Jonathan Downes
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| Paranormal Researcher | |
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| Jon Downes at Loch Ness, November 2005 |
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| Biography | |
| Name: | Jonathan Downes |
| Born: | 1959 Portsmouth, England |
| Resume | |
| Field: | Author Journalist Musician |
| Paranormal Area: | Cryptozoologist |
| Affiliates: | Centre for Fortean Zoology |
Jonathan Downes (born Portsmouth, England, in 1959) is a cryptozoologist, author, film-maker, journalist, composer,and singer-songwriter, with a background in radical politics and mental health care. His father, the explorer, and Colonial Service Officer J. T. Downes (1925-2006) was the author of a number of books on subjects as diverse as the history of Africa, theology, and Devonshire dialect. His mother Mary Downes (nee Rawlins) (1922-2002), was also an author and broadcaster, and published several collections of Nigerian folklore under the pen-name `Yar Kunama`. [1]
He is currently the editor of Animals & Men; the journal of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, and the Deputy Editor of Tropical World magazine; a tropical fish magazine published in the UK. He has also written for, and edited, numerous other publications over the years[citation needed].
According to his autobiography, and other writings, as a child he lived in Nigeria, and then Hong Kong (then a British Crown Colony), and returned to the UK in 1971, when his father was invalided out of the Hong Kong Government. He was educated at Bideford Grammar School, (1971-6) and later West Buckland School (1976-7) from which he was expelled. He worked as a psychiatric nurse between 1981-90 and between 1990 and 1994 ran the fan club for Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel. [2]
Having suffered with manic-depression for many years, Downes is an activist for mental health issues. In July 2007 he will marry his fiancee Corinna James.
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[edit] Cryptozoology
In 1992 Downes founded the Centre for Fortean Zoology - now arguably the world's largest cryptozoological research organization. He is vocal in his opinion that cryptozoology should not be considered as a branch of paranormal research. Although he has written a number of books on UFOS and other Fortean subjects, sometimes in collaboration with his friend and colleague Nick Redfern, he considers cryptozoology to be a branch of mainstream zoology, rather than anything more esoteric. [3]
He has undertaken several cryptozoological research expeditions, including two to Puerto Rico in search of the vampiric chupacabra. Downes also presents his findings at suitable venues and is a regular at the CFZ's Weird Weekend and UnCon.
In 2005, after having lived in Exeter for 20 years, he moved to his old family home in Woolsery, North Devon, with the intention of establishing a full-time visitor's Centre and museum for the Centre for Fortean Zoology. Following his father's death in February 2006, he inherited the old family home and announced that construction of the museum and research facility will start in early 2007.
[edit] Books
He has written the following books:
- Take this Brother may it serve you well (1988)
- Riding the Waves (1990)
- El Grand Senor with Kim Andrews (1991)
- Road Dreams (1993)
- Smaller Mystery Carnivores of the Westcountry (1996)
- The Owlman and Others (ISBN 1-905723-02-4, 1997)
- The Rising of the Moon with Nigel Wright (ISBN 0-9544936-5-6, 1999)
- Weird Devon with Richard Freeman and Graham Inglis (ISBN 1-899383-38-7, 2000)
- UFOs over Devon (ISBN 1-899383-37-9, 2000)
- Weird War Tales with Nick Redfern (2000)
- Weird War Tales Volume 2 with Nick Redfern (2000)
- The Blackdown Mystery (ISBN 1-905723-00-8, 2000)
- Only Fools and Goatsuckers (ISBN 0-9512872-3-0, 2001)
- In the Beginning - Animals & Men Collected Editions Volume One (Ed)(2001)
- The Number of the Beast - Animals & Men Collected Editions Volume Two(Ed) (2001)
- The Monster of the Mere (ISBN 0-9512872-2-2, 2002)
- Monster Hunter (ISBN 0-9512872-7-3, 2004)
- Strength through Koi(ISBN 1-905723-04-0, 2006)
- The Call of the Wild - Animals & Men Collected Editions Volume Three (Ed)(2007)
His most popular, and indeed his best selling book is The Owlman and Others which has been through four editions, five different covers, and according to CFZ Press has sold a total of 8,000 copies in the last ten years. In his 2004 autobiography Monster Hunter, he discusses his years of substance abuse, as well as his achievements as a cryptozoologist. Once described by Nick Redfern as "Cryptozoology's answer to Hunter Thompson", Downes has stated on a number of occasions that this aspect of his life is now firmly in the past. His latest book is a collection of short stories, some fictional, others not, about fish, In addition he has edited eight annual Yearbooks for the CFZ.
Also Nick Redfern's 2004 book Three Men Seeking Monsters: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs and Ape-men is a chronicle of the adventures of Redfern, Downes and Richard Freeman.
[edit] Musical career
During the late 1980s and early 1990s Downes was active as a musician and performer, mostly with cult art-rock band The Amphibians from Outer Space with whom he sang, played guitar, bass, and piano, as well as including elements of psychodrama and performance art in the performances. However, after his divorce, after eleven years of marriage, from his first wife Alison in 1996, Downes all but dropped out of the music industry in favor of cryptozoology, and has since made only three records and a handful of live appearances as a musician. He has stated publically on a number of occasions that he now only makes music for fun, and that the vast majority of the music he makes now is, and will remain, unreleased.
In December 2006 he announced, that to mark the 25th anniversary of the first ever appearance by The Amphibians from Outer Space, the band will be reforming for an appearance at the 2007 Weird Weekend (17-19 August 2007). It is not known whether there will be any further activity by the band, although there have been rumours of a new album for some years.
Records released by Downes include:
- The Mistake with The Amphibians from Outer Space (1982)
- You took me up (1984)
- Emotional Fascism (1984)
- Outside the Asylum with The Amphibians from Outer Space (1990)
- Breakfast with Brian Storer (1991)
- Pyramidiocy (1992)
- SexGodBaby with The Amphibians from Outer Space (1993)
- The Chicken Sleeps Tonight with The Amphibians from Outer Space (1993)
- The Case with The Amphibians from Outer Space (1995)
- Contractual Obligations with The Amphibians from Outer Space (1996)
- The Weird World with Fr Lionel Fanthorpe and The Amphibians from Outer Space (2000)
- Hard Sports (2002)
- Lost Weekend (2003)
[edit] Film Maker
In his autobiography, and in other published writings Downes admits that one of his earliest ambitions was to make films. He has made a small number of them over the years. These include:
- The "Case" for Crop Circles (1997)
- The Owlman and Others (2000)
- Eel or no Eel (2006)
- The lair of the Red Worm (2007)
He freely admits that the first two are "rubbish". The first film is "a load of avant garde bullshit", and the second "a seedy art movie; a semi homage to John Walters, featuring gratuitous nudity, violence, and a pre-op transexual Nazi". The more recent films, however, are part of the ongoing CFZtv project, and are rough-cut `Guerilla Journalism` projects which are available for free on the CFZtv website[4], together with some songs from his albums.
[edit] Politics
Downes describes himself as a Right Wing Libertarian, much as did author Robert Heinlein. As an artist, and indeed in many other ways he was majorly influenced by anarcho-punks Crass, "not really by the music, but by the D-I-Y attitude". He has always been of the opinion that "in many ways it is more important to be heard than to get paid for it", and the CFZ, his music and films have always been disseminated along broadly anarchist/libertarian lines.
In October 2005 he posted the following entry on his blog:
"To me, punk was and is as much about the attitude and the politics than the music. I was a punk the first time round, and the libertarian do-it-yourself ethic of the movement has influenced me - and the CFZ - ever since. Even the name of our journal comes from a track by Adam and the Ants from their 1980 album 'Dirk wears White Sox'. A quarter of a century ago it was my privelige to meet CRASS on several occasions. They were an Essex based anarchist collective who were not only responsible for a string of gloriously nasty albums but managed to sell over 2 million of them. Not only this, but they managed to do it all themselves without the backing of record companies or the music industry. When I visited them I was impressed how the whole family worked together to run the office, and how - despite the lack of professional involvement - they not only managed to get all their product assembled and sent to the retailers, but they managed to be cheaper (and better) than anything coming out of the mainstream music industry.
Nearly fifteen Years ago I founded the CFZ. I did so for precisely the same reason that Penny Rimbaud and Steve Ignorant founded CRASS in 1977. The cryptozoological establishment was moribund, boring and - worse of all - becoming increasingly corrupt. It was time for a new broom. Everyone from the old guard sneered at me when I told them what I was gonna do. "You can't start a scientific organisation without the backing of either industry or one of the universities" they said, as they carried on planning research whose only real motive was self aggrandaisment or to make rich people even richer.
I remembered the tumbledown Essex farmhouse full of punks tirelessly stuffing LPs into envelopes and grinned to myself. I went on with my plans and now we are the biggest cryptozoological research organisation in the world...and we are still not, nor will we ever be in bed with any multinational corporation or establishment university if it means that the integrity of our work is threatened.
Cryptozoology is the study of unknown animals, but what we do is more than just looking for new species. Knowlege should be free and available to all. All too often these days it isn't. Not only are we untainted by association with major establishment figures, but our research is available to EVERYONE - whether or not they are members of the CFZ. We are working towards building a full time Visitors Centre - a truly global community resource and a place where researchers from all over the world can meet and work together.
I haven't really thought about it before, but I guess that not only was I a punk the first time round, but I still am!
ANARCHY PEACE AND FREEDOM
JD"[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Downes J.T `Fragrant Harbours, Distant Rivers: The Making of modern Africa` (CFZ, Woolsery, 2006)
- ^ Downes, J `Monster Hunter` (autobiography),ISBN: 978-0951287279 (CFZ press, Exeter, 2004)
- ^ CFZ Website
- ^ CFZtv
- ^ Jon Downes's Blog
