This year Joe Brown has been celebrating 60 years in the business with a staggering 43 live dates. It’s a tour that he’s all set to continue into 2020 with another 35 dates that has him on the road until Spring. Not only that but a 60th Anniversary limited edition box set is about to hit the streets too. Does the man never stop?
Joe Brown does what it says on the tin. What you see is what you get -a cheeky smile, a spikey haircut, a bloke who is definitely a survivor. He’s passed through more genres and vagaries of the music industry than you can shake a stick at. And he’s still here, with the same haircut and a youthful effervescence (at a mere 78) and still selling out shows across the U.K.
Joe Brown’s first group was a skiffle group, until he heard Little Richard then rock ‘n’ roll was the only way. The Beatles supported him, and George Harrison became a life-long friend.
Joe’s first big hit saved his life – it took him off on a solo tour (otherwise he’d have been in the car crash that killed Eddie Cochran). Several big hits later he was established and Joe Brown and The Bruvvers became a 60’s household name.
Now, six decades on, Joe is still making great music, pulling the crowds and doing what he does best – performing live.
His last live U.K. outing was a solo trip down memory lane combining stories from his past with great playing abetted by old friend and special guest Henry Gross. This two-part 60th anniversary tour sees him back on the road with a full band.
Joining him is a brand-new line-up plus long-time stalwart Phil Capaldi. The musicians are as follows: Phil Capaldi – drums/vocals, Andy Crowdy – bass/vocals, Tom Leary – fiddle, Steve Simpson – guitar/mandolin/vocals.
Going hand in hand with the tour comes a lavish and detailed album-size 60th Anniversary Box Set, Joe’s first ever. Each box set contains six CDs and a DVD as well as various items including two sixties’ poster cards (unavailable elsewhere), a badge and a guitar plectrum. The piece-de-resistance of the set, however, is the lavish full colour 48-page hard backed book which chronicles Joe’s career in pictures and words. A terrific tribute to a musician’s life well lived.
Joe Brown made his name as one of the great guitar pioneers and kingpins of British rock ‘n’ roll. In recent years he has also become known as a champion of the ukulele. He has his own signature uke series while his Ukulele Album established him as something of a world-wide Spotify legend.
Joe’s Best Of achieved Gold status and saw him back in the charts. An M.B.E., A Mojo Award, closing the show at the Tribute To George concert, playing Glastonbury and multiple accolades over the years have borne testament to his musical talents.
As it was in the beginning, so it is now – Joe always puts on a great show. The music is drawn from all over, some rock, some instrumental, a touch of gospel, some banjo and fiddle, but it’s one man that pulls it together. The cheeky smile, the spikey haircut, the entertaining multi-instrumentalist -it’s the indefatigable force that is the one and only Joe Brown.
Tickets for Joe Brown at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on February 1st are on sale from the Venue’s Box office.