Joe Jackson was born on August 11 1954 in Burton-on-Trent, England, but grew up in the South Coast naval port city of Portsmouth.
In 1978 Joe was living in London and hawking an album-length demo, with his own band (Graham Maby, Bass; Dave Houghton, Drums; Gary Sanford, Guitar) standing by. That demo - already called Look Sharp - eventually found its way to American producer David Kershenbaum, who was in London in the capacity of talent scout for A&M Records. Joe was immediately signed and Look Sharp more professionally re-recorded in August '78. The Joe Jackson Band finally started to play regular gigs and the album was released in January 1979.
Look Sharp was followed within a year by the very similar I'm The Man, and in 1980 by the darker, more reggae-influenced Beat Crazy. At the end of 1980, drummer Houghton decided to quit, and Joe decided to dissolve the band and try something new.
In 1981 Jackson recorded Jumpin' Jive, a 'musical vacation' paying tribute to Swing and Jump Blues artists such as Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway. Returning to songwriting, Joe spent a large chunk of 1982 in New York. The result was Night and Day, a more sophisticated and melodic record built around keyboards and Latin percussion, rather than guitars.
Now based in NYC, Jackson's next album Body and Soul(1984) was in a similar vein to Night and Day but featured a horn section (which, along with the Blue Note-inspired cover art, led many people to wrongly assume he'd made a jazz record). For Big World (1986) Jackson stripped everything down to a 4-piece again, and recorded live, direct to 2-track master. In 1989 he went in the opposite direction with the majestic, semi-autobiographical Blaze of Glory, and toured with an 11-piece band. Laughter and Lust (1991) was more like a mainstream (though still idiosyncratic) rock record.
Joe's work during the rest of the 1990s was his most challenging and eclectic: the gentle, soul-searching Night Music (1994), the ambitious and original song-cycle based on the Seven Deadly Sins, Heaven and Hell (1997), and the album Joe considers his best (and most underrated): Night and Day II (2000). The turn of the century saw a burst of creativity: Jackson won his first Grammy (Best Pop Instrumental Album for the non-traditional, non-orchestral Symphony No.1) and published his book A Cure For Gravity.
In 2003 Jackson astonished everyone, including himself, by re-forming the original Joe Jackson Band for a stunning new album, Volume 4, and a lengthy tour. The reunion was always intended as a one-off, but it also produced a live album, Afterlife, in 2004.
In 2006 Joe turned his attention back to pure songwriting and did a short Trio tour with Graham Maby and Dave Houghton. Joe moved to Berlin, where his next album Rain was recorded in 2007. Consisting of ten powerful, timeless new songs, Rain creates a surprisingly epic sound with just voices, piano, bass and drums. A live album, Live Music, was released in 2011.
In 2012 Joe released a tribute to one of his greatest musical heroes, Duke Ellington. The Duke is an often radical re-interpretation of fifteen Ellington classics.
In 2015, Jackson announced the completion of his follow-up to The Duke via his official website. The album's title, Fast Forward, and track list were confirmed in addition to North American tour dates.
On 18 January 2019, Jackson released the album Fool.
After a Covid induced layofff Joe toured the US and Europe in 2022 behind a tour named "Sing, You Sinners!" featuring songs from his catalog plus a few select covers. The tour featured his band Graham Maby on Bass, Teddy Kumpel on Guitar and Doug Yowell on Drums.
Nov 24th 2023 saw the release of "Mr Joe Jackson Presents "What A Racket": The Music Of Max Champion", a collection of songs written by the long forgotten Music Hall performer Max Champion.
April 2026 will see the release of a new album "Hope and Fury" together with extensive touring in both North America and Europe.
Jackson splits his time between New York, Portsmouth UK and Berlin.
