Faerie Tales From The New Church
Muirsical Conversation with Lee Mark Jones (Gypsy Lee Pistolero)
Muirsical Conversation with Lee Mark Jones (Gypsy Lee Pistolero)
In 2025 Flamenco glam 'n' punky goth rockers the Gypsy Pistoleros were set to see their album Church Of The Pistoleros make a dent in the Official UK charts – until label audited fate and slap-palm-of-hand-to-forehead circumstances put paid to such charting aspirations.
The results were an unhappy bunch of Pistolero bunnies led by charismatic and engaging frontman Lee Mark Jones (aka Gypsy Lee Pistolero), who decided the band should become independent, form their own label and be responsible for their own musical actions.
All of which leads to new album Dark Faerie Tales, a fiercer, darker and wholly uncompromising sequel, of sorts, to Church Of The Pistoleros featuring Jones/ Gypsy Lee Pistolero, Kerry Pistolero White (bass, backing vocals), Shane Pistolero Sparkz (guitars, backing vocals) and, for the album’s recording, Chris Hopton.
Mark Lee Jones sat in with FabricationsHQ just prior to the band going out on the road in support of Dark Faerie Tales to talk about the album and working with right-hand production man Dave Draper.
But the conversation opened by reflecting on the situation that led to the band becoming fully independent.
Ross Muir: I’d like to start by dropping back to the autumn of last year when you formed your own label and re-released of Church Of The Pistoleros.
That, as we discussed last time we spoke, came off the back of a bizarre set of circumstances that scuppered what would have been album charting success.
Nine months on, and with the release of Dark Faerie Tales, do you feel it was not just a good choice but the best, perhaps only, choice, to take full independent control of your musical destiny?
Lee Mark Jones: Yeah, I think so. Our problems with Earache really started when Tim Bailey, who has since joined Frontiers, wanted to sign us. I think there was a bit of a standoff between Tim and the label’s head honcho, who ended up signing Yachtley Crew – and what a success that was! [laughter]
Then, of course, Those Damn Crows got to number one in just about every chart in the land with their album, which led to Earache being audited, and frozen – which meant our album, which was released just after Those Damn Crows album, was frozen too!
It would have gone Top Fifty in the main chart, and we’d have probably made number one in the Rock chart, so that was difficult for us.
Then, the girl who took over from Tim at Earache, said "oh, but you’ve done brilliantly, that was just the cherry on top of the cake," meaning the album's release – but you try telling that to Those Damn Crows, who you’ve got to number one, that it’s 'just the cherry on the cake' to get an album out.
Chart success can mean everything to a band, to promoters, to bookers, to everyone involved.
So, getting to that point of having an album you knew would chart, but then didn’t, was very damaging to us.
The results were an unhappy bunch of Pistolero bunnies led by charismatic and engaging frontman Lee Mark Jones (aka Gypsy Lee Pistolero), who decided the band should become independent, form their own label and be responsible for their own musical actions.
All of which leads to new album Dark Faerie Tales, a fiercer, darker and wholly uncompromising sequel, of sorts, to Church Of The Pistoleros featuring Jones/ Gypsy Lee Pistolero, Kerry Pistolero White (bass, backing vocals), Shane Pistolero Sparkz (guitars, backing vocals) and, for the album’s recording, Chris Hopton.
Mark Lee Jones sat in with FabricationsHQ just prior to the band going out on the road in support of Dark Faerie Tales to talk about the album and working with right-hand production man Dave Draper.
But the conversation opened by reflecting on the situation that led to the band becoming fully independent.
Ross Muir: I’d like to start by dropping back to the autumn of last year when you formed your own label and re-released of Church Of The Pistoleros.
That, as we discussed last time we spoke, came off the back of a bizarre set of circumstances that scuppered what would have been album charting success.
Nine months on, and with the release of Dark Faerie Tales, do you feel it was not just a good choice but the best, perhaps only, choice, to take full independent control of your musical destiny?
Lee Mark Jones: Yeah, I think so. Our problems with Earache really started when Tim Bailey, who has since joined Frontiers, wanted to sign us. I think there was a bit of a standoff between Tim and the label’s head honcho, who ended up signing Yachtley Crew – and what a success that was! [laughter]
Then, of course, Those Damn Crows got to number one in just about every chart in the land with their album, which led to Earache being audited, and frozen – which meant our album, which was released just after Those Damn Crows album, was frozen too!
It would have gone Top Fifty in the main chart, and we’d have probably made number one in the Rock chart, so that was difficult for us.
Then, the girl who took over from Tim at Earache, said "oh, but you’ve done brilliantly, that was just the cherry on top of the cake," meaning the album's release – but you try telling that to Those Damn Crows, who you’ve got to number one, that it’s 'just the cherry on the cake' to get an album out.
Chart success can mean everything to a band, to promoters, to bookers, to everyone involved.
So, getting to that point of having an album you knew would chart, but then didn’t, was very damaging to us.
But now we have our own label, The New Church Records, although that also means we’re already having a duel with Spotify who wiped nearly 200,000 streams off us from two singles we released! It’s like "oh my God, here we go again!"
And it’s not like we haven’t had significant streaming figures in the past – we did around a quarter of million streams on another song, The Ballad of Tommy Shelby.
So, who knows what’s going on, and there’s no recourse, because even although we now have our own record label, you don’t get an account manager – it’s only the major record labels, with their own playlists and what-have-you, who have account managers.
It used to be the wild west, but now there’s a tight little monopoly.
RM: On a far more positive note, you have delivered again, this time with Dark Faerie Tales.
As you’ve said before, this is a sequel of sorts to Church Of The Pistoleros, but I think it’s also a fierce and, in some ways, angry declaration of who you are now – and a return of the punkier Gypsy Pistoleros.
I’d imagine producer Dave Draper had a big part to play in that?
LMJ: Yeah, he did. Dave’s great. This was out third album with him and he pushed us to places we hadn’t really been before. Dave likes Killing Joke, as I do, but we’ve also gone into the realms of Ultravox in the past.
And I love Dave's work with The Wildhearts, particularly his treatments of the guitar. There’s that nasty sub-level of sound, and some real grit, but really he just let us run with it.
In fact, we’re so in tune with Dave we immediately started work on the next album!
RM: It’s great to hear you so enthusiastic about this album and working with Dave again, where you are now and what sounds like a very positive future – especially considering where you were a year or so ago.
MLJ: Yeah, and that’s the thing. This was all done on a chip packet budget, but some things in life you do because you have to do them, you know? I mean why is anyone in a band anymore? It’s because that’s what they want to be doing.
Someone said to me the other day "you’ve played some massive places" and done this, and done that.
I thought yeah, we have, but there are huge ups and downs and it’s an absolute roller coaster!
And what’s really come out from the Church album, and now this one, is how we really do see ourselves as outsiders; we don’t get the nod to play every mid-range rock festival in the UK, but we have been invited to play Isle of Wight next year, and a few of the bigger ones, like Sweden Rock.
And we’re on at Rebellion again this year, which is a massive one for us. That will be the thirtieth anniversary of Rebellion and I think we’re on a bigger stage this time, which is mind-blowing!
I don’t think there are many bands that can play Planet Rockstock, with all the classic rock and new wave of classic rock bands, and then the Rebellion Festival with all the punk bands!
RM: Which leans in to the fact that while you are goth-punk in background, you are genre-fluid, with rock, power-pop, flamenco and big hook choruses all part of the musical stew, as heard on Dark Faerie Tales.
Indeed, while the title track is quintessential, feisty, punky Pistoleros, it also has a couple of change ups, where you slide into a slow rock and roll section before a middle 8 waltz part.
That three-and-half minutes of title track introduction says so much about what you are all about.
And it’s not like we haven’t had significant streaming figures in the past – we did around a quarter of million streams on another song, The Ballad of Tommy Shelby.
So, who knows what’s going on, and there’s no recourse, because even although we now have our own record label, you don’t get an account manager – it’s only the major record labels, with their own playlists and what-have-you, who have account managers.
It used to be the wild west, but now there’s a tight little monopoly.
RM: On a far more positive note, you have delivered again, this time with Dark Faerie Tales.
As you’ve said before, this is a sequel of sorts to Church Of The Pistoleros, but I think it’s also a fierce and, in some ways, angry declaration of who you are now – and a return of the punkier Gypsy Pistoleros.
I’d imagine producer Dave Draper had a big part to play in that?
LMJ: Yeah, he did. Dave’s great. This was out third album with him and he pushed us to places we hadn’t really been before. Dave likes Killing Joke, as I do, but we’ve also gone into the realms of Ultravox in the past.
And I love Dave's work with The Wildhearts, particularly his treatments of the guitar. There’s that nasty sub-level of sound, and some real grit, but really he just let us run with it.
In fact, we’re so in tune with Dave we immediately started work on the next album!
RM: It’s great to hear you so enthusiastic about this album and working with Dave again, where you are now and what sounds like a very positive future – especially considering where you were a year or so ago.
MLJ: Yeah, and that’s the thing. This was all done on a chip packet budget, but some things in life you do because you have to do them, you know? I mean why is anyone in a band anymore? It’s because that’s what they want to be doing.
Someone said to me the other day "you’ve played some massive places" and done this, and done that.
I thought yeah, we have, but there are huge ups and downs and it’s an absolute roller coaster!
And what’s really come out from the Church album, and now this one, is how we really do see ourselves as outsiders; we don’t get the nod to play every mid-range rock festival in the UK, but we have been invited to play Isle of Wight next year, and a few of the bigger ones, like Sweden Rock.
And we’re on at Rebellion again this year, which is a massive one for us. That will be the thirtieth anniversary of Rebellion and I think we’re on a bigger stage this time, which is mind-blowing!
I don’t think there are many bands that can play Planet Rockstock, with all the classic rock and new wave of classic rock bands, and then the Rebellion Festival with all the punk bands!
RM: Which leans in to the fact that while you are goth-punk in background, you are genre-fluid, with rock, power-pop, flamenco and big hook choruses all part of the musical stew, as heard on Dark Faerie Tales.
Indeed, while the title track is quintessential, feisty, punky Pistoleros, it also has a couple of change ups, where you slide into a slow rock and roll section before a middle 8 waltz part.
That three-and-half minutes of title track introduction says so much about what you are all about.
LMJ: The title track does say a lot about us, yes, but it goes back to what I said earlier – if you’re gonna do it, do it! We really just go wherever the song takes us, and that’s through working with Dave.
There are places he pushed us to that you wouldn’t believe; it’s like "right, this bit goes here and then we’ll put that bit there, but I also need you to put some lyrics in at this bit!"
And I’m thinking "shit, right, this might be four lines of drivel – which has happened [laughter] – but the strange thing is it works!
It's so nice to be on that sort of level with a producer. It’s almost like a boxing match – if you do that, then I need to do this; or you put that sound in there, then I need to sing it like that.
In fact I’m singing in ranges on this album that I’ve never sung before, and in lower tones. And that's brilliant, because after being in rock music for so many years it’s lovely to be surprised, and challenged, and still reaching for different things in our music, rather than "right, this is our formula and we’re sticking to it."
Bands like AC/DC do that brilliantly, but I don’t think I could ever do that.
RM: I know you couldn’t; it’s not in your musical make up, or your theatricality.
It boils down to the mantra of this is who we are, we are not your normal band – take it or leave it.
MLJ: Exactly. Someone said to me, about a song on this new album, that it’s got to be three and half minutes, which would be perfect for radio. Why? Tell Queen that, with regards to Bohemian Rhapsody, you know? Dude, the song is as long as it is, but, yeah, fade it out if you want [laughs].
We did put a ballad on this album, The Ghost Of Baby Strange, but for that we ripped apart just about every Desmond Child ballad, because if you go back and look he is the writer, co-writer, or producer of some of the biggest hit rock ballads.
So, we intentionally put it together with that sort of format in mind; we were even going to have a spoof video, with Kez sliding off the bonnet of a car [laughter] and Shaney playing guitar up on a hill with a wind machine, but our budget didn’t quite fit that vision! [laughs]
But then I just don’t get bands who have mega budgets but no imagination; that’s a killer for me.
We’re always trying to cut corners with Jay Shredder – Jay is our manager; he also does our videos – but that’s because we have to! If we had a massive budget then the video for our single King Of Almost Everything, which is essentially a Fisher King story, would have had a massive subterranean underground set-up with all sorts of props. But we did it under a railway arch, with rubbish we’d poured out all over the place, which we then had to clean up after the shoot [laughs].
But, at least you’ve got something where you have used some imagination and the viewer can see where you were trying to go with it.
And then you see other bands where they might be sitting on a sofa singing back to the camera, and I’m thinking, really? Is that all that song’s about to you?
RM: But, again, this goes back to what’s become a safe, for want of a better word, template that appeals because of its simplicity or similarity, as opposed to any band or act taking risks of being different.
LMJ: Yeah, I also find that with the festivals we do, most of the time it’s the same names, or bands that sound the same. There are a few where someone will come up to us and say "they’re really weird, aren’t they? They’re a bit like you." And I’m thinking, no, they’re really not!
Or "you wear face paint; you’re like Ghost." Or "you should get in with Sleep Token or President."
Dude, we’re nothing like them! And do you know how much money is behind those bands? Even just getting on a support tour with any of those bands would cost us around fifty grand!
RM: Again, it’s understanding that you are an independent band, and what that means.
I’m glad you mentioned King Of Almost Everything earlier because that’s another where we have that wonderful amalgamation of genres; in this case heavy, glam-punk verses and Pistolero power-pop choruses.
I can just imagine you and Dave going back and forth on the construction of that one.
LMJ: It’s so much fun putting these songs together, Ross, and not just with Dave.
I might be sitting there with Kez and I’ll say "this one needs a real punky guitar part in that bit."
She’ll go and get herself a coffee, come back, look at me and say "it needs a piano part." [laughter]
Dave listens, says "I know exactly what you mean!" He goes over to the piano, and I’m left going "oh, all right then" [laughter]
There are places he pushed us to that you wouldn’t believe; it’s like "right, this bit goes here and then we’ll put that bit there, but I also need you to put some lyrics in at this bit!"
And I’m thinking "shit, right, this might be four lines of drivel – which has happened [laughter] – but the strange thing is it works!
It's so nice to be on that sort of level with a producer. It’s almost like a boxing match – if you do that, then I need to do this; or you put that sound in there, then I need to sing it like that.
In fact I’m singing in ranges on this album that I’ve never sung before, and in lower tones. And that's brilliant, because after being in rock music for so many years it’s lovely to be surprised, and challenged, and still reaching for different things in our music, rather than "right, this is our formula and we’re sticking to it."
Bands like AC/DC do that brilliantly, but I don’t think I could ever do that.
RM: I know you couldn’t; it’s not in your musical make up, or your theatricality.
It boils down to the mantra of this is who we are, we are not your normal band – take it or leave it.
MLJ: Exactly. Someone said to me, about a song on this new album, that it’s got to be three and half minutes, which would be perfect for radio. Why? Tell Queen that, with regards to Bohemian Rhapsody, you know? Dude, the song is as long as it is, but, yeah, fade it out if you want [laughs].
We did put a ballad on this album, The Ghost Of Baby Strange, but for that we ripped apart just about every Desmond Child ballad, because if you go back and look he is the writer, co-writer, or producer of some of the biggest hit rock ballads.
So, we intentionally put it together with that sort of format in mind; we were even going to have a spoof video, with Kez sliding off the bonnet of a car [laughter] and Shaney playing guitar up on a hill with a wind machine, but our budget didn’t quite fit that vision! [laughs]
But then I just don’t get bands who have mega budgets but no imagination; that’s a killer for me.
We’re always trying to cut corners with Jay Shredder – Jay is our manager; he also does our videos – but that’s because we have to! If we had a massive budget then the video for our single King Of Almost Everything, which is essentially a Fisher King story, would have had a massive subterranean underground set-up with all sorts of props. But we did it under a railway arch, with rubbish we’d poured out all over the place, which we then had to clean up after the shoot [laughs].
But, at least you’ve got something where you have used some imagination and the viewer can see where you were trying to go with it.
And then you see other bands where they might be sitting on a sofa singing back to the camera, and I’m thinking, really? Is that all that song’s about to you?
RM: But, again, this goes back to what’s become a safe, for want of a better word, template that appeals because of its simplicity or similarity, as opposed to any band or act taking risks of being different.
LMJ: Yeah, I also find that with the festivals we do, most of the time it’s the same names, or bands that sound the same. There are a few where someone will come up to us and say "they’re really weird, aren’t they? They’re a bit like you." And I’m thinking, no, they’re really not!
Or "you wear face paint; you’re like Ghost." Or "you should get in with Sleep Token or President."
Dude, we’re nothing like them! And do you know how much money is behind those bands? Even just getting on a support tour with any of those bands would cost us around fifty grand!
RM: Again, it’s understanding that you are an independent band, and what that means.
I’m glad you mentioned King Of Almost Everything earlier because that’s another where we have that wonderful amalgamation of genres; in this case heavy, glam-punk verses and Pistolero power-pop choruses.
I can just imagine you and Dave going back and forth on the construction of that one.
LMJ: It’s so much fun putting these songs together, Ross, and not just with Dave.
I might be sitting there with Kez and I’ll say "this one needs a real punky guitar part in that bit."
She’ll go and get herself a coffee, come back, look at me and say "it needs a piano part." [laughter]
Dave listens, says "I know exactly what you mean!" He goes over to the piano, and I’m left going "oh, all right then" [laughter]
RM: We’ve given Kez and Shane a mention, but you had Chris Hopton in the studio for the drum work?
LMJ: Yeah, Chris is on the album but we now have Steve Hauxwell as our drummer. Steve has been in a few Goth/ Metal bands including Winter in Eden and Deadfilmstar, who have supported great bands like Ministry, and Fields Of The Nephilim.
He's a brilliant drummer, but he comes from Anglesey, so getting together can be a pain in the arse [laughs], but you want someone who is going to be part of what you are, and gets it for what it is.
And Steve’s been great from that perspective; we asked him "do you really want to be part of the band, because you’re going to get paid less than a session player" [laughs] but he said "I’m happy to be part of it," and that was brilliant.
RM: I get the impression that, particularly when touring, it has to be all for one and one for all.
You have to be a Pistolero, not just a gun for hire.
LMJ: Yes, it is very much like that. It becomes your little gang against the world.
And we are so looking forward to this tour. With a band like us, when there has been so many barriers, you shit yourself when you book the venues, because you never know how crowd numbers will go, particularly in the climate right now.
For example The Underworld in London, which is our press/ album launch show, and the biggest date of the tour, I didn’t even want to ring them up to see how pre-sales had gone!
But I had to, course, and the pre-sales were great; that was brilliant to hear.
RM: Dropping back to the album, I’d like to mention Take My Hand To Nightmare land because, one, it’s a great, and eerie, rock lullaby that Alice Cooper will wish he had come up with first and, two, it features a lovely little guitar solo from Shane.
What makes it more impacting is the fact that while the Gypsy Pistolero sound features plenty of guitar, it doesn’t tend to feature guitar solos.
LMJ: As we’ve talked about, we work a lot with Dave on the songs, but he’s not really into solos – and Shaney’s not massively into that world, either.
Actually none of us are really, but I do love a melodic little solo, where it adds something to the tune, or brings an additional line to the song; Shaney is absolutely great at that.
RM: It’s about adding an accentuation or colour, as opposed to a solo for a solo’s sake.
LMJ: Yeah, exactly that.
RM: It also seems that, in many ways, Dave Draper is your George Martin; certainly in the sense of his studio presence and input, where he becomes the fifth member of the band.
LMJ: Totally. And maybe not just in the studio! When we played Hard Rock Hell we went on before Reckless Love, and Crashdïet; we sounded like The Smiths compared to them when their backing tracks kicked in!
I know there’s usually a big debate about using backing tracks live, but it seems like no-one cares anymore; and because we have now got to a point where our recordings are so massive, or layered, we had to think about it too.
There’s no way we can take Dave Draper out on tour with us on guitar alongside Shaney, so we’ve stuck him on the backing tracks. Some of them are so tight to the live sound you don’t notice; they are very minimal I must add, and everything else you hear is live.
So, essentially, Dave is now a member of the band, and on tour with us! [laughs]
RM: I’d like to touch on another few songs on the album, starting with I’m The Prince Of The Damned, which was also a single. That’s a brooding, rumbling, rhythmic number.
LMJ: Yeah, it’s kinda like our stripper song [laughter]. We weren’t sure about that one initially, as a single, because it is that bit different. But, then, whenever we come to releasing singles and videos, we can never really give you a flavour of the album, because every one of them will be different.
For example, if we had put out The Ghost Of Baby Strange, everyone would have gone, "oh that’s very 'rock ballad'." But that’s not us, because we also have Behind The Mask, which is very Killing Joke.
So, what do you put out? I’d love to be able to put out a few singles where people could snap their finger and say "ah, so that’s what they are all about!" But that’s not us!
And that’s the joy of the good old days when it was more about the album, and people got the whole essence of what it, and the band, was all about.
But if you’re going to start by listening to three tracks, as singles, you may well think it’s three different bands; well, with us you might!
LMJ: Yeah, Chris is on the album but we now have Steve Hauxwell as our drummer. Steve has been in a few Goth/ Metal bands including Winter in Eden and Deadfilmstar, who have supported great bands like Ministry, and Fields Of The Nephilim.
He's a brilliant drummer, but he comes from Anglesey, so getting together can be a pain in the arse [laughs], but you want someone who is going to be part of what you are, and gets it for what it is.
And Steve’s been great from that perspective; we asked him "do you really want to be part of the band, because you’re going to get paid less than a session player" [laughs] but he said "I’m happy to be part of it," and that was brilliant.
RM: I get the impression that, particularly when touring, it has to be all for one and one for all.
You have to be a Pistolero, not just a gun for hire.
LMJ: Yes, it is very much like that. It becomes your little gang against the world.
And we are so looking forward to this tour. With a band like us, when there has been so many barriers, you shit yourself when you book the venues, because you never know how crowd numbers will go, particularly in the climate right now.
For example The Underworld in London, which is our press/ album launch show, and the biggest date of the tour, I didn’t even want to ring them up to see how pre-sales had gone!
But I had to, course, and the pre-sales were great; that was brilliant to hear.
RM: Dropping back to the album, I’d like to mention Take My Hand To Nightmare land because, one, it’s a great, and eerie, rock lullaby that Alice Cooper will wish he had come up with first and, two, it features a lovely little guitar solo from Shane.
What makes it more impacting is the fact that while the Gypsy Pistolero sound features plenty of guitar, it doesn’t tend to feature guitar solos.
LMJ: As we’ve talked about, we work a lot with Dave on the songs, but he’s not really into solos – and Shaney’s not massively into that world, either.
Actually none of us are really, but I do love a melodic little solo, where it adds something to the tune, or brings an additional line to the song; Shaney is absolutely great at that.
RM: It’s about adding an accentuation or colour, as opposed to a solo for a solo’s sake.
LMJ: Yeah, exactly that.
RM: It also seems that, in many ways, Dave Draper is your George Martin; certainly in the sense of his studio presence and input, where he becomes the fifth member of the band.
LMJ: Totally. And maybe not just in the studio! When we played Hard Rock Hell we went on before Reckless Love, and Crashdïet; we sounded like The Smiths compared to them when their backing tracks kicked in!
I know there’s usually a big debate about using backing tracks live, but it seems like no-one cares anymore; and because we have now got to a point where our recordings are so massive, or layered, we had to think about it too.
There’s no way we can take Dave Draper out on tour with us on guitar alongside Shaney, so we’ve stuck him on the backing tracks. Some of them are so tight to the live sound you don’t notice; they are very minimal I must add, and everything else you hear is live.
So, essentially, Dave is now a member of the band, and on tour with us! [laughs]
RM: I’d like to touch on another few songs on the album, starting with I’m The Prince Of The Damned, which was also a single. That’s a brooding, rumbling, rhythmic number.
LMJ: Yeah, it’s kinda like our stripper song [laughter]. We weren’t sure about that one initially, as a single, because it is that bit different. But, then, whenever we come to releasing singles and videos, we can never really give you a flavour of the album, because every one of them will be different.
For example, if we had put out The Ghost Of Baby Strange, everyone would have gone, "oh that’s very 'rock ballad'." But that’s not us, because we also have Behind The Mask, which is very Killing Joke.
So, what do you put out? I’d love to be able to put out a few singles where people could snap their finger and say "ah, so that’s what they are all about!" But that’s not us!
And that’s the joy of the good old days when it was more about the album, and people got the whole essence of what it, and the band, was all about.
But if you’re going to start by listening to three tracks, as singles, you may well think it’s three different bands; well, with us you might!
RM: The Ghost Of Baby Strange, which you mentioned, works well as the album closer because it brings a little light to the darker Faerie Tales within.
And then there’s another song I wanted to mention, Rattling, best described as country-punk Pistoleros.
LMJ: It is, yeah [laughs]. Initially we all said "let’s just do that one live," because it’s got that sing-alongy vibe.
But then we thought more about and decided no, let's throw it in and add it to the mix!
RM: Rightly so, it’s an addictive little tune and highly effective.
You’ve also got that pull you in, sing-along hook with Whisper Goodbye, which isn’t so much melodic rock as melodic glam-goth.
LMJ: Dave mixed Michael Monroe’s new solo album, and he let him hear Dark Faerie Tales; that song is Mike’s favourite from the album!
And that was great to hear, because when I was a kid I was into all the early Hanoi Rocks stuff, and I still love that era of the band. So, when I heard from Dave that Mike had said "wow, the singer’s got a great voice, hasn’t he?" I thought "oh, that’s really nice to hear!"
When people say to me "why do you do this?" Or "why are you out there with this band?" I can say it’s because of comments like that, which you just can’t buy, money wise.
RM: Yes, the respect or acknowledgement of your peers. You’re right, you can’t buy that, which is just as well because at this level, and the hard slog it can be, none of us could afford it [laughter]
LMJ: Exactly! There are more things to it than money. When I look back, and the years since I started singing in punk bands as a teenager, people will say to me "but you’ve never made loads of money out of it."
I’ll say "yeah, that’s true, but I’ve stood at the side of the stage and handed Lemmy his drink; I’ve been on tour with Motörhead and been on stage with the Ramones singing Blitzkrieg Bop."
I’ve supported, and met, so many big names; those are the things, and moments, that are special, in a very real way. You just cannot monetize them, in the what’s-it-worth world we now live in.
RM: Yes, along with the music it's about those moments, and the memories you make.
In terms of the energy that permeates through Dark Faerie Tales, I get a sense of the original Gypsy Pistoleros when you had your first go-around back in the 2000s.
Back then, to be brutally honest, I didn’t think, outside of a couple of strong moments, you had the songs; but you had the bravado, and a touch of theatre, which have resurfaced in this spirited rebuilding, if you will, of the band.
LMJ: In those early days we probably didn’t have the songs, but then I was a mess, an alcoholic and a speed freak.
Songs for us then were write it, get it down, think "yeah, that’ll do" and go and play it live – because even though we did a couple of albums we were really a live band, although we were all over the place! [laughs]
But, since I’ve been clean – for the last six years now – it’s like I’ve joined a band for the very first time.
I have none of that baggage from the past so, to me, it’s all new, if you like. And I do care very much about the music now, which I never did in the past, unfortunately.
You’re right, we had a couple of half decent songs back then but we never tried them out fully, or went over and over them to make them as good as they could be.
Back then we had producer Joe Gibb, who worked with Catatonia among others. Joe was probably the only one who could have brought it together. I think we were OK by the time of the EP (Welcome To The Hotel de la Muerte, 2009), but it was never going to tear down walls.
Weirdly enough there are a lot of people, when they see the name Gypsy Pistoleros, still think of that era!
I find that bizarre. I’ve even had people saying "I‘m not booking them for in here because they’re mad!"
Dude, that was like twenty years ago! [laughs]
RM: The legacy of a name, eh? But in many ways that was a different time and a different band – it was definitely a different Lee Mark Jones.
LMJ: Yeah, exactly! But some people have very long memories [laughter].
And that even led to the question of do we keep the name or do we change it? And I did think about that.
In fact, we thought about changing the name when we put out Church Of The Pistoleros – should we just also call ourselves Church Of The Pistoleros? But very quickly it was no, let’s not.
We are who we are and people can take it or leave it. And if they haven’t checked us out by this time well, that’s fine too. But this is our name.
RM: Indeed. It becomes your identity and becomes your brand – and in this case a seriously improved one, as heard on albums such as Duende A Go Go Loco, Church, Dark Faerie Tales, and your live shows.
Lee, thanks for sitting in again with FabricationsHQ. It’s always fun, and always a pleasure.
LMJ: Thank you Ross and thank you for your continued support; it means everything to bands like us. Cheers!
Ross Muir
Muirsical Conversation with Lee Mark Jones
April 2026
Dark Faerie Tales is out now on The New Church Records.
Purchase CD & Coloured Vinyl here: https://www.plastichead.com/artist/gypsy-pistoleros
Photo/ Image credits: All from press pack/ official website
And then there’s another song I wanted to mention, Rattling, best described as country-punk Pistoleros.
LMJ: It is, yeah [laughs]. Initially we all said "let’s just do that one live," because it’s got that sing-alongy vibe.
But then we thought more about and decided no, let's throw it in and add it to the mix!
RM: Rightly so, it’s an addictive little tune and highly effective.
You’ve also got that pull you in, sing-along hook with Whisper Goodbye, which isn’t so much melodic rock as melodic glam-goth.
LMJ: Dave mixed Michael Monroe’s new solo album, and he let him hear Dark Faerie Tales; that song is Mike’s favourite from the album!
And that was great to hear, because when I was a kid I was into all the early Hanoi Rocks stuff, and I still love that era of the band. So, when I heard from Dave that Mike had said "wow, the singer’s got a great voice, hasn’t he?" I thought "oh, that’s really nice to hear!"
When people say to me "why do you do this?" Or "why are you out there with this band?" I can say it’s because of comments like that, which you just can’t buy, money wise.
RM: Yes, the respect or acknowledgement of your peers. You’re right, you can’t buy that, which is just as well because at this level, and the hard slog it can be, none of us could afford it [laughter]
LMJ: Exactly! There are more things to it than money. When I look back, and the years since I started singing in punk bands as a teenager, people will say to me "but you’ve never made loads of money out of it."
I’ll say "yeah, that’s true, but I’ve stood at the side of the stage and handed Lemmy his drink; I’ve been on tour with Motörhead and been on stage with the Ramones singing Blitzkrieg Bop."
I’ve supported, and met, so many big names; those are the things, and moments, that are special, in a very real way. You just cannot monetize them, in the what’s-it-worth world we now live in.
RM: Yes, along with the music it's about those moments, and the memories you make.
In terms of the energy that permeates through Dark Faerie Tales, I get a sense of the original Gypsy Pistoleros when you had your first go-around back in the 2000s.
Back then, to be brutally honest, I didn’t think, outside of a couple of strong moments, you had the songs; but you had the bravado, and a touch of theatre, which have resurfaced in this spirited rebuilding, if you will, of the band.
LMJ: In those early days we probably didn’t have the songs, but then I was a mess, an alcoholic and a speed freak.
Songs for us then were write it, get it down, think "yeah, that’ll do" and go and play it live – because even though we did a couple of albums we were really a live band, although we were all over the place! [laughs]
But, since I’ve been clean – for the last six years now – it’s like I’ve joined a band for the very first time.
I have none of that baggage from the past so, to me, it’s all new, if you like. And I do care very much about the music now, which I never did in the past, unfortunately.
You’re right, we had a couple of half decent songs back then but we never tried them out fully, or went over and over them to make them as good as they could be.
Back then we had producer Joe Gibb, who worked with Catatonia among others. Joe was probably the only one who could have brought it together. I think we were OK by the time of the EP (Welcome To The Hotel de la Muerte, 2009), but it was never going to tear down walls.
Weirdly enough there are a lot of people, when they see the name Gypsy Pistoleros, still think of that era!
I find that bizarre. I’ve even had people saying "I‘m not booking them for in here because they’re mad!"
Dude, that was like twenty years ago! [laughs]
RM: The legacy of a name, eh? But in many ways that was a different time and a different band – it was definitely a different Lee Mark Jones.
LMJ: Yeah, exactly! But some people have very long memories [laughter].
And that even led to the question of do we keep the name or do we change it? And I did think about that.
In fact, we thought about changing the name when we put out Church Of The Pistoleros – should we just also call ourselves Church Of The Pistoleros? But very quickly it was no, let’s not.
We are who we are and people can take it or leave it. And if they haven’t checked us out by this time well, that’s fine too. But this is our name.
RM: Indeed. It becomes your identity and becomes your brand – and in this case a seriously improved one, as heard on albums such as Duende A Go Go Loco, Church, Dark Faerie Tales, and your live shows.
Lee, thanks for sitting in again with FabricationsHQ. It’s always fun, and always a pleasure.
LMJ: Thank you Ross and thank you for your continued support; it means everything to bands like us. Cheers!
Ross Muir
Muirsical Conversation with Lee Mark Jones
April 2026
Dark Faerie Tales is out now on The New Church Records.
Purchase CD & Coloured Vinyl here: https://www.plastichead.com/artist/gypsy-pistoleros
Photo/ Image credits: All from press pack/ official website
