Southern Sons is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 1989 by members of The State along with lead vocalist and guitarist Irwin Thomas, who was then using the stage name Jack Jones. They are best known for their Australian top ten hits "Heart in Danger", "Hold Me in Your Arms", and "You Were There".
Southern Sons were established in 1989 and featured several members of the band The State, one such member guitarist Phil Buckle and Sons lead man Jack Jones in 1990 worked alongside John Farnham as session musicians on his album Chain Reaction, as well a accompanied Farnham on tour. The group signed a record deal with Farnham's manager Glenn Wheatley on his Wheatley Records label.
In July 1990, Southern Sons released their debut single "Heart in Danger", which peaked at number 5 on the ARIA Charts. In November 1990, the single "Always and Ever" was released as well as the group's debut self-titled album, Southern Sons peaked at number 5 on the ARIA albums chart. A third single, the ballad "Hold Me in Your Arms" was released in March 1991 and peaked at number 9.
In August 1992, Southern Sons released "Lead Me to Water", the lead single from the group's second studio album. The song peaked at number 36. Nothing But the Truth, was released in November 1992 and came with the departure of guitarist Peter Bowman. The album's third single "You Were There" peaked at number 6 in May 1993. The Sydney Dance Company included three Southern Sons songs in its 1993 production of Beauty and the Beast.
Southern Sons' third and final studio album, Zone, was released in 1996. The album's lead single, "Don't Tell Me What's Right", featured vocals from Men at Work's Colin Hay. Soon after the album's release, Southern Sons disbanded.
Jones was married to New Zealand-born Australian actress Rebecca Gibney from 1992âÂÂ1995. The marriage ended in divorce. Jack Jones reverted to his birth name Irwin Thomas and has recorded under that name with several projects, including Mudhead and Electric Mary, while also joining John Farnham on multiple tours. In 1999 Jones played on the Tour of Duty â Concert for the Troops for peacekeeping Australian troops in Dili, East Timor.
In 2019 the group reformed after 22-years, for One Electric Day concert.
The group toured Australia in 2025 and again in 2026.
The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.
|- |rowspan="1"| 1991 | "Heart in Danger" (Phil Buckle) by Southern Sons | Most Performed Australian Work | |- |rowspan="1"| 1993 | "You Were There" (Phil Buckle) by Southern Sons | Song of the Year | |- |rowspan="1"| 1994 | "You Were There" (Phil Buckle) by Southern Sons | Most Performed Australian Work |
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. 1927 have won three awards.
! |- | rowspan="4"|1991 | "Heart in Danger" | Breakthrough Artist - Single | | rowspan="4"| |- | Southern Sons | Breakthrough Artist - Album | |- | Ross Fraser for "Heart in Danger" by Southern Sons | Producer of the Year | |- | Doug Brady for "Always and Forever" and "Heart in Danger" by Southern Sons | Engineer of the Year | |- | rowspan="2"|1992 | "Hold Me in Your Arms" | Song of the Year | | rowspan="2"| |- | Ross Fraser for "Hold Me in Your Arms" by Southern Sons | Producer of the Year | |-