Buy Tickets Joe Jackson
Music Friday, May 31 • 8:00pm •$99.50, $89.50, $79.50, $59.50
Part of the Guest Music Presentations Series
Plus the music of Max Champion
Joe Jackson was born on August 11 1954 in Burton-on-Trent, England, but grew up in the South Coast naval port city of Portsmouth
At age 16 Joe played his first paying gig, as pianist in a pub next door to a glue factory just outside of Portsmouth. This was followed by other pub gigs (in which he was often trying to entertain crowds of drunken, bottle-throwing sailors) and accompanying a bouzouki player in a Greek restaurant.
At age 18 Joe won a scholarship to study Composition, Piano, and Percussion at London’s Royal Academy of Music.
By 1978 Joe was living in London and hawking an album-length demo, with his own band (Graham Maby, Bass; Dave Houghton, Drums; Gary Sanford, Guitar) standing by. That demo — already called Look Sharp — eventually found its way to American producer David Kershenbaum, who was in London in the capacity of talent scout for A&M Records. Joe was immediately signed and Look Sharp more professionally re-recorded in August ’78. The Joe Jackson Band finally started to play regular gigs and the album was released in January 1979.
Presented by Step Up & SLP Concerts