Some things never change. Joe Brown’s same spikey hairstyle, his distinctive voice and cheerful personality, the same pioneering spirit AND his tremendous talent. Joe is the real deal. He looks good, he sounds good and he is good.
Joe was one of the first great British guitarists and, now, an incredible five decades later, he can still justly lay claim to being one of the UK’s finest.
His unique background was deeply rooted in the East End where he grew up (his mum ran a pub in Plaistow and his grandfather was a trick rider in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Circus.) He was a champion of the first form of youth music, skiffle, and while he has never had a music lesson in his life he can play at least eight different instruments.
Joe has inspired and been acclaimed by many guitarists - George Harrison, Mark Knopfler, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck to name but a few – and he is credited as the man who gave Hank Marvin the echo unit that gave the Shadows their distinctive sound.
(Rumour also has it that Jimi Hendrix took up playing guitar behind his head having seen Joe do it at a show. Noel Redding did take Jimi to see him in Folkestone)
2008 saw Joe celebrating his 50th year in the business, a career that has had more than its fair share of highs. From the early hits – Dark Town Strutters Ball, Shine, Picture Of You, That’s What Love Will Do – right through to appearances at Glastonbury and Cropready and on Jools Holland’s “Hootenanny”, he’s demonstrated his superb musicianship.
His show-stopping performance at the George Harrison Tribute concert in 2002 with “I’ll See You In My Dreams” was both memorable and moving, a fitting tribute to one of his closest friends. (The DVD of the show has already gone 12 times platinum in the US alone.)
50 years on Joe is still making new and highly acclaimed records. He’s toured with some great musicians – most recently Dave Edmunds – and he still tours major venues twice a year. To mark 2008’s special occasion, Universal released the TV promoted “Joe Brown 50th Anniversary – The Very Best Of” on February 18th. Comprising 25 tracks in total it features all of his best loved songs right from the early days to the present including his version of Dylan’s Well, Well, Well, One Trick Pony and Black Betty as well as re-recordings of 8 classic Joe Brown songs to sit alongside the originals.
This album has now gone Gold in the UK selling over 100,000 copies.
When Lonnie Donegan was ruling the charts with Rock Island Line, 16 year old Joe joined his first band, the Spacemen Skiffle Group. Three years later he was the resident lead guitarist on Jack Good’s groundbreaking TV show Boy Meets Girls. He found himself backing visiting American stars like Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and Johnny Cash. (That’s Joe’s rockabilly lead guitar all over Billy Fury’s classic 1960 album “The Sound Of Fury”- THE classic UK rock record.)
1960 was the year the Spacemen became Joe Brown And The Bruvvers and the hits began to roll in, starting with The Darktown Strutters Ball and reaching a crescendo in 1962/3 with A Picture Of You, It Only Took A Minute and That’s What Love Will Do. During this time Joe was headlining British tours that featured Del Shannon, Dion, the Crystals… and an up and coming band called the Beatles.
As the Beatles changed the whole pop music landscape Joe was already broadening his horizons. He starred in the long running West End musical “Charlie Girl” in 1965 and has since appeared in “Sleuth” and 1985’s “Pump Boys And Dinettes” which he directed and took on tour.
Then there were films – “What A Crazy World”, “Three Hats For Lisa”, “Spike Milligan Meets Joe Brown” and “Mona Lisa” with Bob Hoskins. Not to mention regular TV and radio appearances including three series of “The Joe Brown Show” on ITV and presenting BBC Radio 2’s “The Rock Island Line”, “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, “Let It Rock” and “Joe Brown’s Sunday Roast” either side of the new millennium.
In the early 70s Joe formed Brown’s Home Brew which included his late wife Vicki and Joe Fagin, touring and releasing two albums. Between the mid 70s and the early 90s, however, Joe concentrated on touring, only releasing albums again when he signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell in Nashville in 1991.That led to the release of the Come On Joe album in 1993, recorded at his own home studio, produced by his son Pete and featuring his now long term band – guitarist Neil Gauntlett, bassist Rico Nilo and drummer Phil Capaldi.
Come On Joe was followed closely by the ‘In Concert’ video and by 1997’s 56 And Taller Than You Think and On A Day Like This, recorded in Nashville in 1998 and produced by Roger Cook (with whom he later wrote a musical which had its musical debut in 2005). In 2005 Joe also signed to Track Records and has subsequently released two live DVDs plus several highly acclaimed albums including -Hittin’ The Hi Spots , Down To Earth and Live In Germany.
Since the new millennium Joe has been confounding people’s expectations of him on a regular basis. In 2002 he appeared at the Glastonbury Festival and endeared himself to the latest generation of rock fans. Later that year he won a brand new world-wide audience with his show-stopping appearance at “The Concert For George” staged at London’s Royal Albert Hall with a stellar cast of musicians in tribute to George Harrison.
Joe was asked by Olivia Harrison and Eric Clapton to sing Here Comes The Sun, That’s The Way It Goes and to close the show with I’ll See You In My Dreams, a favourite song of George’s. Joe describes the show as “the highlight of my career” although 2008 is already pushing the boundaries - There was not a seat left unsold for his 37 date 50th Anniversary Spring tour earlier this year and on September 24th he has already sold out the highlight of his touring year, his 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert at The Royal Albert Hall, where he will be joined by Mark Knopfler, Jools Holland, Dave Edmunds, Dennis Locorriere, Chas N Dave, Sam Brown, Henry Gross and his band who are joined by Son Pete Brown, Foster Son Richard Newman, Step daughter Mollie Marriott and bassist Mike Nichols who will be standing in for regular player Dave Nilo until he is well enough to resume his position.
Joe Brown is the genuine article. That he is one of the real British greats is without doubt. An inspiration to many and an unflagging and surprising talent in his own right, Joe goes from strength to strength.
His new CD “ More Of The truth“ released by Track Records in October 08 is a superb testament to a truly unique star.
And.Joe is on the road yet again. A 48 date UK tour this Spring. Talk about "Ain't Too Old".
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