date=25 November 2024}}</ref> Their affair came to an end in 1986.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/music/boy-georges-ex-jon-moss-leaves-culture-club/ar-BBP3pNK|title=Boy George's ex Jon Moss leaves Culture Club|publisher=[[MSN]]|date=28 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228003939/https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/music/boy-georges-ex-jon-moss-leaves-culture-club/ar-BBP3pNK|access-date=18 August 2020|archive-date=28 February 2019}}</ref> The relationship was portrayed in ''[[Worried About the Boy]]'', a [[drama film]] shown on [[BBC2]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Worried About the Boy (TV Movie 2010)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1597178/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl|publisher=IMDb|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cci}}
* {{IMDb name|1588024}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|
before=[[David Barbarossa|Dave Barbe]] | title=[[Adam and the Ants]] drummer | years=1980 | after=Terry Lee Miall<br />&<br />[[Chris Hughes (musician)|Merrick]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Culture Club}}
{{The Damned}}
{{Adam Ant|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Jon}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Adam and the Ants members]]
[[Category:Bisexual Jews]]
[[Category:Bisexual male musicians]]
[[Category:Culture Club members]]
[[Category:The Damned (band) members]]
[[Category:English bisexual men]]
[[Category:English Jews]]
[[Category:English bisexual musicians]]
[[Category:English new wave musicians]]
[[Category:English punk rock drummers]]
[[Category:English rock drummers]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:New wave drummers]]
[[Category:The Nipple Erectors members]]
[[Category:People educated at Arnold House School]]
[[Category:People educated at Highgate School]]
[[Category:People from Wandsworth]]