Rob "The Bass Thing" Jones (14 February 1964 – 31 July 1993) was an English musician. He was a founder member and original bassist for The Wonder Stuff, based in Stourbridge (West Midlands, England).
Jones was born in Kingswinford, near Dudley, United Kingdom in 1964.
Jones, Miles Hunt, Malcolm Treece, and Martin Gilks joined together to form a band in March 1986. The singles "A Wonderful Day" and "Red Berry Joy Town" which, respectively, became the first Wonder Stuff single and the first track on the debut album.
Jones played on the debut album The Eight Legged Groove Machine and the follow-up Hup. Following disagreements within the group, The Bass Thing left in December 1989, heading straight for America as soon as the group had played the final night of a sellout 3 night residence at Birmingham's Aston Villa Leisure Centre.
After the move to New York he formed another band, The Bridge & Tunnel Crew, singing vocals and playing rhythm guitar.
He died in New York on 31 July 1993, aged 29. The cause of his death is variously recorded as due to heart problems [1] heart attack, potentially caused by heroin,[2] or drug related causes.[3]
In 2007 his former wife Jessica commented: "In life, he told me he never wanted to return to the UK. So I had his body cremated, and I put his ashes in various places I thought he'd like...The pink sands of the Sahara desert in Morocco...Across from the Parachute drop in Coney Island...Tammy Wynette's poolside garden (when I was there for a party when she was alive)... Hudson Park across from the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island... (and) New Orleans.".[4]