Aussie rock legend and Jimmy and the Boys frontman, Ignatius Jones, dies
By Linda Morris
Ignatius Jones, the lead singer of 1970s shock rock band Jimmy and the Boys, has died after a short illness.
Jones’ sister, TV presenter and jazz singer Monica Trapaga, announced his death in a statement on social media, saying Jones had died peacefully on May 7 at his home in the Philippines, where he had retired with his husband in 2022. He was 67.
Ignatius Jones and his sister Monica Trapaga.Credit: Palani Mohan
“We are absolutely devastated by the passing of my brother, Juan Ignacio Trapaga, the formidable Ignatius Jones,” she said.
“His friends and family will remember Iggy as a bon vivant, a lively raconteur and a real Renaissance man, immensely and passionately knowledgeable in history and the arts.
“The arts community in Australia has lost a champion, and dinner parties will now be less interesting, with his passing.”
Radio presenter Wendy Harmer hailed the loss of her “darling boy” and “dear, talented, funny and outrageous friend” who had sung to her on her wedding day.
Stephen Ferris, who worked alongside Jones on the Vivid winter lights festival, said Sydney had lost one of its great showmen. “A big hole exists as he was a big ideas man with a keen sense of cultural history,” he posted on social media.
Jones was born in the Philippines in 1957, and the family later moved to Wahroonga.
With boundless creativity, Iggy, as he was professionally known, found success as the lead singer with Jimmy and the Boys. Their debut single was a cover of The Kinks’ I’m Not Like Everybody Else. They also had such hits as They Won’t Let My Girlfriend Talk to Me, with Jones famously filmed in a straitjacket.
He went on to collaborate with his sister in the swing band Pardon Me Boys, then moved backstage into events production.
For six years he directed the Sydney New Year’s fireworks display, and the City of Sydney’s Millennium celebrations. He was the artistic director of a segment of the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony and the closing harbour spectacular.
He will also be remembered as the creative director of the Vivid Festival from 2011 to 2019, and the artistic director of the Sydney Mardi Gras parade from 2011 to 2015.
Years of dancing – ballet and contemporary – and boisterous performances took a toll on Jones’ body, and he once told The Sydney Morning Herald he had been left in pain from multiple hairline fractures and joint wear and tear.
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