Advice from a legendary member of chart-toppers The Beautiful South has been key in the career of acclaimed singer/musician Gareth John.
The vocalist and trumpeter will take his The Story of Swing show to Aberdeen Music Hall on Saturday.
Gareth will roll back the years to celebrate swing legends such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr
The show was devised by Gareth who is the driving force behind The Story of Swing.
However, he is also a key member of The South, the spin-off band formed from the ashes of multi-million selling chart greats The Beautiful South.
During lengthy tours Gareth picked up valuable lessons from The Beautiful South founding member Gaz Birtles, now singer of The South.
He said: “Gaz has been a great help to me as he does a lot of their management as well.
“Being part of The South I could always see what I wanted my own show to be like in terms of infrastructure, the business and the crew on the road.
“I learned a massive amount from playing with The South and still am.
“Gaz helped me so much by talking to me about managing my own show.”
Touring with chart topping legends
Nine-piece The South also include former The Beautiful South singer Alison Wheeler.
Since Dave Hemingway, the original singer, left the group at the end of 2016, Birtles moved across to front the band.
Gareth also fronts the band when Birtles is on saxophone duties.
He said: “One of my highlights with The South was playing the Dubai Opera House in 2019 which was really special.
“We do about 40 to 50 gigs in the UK each year with The South and it seems there has been a resurgence in the last couple of years.”
Performing with ‘incredible’ musicians
World class trumpeter and singer Gareth will be backed by the SOS Big Band.
The Story of Swing is musical journey through decades of the iconic genre of swing and big band music.
The show features classic hits by legends across the years such as Bobby Darin all the way to Michael Bublé and Robbie Williams.
Gareth said: “The band are absolutely amazing with incredible players.
“Each of their musical CV’s is fantastic.
“The joy of performing with them makes all the hard work worthwhile.
“We give a big nod to band leaders such as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.
“Singers wise it starts with Bobby Darin then goes through Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett.
“We also go into the present day with a couple of songs from Paul Anka’s Rock Swings album.
“There is also some Postmodern Jukebox as well as they have been a Youtube sensation.
“And there are also Michael Bublé and Harry Connick Jr numbers.
“The show covers the full spectrum as we also do a song from Robbie Williams’ Swing When You’re Winning album.”
A constantly evolving performance
Gareth will return to Aberdeen with his show for the first time since 2023.
Granite City fans will witness a different performance with a changed band.
He said: “Aberdeen is a fantastic audience.
“The show has changed from the previous appearance at the Music Hall.
“We have added a couple of little surprises for people.
“I know a few comedians and they talk about how when they are touring they tweak a few things every night.
“I spend a lot of time dong that whether it is to the set list, what I say between songs or which guests I involve.
“It’s an ongoing process and will never stop.”
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