Here are some interesting facts about Joe Jackson English musician, Keyboardist, Saxophonist and singer:
= Joe Jackson was born as David Ian Jackson on August 11, 1954, in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England.
= He was raised in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, and later in the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth.
= Jackson began learning the violin before switching to piano, which his father installed in their council house.
= He attended Portsmouth Technical High School and began playing piano in bars at age 16.
= In 1968 he won a scholarship to study musical composition at London's Royal Academy of Music.
= In the early 1970s he formed his first band, "Edward Bear" (later renamed "Arms and Legs"), which disbanded after two unsuccessful singles.
= In the mid-1970s he worked on the cabaret circuit to fund his music career and recorded demo tapes.
= He signed with A&M Records in 1978 after a producer heard his demo tape.
= He released his debut album "Look Sharp!" in 1979 with the " Joe Jackson Band", featuring the songs "Is She Really Going Out with Him?", "Look Sharp", "Sunday Papers", "One More Time", "Fools in Love" and "Got the Time".
= The album was voted number 865 in Colin Larkin's "All Time Top 1000 Albums".
= The same year he released his second album "I'm the Man", featuring "It's Different for Girls," which became his highest-charting UK single, reaching No. 5.
= In 1980 he released the album "Beat Crazy" and collaborated with reggae artist Lincoln Thompson.
= In 1981 Jackson produced an album for British power pop group "The Keys" titled "The Keys Album".
= The same year he released "Jumpin' Jive", an album of swing and blues covers credited to "Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive".
= In 1982 Joe released "Night and Day", his most commercially successful album, reaching the UK and US Top 10 with hits like "Steppin' Out" and "Breaking Us in Two."
= In 1983 Joe released the album "Mike's Murder" - a motion picture soundtrack album from the film of the same name starring Debra Winger.
= In 1984 he released "Body and Soul", recorded in New York City, featuring the hit "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)."
= In 1985 Joe played piano on Joan Armatrading's album "Secret Secrets".
= In 1986 he released "Big World", a live album recorded with a silent audience.
= The same year he collaborated with Suzanne Vega on the single "Left of Center" for the "Pretty in Pink" soundtrack.
= In 1987 Jackson released "Will Power", an instrumental album with classical and jazz influences.
= In 1988 he released his second live album "Live 1980/86". the album contains three different versions of "Is She Really Going Out with Him?".
= Joe returned to film soundtracks with "Tucker" released in 1988, for the Francis Ford Coppola film "Tucker: The Man and His Dream". The album earned Jackson a Grammy nomination for "Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or TV".
= In 1989 he released "Blaze of Glory", an album he performed in its entirety during the subsequent tour.
= His song "Got The Time" from the album "Look Sharp!" was covered in 1990 by the thrash metal band "Anthrax" for their album "Persistence of Time".
= In 1991 Joe released "Laughter & Lust", featuring a more rock-oriented sound.
= In 1994 he released "Night Music", which paved the way to his move toward classical music.
= In 1995 Jackson contributed a cover of "Statue of Liberty" for the "XTC" tribute album "A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC".
= In 1997 he signed with Sony Classical and began focusing on classical music.
= The same year Joe released "Heaven & Hell", a musical interpretation and song cycle representing the seven deadly sins.
= In 1999 Jackson released "Symphony No. 1", for which he won a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Instrumental Album" in 2001.
= The same year he published his autobiography "A Cure for Gravity", which he described as a "book about music, thinly disguised as a memoir."
= In 2000 Jackson released another live album - "Summer in the City: Live in New York". It featured Jackson playing the piano and singing, backed only by bassist Maby and drummer Burke, performing some of his old songs and several covers.
= The same year he released "Night and Day II", a follow-up to his 1982 album.
= In 2002 he released another live album called "Two Rainy Nights".
= In 2003 Jackson reunited with the original "Joe Jackson Band" for "Volume 4" and embarked on a tour.
= In 2004 he contributed vocals to William Shatner's cover of "Pulp's" "Common People" on Shatner's album "Has Been".
= The same year he released another live album called "Afterlife", re-uniting with the musicians from his first successes: Graham Maby, Gary Sanford and Dave Houghton.
= In 2005 he teamed up with Todd Rundgren and the string quartet ETHEL for a US and European tour.
= In 2006 Jackson moved to Berlin, Germany, partially in protest against smoking bans, and recorded "Rain" with longtime collaborators.
= In 2008 he released the album "Rain", followed by a five-month tour.
= In 2012 Joe released "The Duke", a tribute album to Duke Ellington.
= In 2015 he released "Fast Forward", recorded in four cities: New York, Amsterdam, Berlin, and New Orleans.
= In 2019 Jackson released "Fool", which debuted in the top 20 album charts in several European countries and No. 25 on Billboard's Top Album Sales Chart in the US.
= In 2022 he embarked on his "Sing, You Sinners!" tour, celebrating his long and varied career in music.
= In 2023 Jackson released the album "What a Racket!", which explores themes of noise, communication, and the modern world. The album features a mix of electronic and acoustic elements, reflecting Jackson's continued experimentation with different musical styles.
= Jackson is openly bisexual. His questioning of potential homosexuality and same-sex attraction is explored in the 1982 single "Real Men".
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