Category: Biogs

The Faux Fibbers

Jerry Wigens is a guitarist and clarinet player who has been actively involved in bands since the late 70s and 80s when he played guitar in Rejects (later to become The Homosexuals), and The Republic who had two releases on Charlie Gillett’s Oval record label. He was also involved with experimental outfit Milk from Cheltenham.

More recently there were spells with country band East Lonesome Drifters and Brechtian pranksters the Rude Mechanicals before The Faux Fibbers were formed with Nigel Knapp in 2015.

Jerry is also active on the London improvisation scene making appearances with the London Improvisers Orchestra and with his trio Glowering Figs.

Michael McDonough-Jones

The Big Fibbers – The Bigger Fibbers

“….old ham re-emerges as bearded, would-be-villain……” – Panto Monthly

Roll of drums,curtain rises, smoke billows and parts – “He’s behind you…… HE’S BEHIND YOU !!”

Who he?

He who was in the ground breaking performance Art ensemble The Event Group, of Cabaret Futura infamy

He who was a Cavalier and half of duo Cagliostra for El records

He who wrote and toured (dance company in tow) ‘A Perfect Action’ – an operetta about cricket.

He who was a 6-stringed love-god with The Ectomorph on Woronzow records.

He who was a purveyor of hallucinogenic cock-tail music inside The Imperial starship of Noise at Don & Dave’s Emporium of Mirth.

He who writes delicate and unusual songs of love and O’level history with Sarah-Jane Summerfield.

Who he???? – He – MICHAEL McDONOUGH-JONES – guitars, backing vocals and electric cricket bat
with The BIG Fibbers.

Smoke thickens, lights fade…..

“HE’S STILL behind you………”

The Big Fibbers – The Bigger Fibbers – The Faux Fibbers

Vocals, swanee whistle and found objects.

Nigel Knapp formed his first band way back in 1983. Mr Jones & the Next Door Neighbours turned out to be quite a good punk band. Pity they were five years too late. After a year of rehearsals they got a gig in a dodgy Camden pub and they got their heads kicked in. The audience loved them! -Honest, it’s just the way people used to show their appreciation back then.

He spent the next two years in Europe, begging and busking. Honing his craft he called it. Bloody foreign hippies the locals called it.

Back in London he answers an ad for ‘a god damm crazy bonkers singer’ Zzub Zzub Buzz play surreal blues thrash – with cute bits. They form the Cucumber Liberation Front and become quite popular on the burgeoning Stoke Newington music scene. The band falls apart when the guitarist disappears to Ireland.

Nigel then joins The Loggerheads, a studio band mainly. The rest of the band don’t like performing which is what Nigel is really into. They produce a 12 inch single – Plan 9 From Outer Space -just before Nigel leaves.

He wants to perform and leap about and juggle vegetables. That opportunity comes with The Blatant lies Big Band. The B.L.B.B. aren’t a big band at all. That’s a blatant lie. There’s just two of them, Nigel and Grib. They do quite well and pull off a couple of West country tours. But Grib lives in Edinburgh and it all becomes a bit impossible.

In 2002 Nigel meets Michael Jones and The Big Fibbers come into being. They play pubs and festivals all over the UK. It gets to the point where The Big Fibbers can claim “We are big in Wales ” But then in 2018  Michael retires to the south coast. and The Big Fibbers fizzle out. S

So Nigel recruits a new guitarist – Jerry Wigens – and The Faux Fibbers are formed. The rest, as they say, is history.

As well as making music, Nigel’s also one of a rare breed – an honest politican! He stood in the last General Election as a member of The Monster Raving Loony Party. See here for more details – www.hackneyloonies.co.uk