JOLLY JINGO
Brett Jones, aka Jolly Jingo, is a Novocastrian who went to Broadmeadow High School in the 70’s. He joined the Australian Navy and served in the Gulf war. After 10 years of service in the navy, he became a diver in Melbourne and started playing music. He was strongly influenced by Cat Stevens, rock and roll, blues, country, and even classical music. He plays the guitar, piano, harmonica, and bongos.
He bought a yacht and sailed around Australia, writing and playing music for the next 20 years. Always quick with a smile and a joke, he arrived in Airlie Beach in 2010, fell in love with the Whitsundays, and settled down. As an eternal optimist, he wrote music and played at a few local gigs with the fitting name; Jolly Jingo.
Starting a business in Airlie Beach in 2015; Just Tukin Around, he married his best friend, Tania, in 2016. Having a close friendship with Christopher Widdows and the special bond they share with music and comedy; Steady Eddy was his best man.
Life came to an abrupt halt in June 2017 when Brett was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer after flying to Brisbane to meet an oncologist. Things got real as he faced serious cancer treatment over the following months. In November 2017, he was in remission and played at the Airlie Beach Music Festival with Steady Eddy. Unfortunately, in May 2019, his cancer returned and he faced more serious treatment.
In November 2019, Brett’s PET scan was clear of cancer, so they sold the business and left Airlie Beach in January 2020 to travel overseas to Bali and New Zealand. It was a great time for writing music, and Jingo was fortunate to have quite a few gigs lined up in Queensland venues. The future was looking promising! However, when they returned in March, the rise of COVID-19 craziness meant some of the events were postponed due to restrictions. At this time, Steady Eddy was performing on cruise ships that closed down due to the pandemic, and he was home alone in Gympie without support.
Brett wanted to bring fun, happiness, and laughter back into all their lives, so the two larrikins teamed up to put several tours together for 2021. With Gavin Butlin (Butto); the Airlie Beach Festival of Music organiser, as their promoter, they started to become known as a class act; The Jingo Brothers.
Over the years Jingo has played with many musicians, as a trio, a duet, and as a band. His style of music is country rock/original music.
With so many songs written over his years of adventure and after two close calls with cancer, Jolly Jingo hit the road and recorded his first album in March 2021 called Live @ Honeybee. It was an instant hit. He is ready to record another solo album and a debut album for The Jingo Brothers this year.
In Jolly Jingo’s own words, “I’ve been on an adventure my whole life!”