26 November 2023

Supreme songsmith JOE JACKSON (aged 69) released his 21st studio album,
titled WHAT A RACKET! A surprising one as the record celebrates Music Hall
legend Max Champion who is credited for writing all the songs.

Music Hall is a musical genre that started in the pubs and streets of London
in the mid-19th century and grew into the first form of mass entertainment to
be created by the working classes. By 1900 it regularly drew huge audiences from
across the whole spectrum of society, from prostitutes to princes, all singing along
with superstar performers in gorgeous theatres (some of which still survive). Like
its American cousin Vaudeville, Music Hall featured magicians, acrobats, and
ventriloquists – elements that we still see today in musical theatre and cabaret
shows.

One of the most fascinating of the Music Hall performers was Max Champion.
Little is known about him, except that he was born in London in 1882. He was
almost completely forgotten until the sheet music of his songs was found in
Valletta, Malta, in 2014.

What A Racket! presents eleven of Max Champion’s songs for the first time
in more than a century with Jackson directing a 12-piece orchestra and singing
like a genuine Music Hall artist.

Title track with a great old footage video

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’.

Enjoy this glorious sonic spectacle.

It’s showtime, folks.

JOE JACKSON: Instagram – Facebook – All Albums