Joe McElderry brings a lively mix of tunes to Chequer Mead

In between stints as Joseph, Joe McElderry is on the road with a major tour taking in Chequer Mead, East Grinstead, on October 26.
Joe McElderryJoe McElderry
Joe McElderry

Joe, who won the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009, promises lots of new material as well as old favourites – a lively mix of numbers you might expect and songs you certainly wouldn’t.

“And coming off the back of Joseph, we will have a little musical theatre section in there as well. We did a couple of warm-up shows before the tour, and people really seemed to like it.”

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For Joe, a big secret of success lies in giving people what they want: “You can go and see some artists and they give a really selfish performance, just doing what they want to do, but you have got to remember that a lot of people have paid a lot of money, and you have got to give them what they want to see. You have got to try to create a good balance. I spend a lot of time on the set lists thinking about the songs which we might do. But always my concerts change throughout the tour. I add in new songs. It is important to give yourself the chance to test things out on an audience as well.”

Also it’s about making that bond with the audience: “I am very chatty. Maybe too chatty! But talking to the audience you get to show a different side to your personality to the five-minute interview or just watching you on video. Talking to the audience is massively important.”

Joe comes to it all after a hugely-successful stint as Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat – a stint so successful he’s just signed up for another stint next year as part of the show’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

“Joseph was amazing. It was such good fun. It was the first long-term musical I had done. Going into it I didn’t know whether I would enjoy it, but it was fantastic. I have just agreed to another six months.

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“It was huge pressure at first. Coming from the TV show, you can get a little bit criticised. People have preconceptions about what they are going to get because of the TV show, but for me, it is always about trying to do the best job I can. You have got to forget about the pressure or just use the pressure to give the best performance possible.”

Tickets cost £21.

Call the box office on 01342 302000.

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