JBB Xmas Party at The Washington
Where to start with this one? Let’s begin at the beginning. December 16th, The Washington, Blackpool. This venue is the self appointed home of the Jack Burr Band and that date was the final performance of 2023. I use the word performance with purpose.
Our regular audiences know the band as a three piece band, Chris Jack, Bass Guitar and Vocals, Phil Burr, Drums and Vocals and finally Andy Burr, Lead Guitar and Vocals. December 16th there would be a fourth member of the band with ‘friend of the band’ Tony Scholes adding a Keyboard to the mix. On this occasion Tony stole the show with various cameo performances on stage, delighting followers with his twinkle fingers and masterclass of organ playing whereby Chris then dubbed the evening’s performance by ‘The Tony Scholes Burr Band’.
At times Tony seemed to have his own set list bursting into random tunes including ‘Fairytale of New York’, ‘Walking in the Air’ (just for the bands Roadie Bobs ‘The Bandit’) and Careless Whisper’ to which the band invited a member of the crowd to join them on stage to sing the vocals. The invitation was accepted by John who sang the song with backing from Chris Jack.
Twinkle Fingers again took matters into his own hands and played the intro of Christmas Classic, Imagine by the late John Lennon who happens to be Chris Jack’s father’s favourite Beatle. Again an invitation to join the band on stage this time accepted by ‘The Big Man’ band photographer, videographer, website and logo designer and man behind the scenes, Terence Bromley.
Regular followers of the band were amazed and shocked when ‘The Big Man’ belted out the vocals to this classic song ending with great applause and bell ringing by pub landlord and staff of the pub. Chris then cajoled Tez into another song or should I say songs. As what was to follow can only be described as a mashup medley to the hit ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey. This mashup includes lyrics from songs such as: ‘You’re Beautiful - James Blunt’, ‘ Forever Young - Alphaville’, ‘I’m Yours - Jason Mraz’, and ‘Happy Ending - Mika’ to name a few before ending the mash up with the immortal line sang by ‘The Big Man’ himself “Come on Barbie, let’s go party”.
To close the first spot, a total of 1 hour 15 minutes, Chris and Tez invited the pub to sing along with them to the actual piece by singing the tune we all expected by Journey. Again the crowd were more than appreciative of the impromptu change to the usual performance.
The second part of the gig went to plan. Again joined by Tony Scholes for many of the songs. Giving a further performance of 1 hour and 15 minutes.
This performance advertised as the Jack Burr Band Christmas Party was a huge success and a phenomenal night of fun, laughs and spectacular performances from Chris, Andy and Phil. Special praise goes out to Phil and Andy Burr who had no prior knowledge of the fun and frolics that were presented to them on the night.
Thirty members of the audience were gifted a momento of the evening with Santa Hats branded with the bands official logo handed out to give that Christmas Party vibe and Jack Burr Band clothing worn all around the venue. It was a very proud moment for the band.
Finally, all that is left for 2023 is to thank The Washington for inviting the band to play their Christmas Party gig, supplying food for our followers ‘free of charge’ and for playing their part in an evening that will remain in the memories of the band for a long time.
We would also like to thank all of the venues and the people that turned out to see the band across Blackpool and surrounding areas. 2023 was a memorable year for the Jack Burr Band. There have been many changes throughout the season and much more to come in 2024. For now enjoy these images and videos provided to us by our followers and we will see you when it all begins again January 6th.
A full schedule of fixtures is available on the website, whereby you will see some new venues have been added for 2024 and you can subscribe to our monthly newsletter keeping you up to-date with all the latest news concerning the band.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Chris, Andy and Phil, Jack Burr Band.
Images sent to us from our supporters
Special Mentions
And Finally …….
A mention has to go out to this guy, Tony Scholes. Tony has been a huge supporter of the band for a huge number of years always happy to help the band loading and unloading. Well Tony the good news is with the introduction of The Bandit these days have gone. Tonys friends will know he has played piano for a few years and loves to entertain his friends at home. To go on stage with the band is a big deal to Tony you smashed it!
The final special mention goes out to two long time followers of the band that go out of their way for just about every gig. They travel a good 40 minutes to come to our Blackpool events and I know I speak for myself and the rest of the lads when I say Thank You. We really appreciate the effort you put into supporting the band. We would also like to thank you for the Christmas gifts as you can see the lads all love their tankards. Merry Christmas Mick and Claire Liptrot we hope you have a fantastic festive season and we will see you at your home venue early January.
The final word comes from me. It is my time to give out a special mention of my own. In a year where I have had to personally give up more than I have been given due to poor health, these three lads, Chris, Phil and Andy have provided me with an opportunity to do something I really enjoy, something for me to really get my teeth into. This group of lads are very special to me, each of them great friends and even better musicians. Their performances over this last year have been nothing short of sensational, they have a very special mix of humour and ability which is very rare. You can physically see the fun they have playing together and that is what goes into delivering what they do time after time at venues all across the North West. Thank you Jack Burr Band. Enjoy your time off, have a very Merry Christmas and lets look forward to an even better 2024.
Much love “The Big Man”
Special mention goes out to Bobs - The Bandit. This charming young man came into to the band quite recently. His role is to take away some of the heavy lifting and the setting up from an aging Chris Jack. Most 18 year old boys spend their time partying and getting into mischief, this young lad works hard and without complaint he is a credit to Ruth and Chris and has become a very important member of the band. Well done Bobs and Merry Xmas.
Mick and Claire Liptrot