JOE GOES SOLO

LEGENDARY rock and roller Joe Brown is set to surprise us all again as he is now touring as a solo performer.

Throughout his career, Joe who came to prominence in the late fifties and early sixties, toured with his backing band The Bruvvers; but has now decided to go out on his own with only pal Henry Gross for company.

The multi-instrumentalist is famous for hits like Picture Of You, What A Crazy World, It Only Took A Minute, Henry The Eighth and That’s What Love Will Do; and who can forget his emotional rendition of I’ll See You In My Dreams at the memorial concert for George Harrison?

His career has diversified throughout the years and he became one of the first recognised all-round entertainers.

Henry Gross was a member of the rock and roll revival band Sha Na Na and he wrote the acclaimed hit Shannon and it was he who gave Joe the idea for the solo tours.

“Henry has always done a one-man show,” Joe tells me. “and he said to me ‘you don’t need a band with your songs’.”

“Also, Henry sings the harmonies so well, the whole thing is clearer. I play mandolin and he plays guitar – it sounds great.”

Joe is also known for his ‘cheeky Cockney’ persona, but he isn’t a Cockney.

“No, I was brought up in a pub in the East End, but I was actually born in Lincolnshire. Strangely though, the last ‘real’ Cockney was born on the day I was born – 13th May 1941, because on the 12th of May the Bow Bells were destroyed by a German bomber, so nobody could be born within the sound of Bow Bells anymore.”

He has had a lot of success in his lengthy career, but he appears to be most proud of how the revitalised his career after years in the doldrums, as he explains.

“I was doing lots of nightclubs which I hated. I was third on the bill to birds and booze, but then I got a new manager and asked what I could do about it all.”

The answer came as a surprise.

“Yeah, he said do the theatres. The thing is that the theatres were closing but a lot of them were getting lottery money to spruce themselves up.”

He continues.

“We went from getting about 150 people a night to the point where we are now going four nights in one place and getting great attendance.”

“Plus,” he adds. “We built it up through word of mouth. We haven’t done any TV and we still pack ‘em in.”

Joe has been doing the one-man shows for a while now and it seems to be going well.

“The shows are going much better than I expected, it’s been great. They are a great pleasure to do – the only problem is all the travelling.”

At a time when most people would be thinking of retiring – Joe is 77 – he just keeps on going.

“It’s the audiences that keep me going. I’m a ham, I want to entertain people. It’s your job and if people want to come and see you, it’s great.”

There of course must be many highlights in his career, and he agrees.

“There are certain things you remember; my 21st birthday at Colston Hall in Bristol, the George Harrison tribute concert are just two.”

“There have been good times and bad times. I’ve always come back if I’ve been knocked down. It’s been a varied career and a great life.”

And what can we expect to hear in the shows?

“Well, we do the hits and tell stories about the people I’ve worked with and the songs. People seem to want to hear the stories. Henry does a spot too, and I get to play my ukulele and maybe the fiddle too.”

And Joe has no intention of slowing down much, as he tells me.

“Yeah, after the tour I’m off to Nashville for a couple of months and then maybe another tour.”

Joe Brown will be appearing on his tour with special guest Henry Gross at The Ferneham Hall, Fareham on Saturday 3rd March.

Tickets are available from the Box Office on 01329 231942 and all the usual agencies.

Martin Hutchinson.