- JOE JACKSON PRESENTS
“THE TWO ROUNDS OF RACKET TOUR”
JOE JACKSON | MAX CHAMPION
SOLO JOE JACKSON PLUS 9 PIECE BAND
20 OCTOBER 2024
ULSTER HALL, BELFAST
TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10AM VIA TICKETMASTER.IE
- JOE JACKSON PRESENTS
“THE TWO ROUNDS OF RACKET TOUR”
UK/EU Tour Hitting 26 Cities in late Summer and Autumn 2024,
Featuring Joe Jackson solo set followed by Joe Jackson with a 9 piece band playing the music of Max Champion
New Album Now Available On earMUSIC:
Mr. Joe Jackson presents: Max Champion in ‘What A Racket!’
Following the newly released album by earMUSIC, Mr. Joe Jackson presents: Max Champion in ‘What A Racket!’ – reviving the songs of enigmatic early 20th-century English Music Hall artist Max Champion – renowned musician and producer Joe Jackson announces Europe dates for his “Two Rounds Of Racket Tour”. After appearing in 19 cities across the U.S. in summer 2024, Joe Jackson takes his nine-piece band across the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, UK and Ireland for two months. 26 dates in 25 cities. On-sale for tickets will begin Friday 10am GMT for Germany, and Friday March 15th everywhere else at www.joejackson.com.
“The Two Rounds Of Racket Tour” promises to be festive, fun, and unlike anything else music fans will see next (or any other) year. The show will be in two parts: a solo set by Joe Jackson of his original songs, and a set based on the album What A Racket! – the first performance in more than 100 years of the songs of forgotten Music Hall genius Max Champion, with Joe and a nine-piece band.
Max Champion was born in 1882 in London’s East End and is thought to have been related to the great Victorian entertainer Harry Champion. As an up-and-coming performer he shared the stage with big stars such as Gus Ellen and Vesta Tilley, but his career (much like the Music Hall era itself) was cut short by the First World War, and his songs faded into obscurity. That is, until 2014, when Max Champion sheet music started to surface: first in Malta, then in England, and, intriguingly, in Belgium, where Max probably met his end in the trenches. By 2019, enough songs had been recovered for Joe Jackson to resurrect them with a 12-piece orchestra.
According to producer Joe Jackson, “These were wonderful songs in their time, but they’re surprisingly modern, too. Sometimes it’s almost as if Max is speaking, from his London of the early 20th century, directly to us in the early 21st.”
A newly released documentary now sheds light on the early 20th century artist from England.
WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT MAX CHAMPION
Music Hall originated in 19th-century London, transitioning from pubs and street performances to grand theaters by 1900. It attracted a diverse audience, spanning from commoners to aristocrats. The songs in this genre depicted life in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, often infused with humor, satire, sentimentality, patriotism, and occasionally darker themes like jealousy and murder. Some songs were also risqué but cleverly expressed.
Mr. Joe Jackson presents: Max Champion in ‘What A Racket!’
(Release Date: earMUSIC, November 24th, 2023)
TRACK LISTING
- (Overture): Why, Why, Why?
- The Sporting Life
- Dear Old Mum — A London-Irish Lament
- Monty Mundy (Is Maltese)!
- The Shades Of Night
- What A Racket!
- The Bishop And The Actress
- Think Of The Show! — A Thespian’s Lament
- Never So Nice In The Morning
- Health & Safety
- Worse Things Happen At Sea