Former Clash lead guitarist Mick Jones was born Michael Geoffrey Jones in Brixton, London, England, on June 26, 1955. Jones was raised largely by his maternal grandmother and spent much of his youth following various bands, including Mott the Hoople, around the country. After attending art school, Jones and bassist Paul Simonon were introduced to Joe Strummer by Bernie Rhodes, who managed various bands and was an associate of punk godfather Malcolm McLaren. The Clash inked their first record deal for £100,000 with CBS records in January of 1977. Their mainstream success led to tensions amongst Jones and Strummer, with Jones eventually being ousted from the group in 1983. While speaking with citypages.com in 2006, he talked about his role in the group. “I was a bit more kind of--I always knew what to do on the musical front. You know what I mean? So I just did that naturally,” he said.