Joe Jackson (musician)
Encyclopedia
Joe Jackson is an English musician and singer-songwriter now living in Berlin, whose five Grammy Award
nominations span from 1979 to 2001. He is probably best known for the 1979 hit
song "Is She Really Going Out with Him?
", which still gets extensive FM radio airplay; for his 1982 hit, "Steppin' Out
"; and for his 1984 success with "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)".
Along with Elvis Costello
and Graham Parker
, Jackson was a part of the trio of English artists who challenged the punk
scene and brought a New Wave
sound to the United States in the late 1970s. He was popular for his pop/rock and new wave music early on before moving to more eclectic, though less commercially successful, pop/jazz
/classical
hybrids.
in the Paulsgrove
area and he attended the City of Portsmouth Boys School. His parents later moved to Gosport
when he was a teenager.
He initially learned to play the violin but soon switched to piano and prevailed on his dad to install one in the hall of their Paulsgrove council house. From the age of 16, he played in bars, and won a scholarship to study musical composition
at London's Royal Academy of Music
.
Jackson's first band, in Gosport, was Edward Bear (not to be confused with the 1970s Canadian band fronted by Larry Evoy
). The band was later renamed Edwin Bear and later Arms and Legs, but dissolved in 1976 after two unsuccessful singles
. Although he was still known as David Jackson while in Arms & Legs, it was around this time that Jackson picked up the nickname "Joe", based on his perceived resemblance to the puppet character Joe 90
. He then spent some time in the cabaret
circuit to make money to record his own demos
. However, whilst at school he had been known as 'Joe' to his schoolmates and teachers from 1972 onwards.
In 1978, a record producer heard his tape, and got him signed to A&M Records
. The album Look Sharp!
was recorded straight away, and was released in 1979, quickly followed by I'm the Man
(also 1979) and Beat Crazy
in 1980. He also collaborated with Lincoln Thompson
in reggae
crossover.
In 1981, Jackson produced an album for the British power pop
group The Keys. The Keys Album was the group's only LP.
The Joe Jackson Band toured extensively. After the break-up of the band, Jackson took a break and recorded an album of old-style swing and blues
tunes, Jumpin' Jive
, featuring songs of Cab Calloway
, Lester Young
, Glenn Miller
, and most prominently, Louis Jordan
. The album, and associated single release, was credited to Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive.
Jackson's 1982 album Night and Day paid tribute to the wit and style of Cole Porter
(and indirectly to New York City). Night and Day was Jackson's only studio album to reach either the United States or UK Top 10, peaking at #4 (US) and at #3 (UK), and the cuts "Steppin' Out" and "Breaking Us In Two" were chart
hits. The tracks "Real Men" and "A Slow Song" have pointed obliquely to the city's early 1980s gay culture. Jackson lived in New York for the next 20 years, incorporating the sound of the city into his music throughout the 1980s and beyond.
Almost two years later, Jackson recorded the UK #14 album Body and Soul, also heavily influenced by pop and jazz standards and salsa
, showcasing the US #15 hit single "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)".
In 1986, he collaborated with Suzanne Vega
on the single "Left of Center" from Pretty in Pink
s soundtrack
(with Vega singing and Jackson playing piano).
Jackson followed with the live album Big World
, a three-sided double record – the fourth side consisted of a single centring groove and a label stating "there is no music on this side". The instrumental
"Will Power" set the stage for things to come later, but before he left pop behind, he put out two more albums, Blaze of Glory
and Laughter & Lust
.
For some years he drifted away from the pop style, going on to be signed by Sony Classical in 1997. They released his Symphony No. 1
in 1999, for which he received a Grammy Award
for Best Pop Instrumental Album
in 2001.
In 1995, Joe Jackson contributed his version of "Statue of Liberty" on a tribute album
to the English band XTC
called "Testimonial Dinner" (released 1998).
In 2003, he reunited his original quartet
for the album Volume 4
, and a lengthy tour. As before, the quartet consisted of Jackson, Graham Maby
, Dave Houghton and Gary Sanford.
In 2004, Jackson performed a cover of Pulp
's "Common People", with William Shatner
for Shatner's album Has Been
.
Jackson toured 45 US and European cities in 2005 with Todd Rundgren
and the string quartet Ethel
, appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
performing their collaborative cover version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps
".
Thereafter, he embarked on a short tour in a piano-bass-drums trio format. He toured Europe in Spring 2007, again in a trio format. Jackson's album, Rain
was released by Rykodisc
on 28 January 2008 in the UK and one day later in the US. The album included a CD and a bonus DVD containing over 40 minutes of material, including concert and behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. Jackson performed two UK shows in spring 2008, followed by a full UK tour.
s in both the United States and the United Kingdom, writing a 2005 pamphlet The Smoking Issue, a 2007 essay Smoke, Lies and the Nanny State, and issuing a satirical song ("In 20-0-3") on the subject. It was in 2003, soon after the New York smoking ban, that Jackson left the city and returned to Portsmouth, England, where he has a flat in the oldest part of the city that overlooks the harbour. In the DVD interviews in Rain, it was stated that he moved to Berlin in early 2007.
He has been quoted as saying he now spends most of his time in Berlin, but still has places in Portsmouth and New York City. Jackson noted his enthusiasm for real ale
in his autobiography, A Cure For Gravity, published in 1999, which Jackson has described as a "book about music, thinly disguised as a memoir". It traces his working class upbringing in Portsmouth and charts his musical life from childhood until his twenty-fourth birthday. Life as a pop star, he suggested, was hardly worth writing about.
band Anthrax
recorded a cover version of Jackson's "Got the Time" for their Persistence of Time
album.
In 1997 American Ska/Punk band Buck O' Nine covered Jackson's "I'm the Man" for their album Twenty-Eight Teeth.
In 1999 American Punk band Goldfinger
covered "Is She Really Going Out With Him?
" on their live cover album Darrin's Coconut Ass: Live from Omaha
.
In 2001, Tori Amos
covered Jackson's song "Real Men" on her album Strange Little Girls
.
In 2002, "Steppin' Out" appeared in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
. A loop of the instrumental portion of this song is used as the theme tune for the WYES-TV
(New Orleans) weekly arts and entertainment program, Steppin' Out. The melody is also used frequently as 'bumper music' on The Neal Boortz
Show.
In 2003, Sugar Ray
covered "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" for their album In the Pursuit of Leisure
, and Mandy Moore
recorded "Breaking Us In Two" for her album Coverage
.
In 2009, American power pop
singer-songwriter Marykate O'Neil
covered "It's Different For Girls" on her album Underground.
In 2011, Grammy-winning, Chicago based jazz singer Kurt Elling
covered "Steppin'Out" on his album The Gate
.
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations span from 1979 to 2001. He is probably best known for the 1979 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
song "Is She Really Going Out with Him?
Is She Really Going Out with Him?
"Is She Really Going Out with Him?" is the first single released by Joe Jackson in September 1978. The track was included on Jackson's debut album, Look Sharp!, the following year...
", which still gets extensive FM radio airplay; for his 1982 hit, "Steppin' Out
Steppin' Out (Joe Jackson song)
"Steppin' Out" is a song written by Joe Jackson, originally included on his 1982 album, Night and Day.The song is about the anticipation and excitement of a night out on the town. Released as a single in August 1982, it became Jackson's biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit in the U.S., peaking at number...
"; and for his 1984 success with "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)".
Along with Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
and Graham Parker
Graham Parker
Graham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
, Jackson was a part of the trio of English artists who challenged the punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
scene and brought a New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
sound to the United States in the late 1970s. He was popular for his pop/rock and new wave music early on before moving to more eclectic, though less commercially successful, pop/jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
/classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
hybrids.
Biography
Born in Staffordshire, David Jackson (as he was then known) grew up in PortsmouthPortsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
in the Paulsgrove
Paulsgrove
Paulsgrove is an area of northern Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Paulsgrove existed as a small hamlet on the old Portsmouth to Southampton road for many years. During the early twentieth century Paulsgrove Racecourse was built north of the village on the slopes of Portsdown Hill and a halt built...
area and he attended the City of Portsmouth Boys School. His parents later moved to Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
when he was a teenager.
He initially learned to play the violin but soon switched to piano and prevailed on his dad to install one in the hall of their Paulsgrove council house. From the age of 16, he played in bars, and won a scholarship to study musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
at London's Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
.
Jackson's first band, in Gosport, was Edward Bear (not to be confused with the 1970s Canadian band fronted by Larry Evoy
Larry Evoy
Larry Evoy was the lead singer and founder of Canadian rock band Edward Bear.Evoy and his band worked to make a name for themselves in the Yorkville scene in Toronto and finally landed a recording deal with Capitol Records in 1969....
). The band was later renamed Edwin Bear and later Arms and Legs, but dissolved in 1976 after two unsuccessful singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. Although he was still known as David Jackson while in Arms & Legs, it was around this time that Jackson picked up the nickname "Joe", based on his perceived resemblance to the puppet character Joe 90
Joe 90
Joe 90 is a late-1960s British science-fiction television series documenting the exploits of a nine-year-old boy, Joe McClaine, who embarks on a double life as a schoolboy turned spy when his scientist father invents a pioneering machine capable of duplicating and transferring expert knowledge and...
. He then spent some time in the cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
circuit to make money to record his own demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
. However, whilst at school he had been known as 'Joe' to his schoolmates and teachers from 1972 onwards.
In 1978, a record producer heard his tape, and got him signed to A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
. The album Look Sharp!
Look Sharp! (Joe Jackson album)
Look Sharp! is the debut album by Joe Jackson, released in 1979. Look Sharp! was re-released in 2001 with two bonus tracks, "Don't Ask Me" and "You Got the Fever" the respective b-sides of the singles "One More Time" and "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" originally released in May and July 1979...
was recorded straight away, and was released in 1979, quickly followed by I'm the Man
I'm the Man (Joe Jackson album)
I'm the Man is Joe Jackson's second album, released in October 1979. Critically, the album was considered a continuation of Look Sharp!, an opinion shared by Jackson himself...
(also 1979) and Beat Crazy
Beat Crazy
Beat Crazy is the third album by Joe Jackson, released in October 1980, and credited to the Joe Jackson Band. It was a relative disappointment commercially, peaking outside the Top 40 in both the UK and the United States, with its singles failing to chart. One reason for the reduced sales in the...
in 1980. He also collaborated with Lincoln Thompson
Lincoln Thompson
Prince Lincoln Thompson, known as Sax, was a Jamaican singer, musician and songwriter with the reggae band the Royal Rasses, and a member of the Rastafari movement...
in reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
crossover.
In 1981, Jackson produced an album for the British power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
group The Keys. The Keys Album was the group's only LP.
The Joe Jackson Band toured extensively. After the break-up of the band, Jackson took a break and recorded an album of old-style swing and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
tunes, Jumpin' Jive
Jumpin' Jive (Joe Jackson album)
Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive is a 1981 album by Joe Jackson. It is a collection of covers of classic 1940's swing and jump blues songs originally performed by musicians such as Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway, the latter of whom's song "Jumpin' Jive" was the eponym for this album.The album, and...
, featuring songs of Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
, Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
, Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
, and most prominently, Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
. The album, and associated single release, was credited to Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive.
Jackson's 1982 album Night and Day paid tribute to the wit and style of Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
(and indirectly to New York City). Night and Day was Jackson's only studio album to reach either the United States or UK Top 10, peaking at #4 (US) and at #3 (UK), and the cuts "Steppin' Out" and "Breaking Us In Two" were chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
hits. The tracks "Real Men" and "A Slow Song" have pointed obliquely to the city's early 1980s gay culture. Jackson lived in New York for the next 20 years, incorporating the sound of the city into his music throughout the 1980s and beyond.
Almost two years later, Jackson recorded the UK #14 album Body and Soul, also heavily influenced by pop and jazz standards and salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
, showcasing the US #15 hit single "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)".
In 1986, he collaborated with Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...
on the single "Left of Center" from Pretty in Pink
Pretty in Pink
Pretty in Pink is a 1986 American teen romantic comedy-drama film about teenage love and social cliques in 1980s American high schools. It is one of a group of John Hughes films starring Molly Ringwald, and is commonly identified as a "Brat Pack" film...
s soundtrack
Pretty in Pink (soundtrack)
The Pretty in Pink soundtrack album was released in 1986 for the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink, a now classic coming-of-age film about teenage love and social cliques in a 1980s American high school....
(with Vega singing and Jackson playing piano).
Jackson followed with the live album Big World
Big World
Big World is a 1986 live album by Joe Jackson. The album was recorded in front of an invited audience at the Roundabout Theatre in New York City on 22–25 January 1986. Jackson's intent was to capture the excitement and spontaneity of a live performance, but without any noise from the crowd...
, a three-sided double record – the fourth side consisted of a single centring groove and a label stating "there is no music on this side". The instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
"Will Power" set the stage for things to come later, but before he left pop behind, he put out two more albums, Blaze of Glory
Blaze of Glory (Joe Jackson album)
Blaze of Glory is an 1989 album by Joe Jackson. Blaze of Glory was a modest seller, although the resultant single, "Nineteen Forever", reached #4 in the U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. Jackson felt the album was one of his best efforts and toured to support it with an eleven piece band in the U.S...
and Laughter & Lust
Laughter & Lust
Laughter & Lust is a 1991 album by Joe Jackson. He had parted ways with A&M Records in 1990, who then released the compilation Steppin' Out: The Very Best of Joe Jackson, which became a Top Ten hit in the UK...
.
For some years he drifted away from the pop style, going on to be signed by Sony Classical in 1997. They released his Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 1 is a simple designation for the first symphony published by a composer. The term applies to:- Formally titled :* Symphony No. 1, by William Alwyn* Symphony No. 1, by Malcolm Arnold* Symphony No. 1, by Arnold Bax...
in 1999, for which he received a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Pop Instrumental Album
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality instrumental albums in the pop music genre...
in 2001.
In 1995, Joe Jackson contributed his version of "Statue of Liberty" on a tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
to the English band XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
called "Testimonial Dinner" (released 1998).
In 2003, he reunited his original quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
for the album Volume 4
Volume 4 (Joe Jackson album)
Volume 4 is a 2003 album by Joe Jackson. This is the first album to feature the Joe Jackson Band since the 1980 release, Beat Crazy....
, and a lengthy tour. As before, the quartet consisted of Jackson, Graham Maby
Graham Maby
Graham Maby , is a bass guitar player. He has recorded and toured with Joe Jackson since his first album, appearing on most of Jackson's albums and tours. He has continued to record and tour with Jackson even while working with other artists.In the early '90s he toured with Graham Parker, Garland...
, Dave Houghton and Gary Sanford.
In 2004, Jackson performed a cover of Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
's "Common People", with William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
for Shatner's album Has Been
Has Been
Has Been is William Shatner's second musical album after 1968's The Transformed Man.The album was produced and arranged by Ben Folds and most of the songs are co-written by Folds and Shatner, with Folds creating arrangements for Shatner's prose-poems, and feature guest appearances from Joe Jackson...
.
Jackson toured 45 US and European cities in 2005 with Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
and the string quartet Ethel
Ethel (string quartet)
ETHEL is a New York based string quartet that was co-founded in 1998 by Ralph Farris, viola; Dorothy Lawson, cello; Todd Reynolds, violin; and Mary Rowell, violin. Unlike most string quartets, ETHEL plays with amplification and integrates improvisation into its performances...
, appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
performing their collaborative cover version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a song by George Harrison, first recorded by The Beatles in 1968 for their eponymous double album...
".
Thereafter, he embarked on a short tour in a piano-bass-drums trio format. He toured Europe in Spring 2007, again in a trio format. Jackson's album, Rain
Rain (Joe Jackson album)
Rain is a 2008 album by Joe Jackson. It was released by Rykodisc on 28 January 2008 in the UK and one day later in the U.S.Like its predecessor Volume 4, it featured members of the 'Joe Jackson Band', this time minus guitarist Gary Sanford...
was released by Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
on 28 January 2008 in the UK and one day later in the US. The album included a CD and a bonus DVD containing over 40 minutes of material, including concert and behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. Jackson performed two UK shows in spring 2008, followed by a full UK tour.
Other activities
Jackson has actively campaigned against smoking banSmoking ban
Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...
s in both the United States and the United Kingdom, writing a 2005 pamphlet The Smoking Issue, a 2007 essay Smoke, Lies and the Nanny State, and issuing a satirical song ("In 20-0-3") on the subject. It was in 2003, soon after the New York smoking ban, that Jackson left the city and returned to Portsmouth, England, where he has a flat in the oldest part of the city that overlooks the harbour. In the DVD interviews in Rain, it was stated that he moved to Berlin in early 2007.
He has been quoted as saying he now spends most of his time in Berlin, but still has places in Portsmouth and New York City. Jackson noted his enthusiasm for real ale
Cask ale
Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure...
in his autobiography, A Cure For Gravity, published in 1999, which Jackson has described as a "book about music, thinly disguised as a memoir". It traces his working class upbringing in Portsmouth and charts his musical life from childhood until his twenty-fourth birthday. Life as a pop star, he suggested, was hardly worth writing about.
Cover versions & popular use of music
In 1990, thrash metalThrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
recorded a cover version of Jackson's "Got the Time" for their Persistence of Time
Persistence of Time
-Personnel:* Joey Belladonna – Vocals* Scott Ian – Rhythm guitar, Lead guitar on "Got the Time", Harmony Guitar on "Intro to Reality", vocal intro on "In My World", lead vocals on "Protest and Survive"* Dan Spitz – Lead guitar* Frank Bello – Bass...
album.
In 1997 American Ska/Punk band Buck O' Nine covered Jackson's "I'm the Man" for their album Twenty-Eight Teeth.
In 1999 American Punk band Goldfinger
Goldfinger
Goldfinger is the seventh novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 23 March 1959. Goldfinger originally bore the title The Richest Man in the World and was written in January and February 1958...
covered "Is She Really Going Out With Him?
Is She Really Going Out with Him?
"Is She Really Going Out with Him?" is the first single released by Joe Jackson in September 1978. The track was included on Jackson's debut album, Look Sharp!, the following year...
" on their live cover album Darrin's Coconut Ass: Live from Omaha
Darrin's Coconut Ass: Live from Omaha
Darrin's Coconut Ass: Live from Omaha is a live album by ska punk band Goldfinger.This album is a self-described 'stop gap' for Goldfinger during the release of their second and third full length albums. All tracks are covers almost all of which were recorded live, with only 3 receiving over dubs...
.
In 2001, Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
covered Jackson's song "Real Men" on her album Strange Little Girls
Strange Little Girls
Strange Little Girls is a concept album released by singer-songwriter Tori Amos in 2001. The album's 12 tracks are covers of songs written and originally performed by men, reinterpreted by Amos from a female's point of view. Amos created female personae for each track and was photographed as...
.
In 2002, "Steppin' Out" appeared in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
. A loop of the instrumental portion of this song is used as the theme tune for the WYES-TV
WYES-TV
WYES-TV is the primary Public Broadcasting Service member public television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, owned by the Greater New Orleans Educational Television Foundation. It broadcasts on virtual channel 12.-History:...
(New Orleans) weekly arts and entertainment program, Steppin' Out. The melody is also used frequently as 'bumper music' on The Neal Boortz
Neal Boortz
Neal A. Boortz, Jr. is an American Libertarian radio host, author, and political commentator. His nationally syndicated talk show, The Neal Boortz Show, airs throughout the United States on Dial Global . It is ranked seventh in overall listeners, with 4.25+ million per week...
Show.
In 2003, Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray is a band from Orange County, California. The band, starting off more as an alternative metal band, first gained fame in 1997 with their release of the song "Fly". This song's success, coupled with its pop rock sound that was quite different from the rest of their material at the time,...
covered "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" for their album In the Pursuit of Leisure
In the Pursuit of Leisure
In the Pursuit of Leisure is Sugar Ray's fifth studio album released on 2003. Hip-hop artists Esthero and Shaggy guest-start on the album. Stylistically, it represents a move away from the groups previous funk metal sound of their first few albums in the 90s towards the lighter, hook-filled...
, and Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of...
recorded "Breaking Us In Two" for her album Coverage
Coverage (album)
Coverage is the fourth album released by pop singer Mandy Moore, composed exclusively of covers of songs from the 1970s and 1980s. The album was released by Epic Records.-History:...
.
In 2009, American power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
singer-songwriter Marykate O'Neil
Marykate O'Neil
Marykate O'Neil is an American indiepop singer-songwriter, currently based in New York City. She is known for her quirky, literate pop sensibilities...
covered "It's Different For Girls" on her album Underground.
In 2011, Grammy-winning, Chicago based jazz singer Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling is an American jazz vocalist, composer, lyricist and vocalese performer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling first became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church...
covered "Steppin'Out" on his album The Gate
The Gate (album)
The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album four stars, and described Elling as a "modern jazz visionary". Jurek said "The Gate presents Elling at the top of his game; it is a song cycle that is mesmerizing and mysterious as it is provocative and compelling."-Track listing:# "Matte Kudasai"...
.
Original albums
- Look Sharp!Look Sharp! (Joe Jackson album)Look Sharp! is the debut album by Joe Jackson, released in 1979. Look Sharp! was re-released in 2001 with two bonus tracks, "Don't Ask Me" and "You Got the Fever" the respective b-sides of the singles "One More Time" and "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" originally released in May and July 1979...
(1979, A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
) #20 USBillboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, #40 UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... - I'm the ManI'm the Man (Joe Jackson album)I'm the Man is Joe Jackson's second album, released in October 1979. Critically, the album was considered a continuation of Look Sharp!, an opinion shared by Jackson himself...
(1979, A&M) #22 US, #12 UK - "The Harder They Come" (EP) 1980
- Beat CrazyBeat CrazyBeat Crazy is the third album by Joe Jackson, released in October 1980, and credited to the Joe Jackson Band. It was a relative disappointment commercially, peaking outside the Top 40 in both the UK and the United States, with its singles failing to chart. One reason for the reduced sales in the...
(1980, A&M) #41 US, #42 UK - Jumpin' JiveJumpin' Jive (Joe Jackson album)Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive is a 1981 album by Joe Jackson. It is a collection of covers of classic 1940's swing and jump blues songs originally performed by musicians such as Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway, the latter of whom's song "Jumpin' Jive" was the eponym for this album.The album, and...
(1981, A&M) #42 US, #14 UK - Night and Day (1982, A&M) #4 US, #3 UK
- Mike's MurderMike's MurderMike's Murder is the 1983 motion picture soundtrack album from the film of the same name. The album features original music by Joe Jackson....
Movie Soundtrack (1983, A&M) #64 US - Body and Soul (1984, A&M) #20 US, #14 UK
- Big WorldBig WorldBig World is a 1986 live album by Joe Jackson. The album was recorded in front of an invited audience at the Roundabout Theatre in New York City on 22–25 January 1986. Jackson's intent was to capture the excitement and spontaneity of a live performance, but without any noise from the crowd...
(1986, A&M) #34 US, #41 UK - Will PowerWill Power (album)Will Power is a 1987 album by Joe Jackson. It is his first experiment with classical music, continued in later albums including Night Music, Heaven and Hell, and Symphony No...
(1987, A&M) #131 US - TuckerTucker (album)__notoc__Tucker is an album by Joe Jackson, released in November 1988 by A&M Records. It is the soundtrack for the Francis Ford Coppola film, Tucker: The Man and His Dream...
Original Soundtrack (1988, A&M) - Blaze of GloryBlaze of Glory (Joe Jackson album)Blaze of Glory is an 1989 album by Joe Jackson. Blaze of Glory was a modest seller, although the resultant single, "Nineteen Forever", reached #4 in the U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. Jackson felt the album was one of his best efforts and toured to support it with an eleven piece band in the U.S...
(1989, A&M) #61 US, #36 UK - Laughter & LustLaughter & LustLaughter & Lust is a 1991 album by Joe Jackson. He had parted ways with A&M Records in 1990, who then released the compilation Steppin' Out: The Very Best of Joe Jackson, which became a Top Ten hit in the UK...
(1991, VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) #116 US, #41 UK - Night MusicNight Music (album)Night Music is an 1994 album by Joe Jackson.With Night Music and the subsequent effort, Heaven and Hell , his retirement from the mainstream seemed permanent. Night Music attempted to fuse his pop and classical tastes, including instrumentals and guest vocals by Máire Brennan of Clannad, but it did...
(1994, Virgin) - Heaven & HellHeaven and Hell (Joe Jackson album)Heaven & Hell is a 1997 album by Joe Jackson, a musical interpretation and song cycle representing the seven deadly sins.Billed to Joe Jackson & Friends; the friends included vocalists Dawn Upshaw , Joy Askew , Suzanne Vega , Brad Roberts from the Crash Test Dummies , Jane Siberry Heaven & Hell is...
(1997, SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
) - Symphony No. 1Symphony No. 1 (album)Symphony No. 1 is a 1999 album by Joe Jackson. Jackson received a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2001, after several unsuccessful nominations for previous work. Symphony No...
(1999, Sony) - Night and Day IINight and Day IINight and Day II is a 2000 album by Joe Jackson. It was a revisit of the style of a prior album, Night and Day. The songs are about New York lifestyle, seen by different characters...
(2000, SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
) - Volume 4Volume 4 (Joe Jackson album)Volume 4 is a 2003 album by Joe Jackson. This is the first album to feature the Joe Jackson Band since the 1980 release, Beat Crazy....
(2003, RykodiscRykodiscRykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
) - RainRain (Joe Jackson album)Rain is a 2008 album by Joe Jackson. It was released by Rykodisc on 28 January 2008 in the UK and one day later in the U.S.Like its predecessor Volume 4, it featured members of the 'Joe Jackson Band', this time minus guitarist Gary Sanford...
, (2008, Rykodisc)
Live albums
- Big WorldBig WorldBig World is a 1986 live album by Joe Jackson. The album was recorded in front of an invited audience at the Roundabout Theatre in New York City on 22–25 January 1986. Jackson's intent was to capture the excitement and spontaneity of a live performance, but without any noise from the crowd...
(1986) Recorded live; audience asked to remain quiet so no applause or chat-ups. - Live 1980/86Live 1980/86Live 1980/86 is a Joe Jackson double live album, released in May 1988. It was recorded during the 1980 Beat Crazy tour, the 1982-83 Night and Day tour, the 1984 Body & Soul tour, and the 1986 Big World tour.-Disc 1:...
(1988, A&M) #91 US, #66 UK - Summer in the City: Live in New YorkSummer in the City: Live in New YorkSummer in the City: Live in New York is a live album, produced by Joe Jackson and Sheldon Steiger.With semi-classical pieces on his previous three recordings, Jackson proved he had not abandoned pop altogether in June 2000, with this issue, an album drawn from an August 1999 concert...
(2000, Sony) - Two Rainy NightsTwo Rainy NightsTwo Rainy Nights is a 2002 live album by Joe Jackson. Initially available on his own Great Big Island label only from Jackson's website, it was subsequently released on CD...
(2002, Great Big Island) - AfterLifeAfterlife (Joe Jackson album)Afterlife is a 2004 live album by Joe Jackson.As he made television appearances to promote the album, Jackson insisted that the quartet's reunion had been a one-off...
(2004, Rykodisc) - Live at the BBC (2009, Spectrum)
- Live Music (2011, Rykodisc)
Compilation albums
- Stepping Out: The Very Best of Joe Jackson (1990) #7 UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
- This Is It! (The A&M Years 1979–1989) – Joe Jackson) (1997, A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
) - Joe Jackson – Collected (2010, Universal NashvilleUniversal Music Group NashvilleUniversal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, and Lost Highway Records...
)
Video albums
- Steppin' Out: The Videos (The Very Best of Joe Jackson) (2001, A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
) - Joe Jackson – 25th Anniversary Special (2003, Image EntertainmentImage EntertainmentImage Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
Australia | Canada RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
Germany | Netherlands | New Zealand | US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
US Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
|||
| 1978 | "Is She Really Going Out with Him? Is She Really Going Out with Him? "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" is the first single released by Joe Jackson in September 1978. The track was included on Jackson's debut album, Look Sharp!, the following year... " |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Look Sharp! Look Sharp! (Joe Jackson album) Look Sharp! is the debut album by Joe Jackson, released in 1979. Look Sharp! was re-released in 2001 with two bonus tracks, "Don't Ask Me" and "You Got the Fever" the respective b-sides of the singles "One More Time" and "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" originally released in May and July 1979... |
| 1979 | "Is She Really Going Out with Him? Is She Really Going Out with Him? "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" is the first single released by Joe Jackson in September 1978. The track was included on Jackson's debut album, Look Sharp!, the following year... " (re-issue) |
13 | 15 | 9 | — | 46 | 18 | 21 | — | — | |
| "Sunday Papers" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "One More Time" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Fools in Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I'm the Man" | — | — | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | I'm the Man I'm the Man (Joe Jackson album) I'm the Man is Joe Jackson's second album, released in October 1979. Critically, the album was considered a continuation of Look Sharp!, an opinion shared by Jackson himself... |
|
| "It's Different for Girls" | 5 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980 | "Kinda Kute" | — | — | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "The Harder They Come" | — | — | — | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | non-album track | |
| 1981 | "Jumpin' Jive" | 43 | 61 | — | — | — | 32 | — | — | — | Jumpin' Jive Jumpin' Jive (Joe Jackson album) Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive is a 1981 album by Joe Jackson. It is a collection of covers of classic 1940's swing and jump blues songs originally performed by musicians such as Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway, the latter of whom's song "Jumpin' Jive" was the eponym for this album.The album, and... |
| 1982 | "Real Men" | — | 6 | — | — | 17 | 48 | — | — | — | Night and Day |
| "Steppin' Out Steppin' Out (Joe Jackson song) "Steppin' Out" is a song written by Joe Jackson, originally included on his 1982 album, Night and Day.The song is about the anticipation and excitement of a night out on the town. Released as a single in August 1982, it became Jackson's biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit in the U.S., peaking at number... " |
6 | 30 | 5 | 28 | — | 21 | 6 | — | 7 | ||
| 1983 | "Breaking Us in Two" | 59 | 90 | 40 | — | — | 35 | 18 | — | — | |
| "Memphis" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 85 | — | — | Mike's Murder Mike's Murder Mike's Murder is the 1983 motion picture soundtrack album from the film of the same name. The album features original music by Joe Jackson.... (soundtrack) |
|
| 1984 | "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)" | — | 96 | 30 | — | — | — | 15 | — | — | Body & Soul |
| "Happy Ending" | 58 | 47 | — | — | 19 | — | 57 | — | — | ||
| "Be My Number Two" | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "Left of Centre" (Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"... featuring Joe Jackson) |
32 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pretty in Pink Pretty in Pink (soundtrack) The Pretty in Pink soundtrack album was released in 1986 for the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink, a now classic coming-of-age film about teenage love and social cliques in a 1980s American high school.... (soundtrack) |
| "Right and Wrong" | — | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | Big World Big World Big World is a 1986 live album by Joe Jackson. The album was recorded in front of an invited audience at the Roundabout Theatre in New York City on 22–25 January 1986. Jackson's intent was to capture the excitement and spontaneity of a live performance, but without any noise from the crowd... |
|
| 1988 | "Is She Really Going Out with Him? (Live)" | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | Live 1980/86 Live 1980/86 Live 1980/86 is a Joe Jackson double live album, released in May 1988. It was recorded during the 1980 Beat Crazy tour, the 1982-83 Night and Day tour, the 1984 Body & Soul tour, and the 1986 Big World tour.-Disc 1:... |
| 1989 | "(He's a) Shape in a Drape" | — | 87 | 73 | — | 35 | — | — | — | — | Tucker (soundtrack) |
| "Nineteen Forever" | — | 79 | 58 | — | 44 | — | — | 4 | 16 | Blaze of Glory Blaze of Glory (Joe Jackson album) Blaze of Glory is an 1989 album by Joe Jackson. Blaze of Glory was a modest seller, although the resultant single, "Nineteen Forever", reached #4 in the U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. Jackson felt the album was one of his best efforts and toured to support it with an eleven piece band in the U.S... |
|
| 1991 | "Obvious Song" | — | — | 64 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 28 | Laughter & Lust Laughter & Lust Laughter & Lust is a 1991 album by Joe Jackson. He had parted ways with A&M Records in 1990, who then released the compilation Steppin' Out: The Very Best of Joe Jackson, which became a Top Ten hit in the UK... |
| "Stranger Than Fiction" | — | — | 79 | 53 | 71 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Oh Well" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 25 | ||
| 2001 | "Stranger Than You" | — | — | — | — | 91 | — | — | — | — | Night and Day II Night and Day II Night and Day II is a 2000 album by Joe Jackson. It was a revisit of the style of a prior album, Night and Day. The songs are about New York lifestyle, seen by different characters... |
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
External links
- Joe Jackson archive by Andreas Wostrack
- Joe Jackson's career on A&M Records with gallery, international discography
- [ Joe Jackson biography] at Allmusic website
- Video-interview with Joe Jackson on revu.nl, 31 January 2008