Birmingham's The Jam House signs up Leee John for next birthday celebration
Birmingham jazz haven The Jam House is continuing its 20th birthday celebrations by welcoming the mastermind behind the band Imagination – Leee John.
He will arrive at the St. Paul’s Square venue on June 6, with hotly tipped local youngster Shiraz in support.
With Imagination, he crashed onto the UK Charts in the early 80s with tracks like Body Talk, Just An Illusion and Music & Lights.
As well as their immediate success, Imagination went on to influence artists in future generations and Destiny’s Child and Mariah Carey are just two chart topping acts to sample the genre crossover specialist’s music.
Leee has continued his career since, spanning more than three decades with over 30 million albums sold and a host of gold, silver and platinum discs to his name.
Last year saw the release of Imagination’s album Retropia, which delivered a distinctive combination of soul, funk and jazz with a classic-yet-contemporary retro sound.
He is currently on a worldwide tour, performing at some of the top soul and roots festivals. And he is stopping off to play at The Jam House before heading off to France, Ibiza and St Lucia.
“It will be a blast to be back at such a great venue in its 20th year,” he said. “Birmingham has such a great mix of people and the Jam House crowd are always ready to get into the groove and enjoy themselves.”
Always a supporter of young musical talent, Leee has invited local singer-songwriter Shiraz to launch his show. The Kidderminster RnB/neo soul singer-songwriter’s recent single release Simmer Down has already earned plays on BBC Radio 1 and 1Extra, and the record labels are reportedly circling for her signature.
She has already been championed by BBC Hereford & Worcester, with James Callum labelling her as one of the best live performances at the Hay Festival in 2018 when she performed on the BBC introducing stage.
This show continues a great year of anniversary events put on by The Jam House for their loyal supporters. Also coming up this June is soul diva Angie Brown, of Bizarre Inc’s I’m Gonna Get You fame, plus Gospel Central, one of Birmingham’s best kept secrets.
Jazz singer Carol Brewster and popular salsa band Del Camino are also lined up to play, showing that The Jam House is still leading the way with a wide range of acoustic music, jazz, blues, funk and soul acts in the heart of the Second City.
Tickets for the Leee John show start at £12 for just the gig, while there are further packages to include meals. They are available here.
