Cheshire singer Harry back after sailing high seas as cruise ship crooner
He's performing next week
Swing singer Harry Jones who is set to perform at Trentham Gardens on March 10. Harry, who lives in Congleton but originally from Knypersley has returned back to the area after travelling worldwide on a cruise ships(Image: Stoke Sentinel / REACH PLC)
A 31-year-old Cheshire singer who has performed all over the world is back on stage next week. Harry Jones, of Congleton, is singing covers by Robbie Williams, Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, Frankie Valli and other swing musicians at the Trentham Estate in Stoke-on-Trent this month.
Harry, who grew up in Biddulph, North Staffordshire, studied a degree in musical theatre at the University of Central Lancashire before moving onto Guildford School of Acting in 2017. The singer then moved around Europe - including in Spain and Greece - where he performed in hotels until 2020 when the pandemic hit.
Despite the setback, Harry decided to take the leap into singing on cruise ships aged 24 and travelled to eight countries, including the United States of America and Mexico. Now, he’s returned to Staffordshire to perform his swing show, Suited N Swinging, alongside a live band in Trentham on Tuesday March 10.
Harry, who has been a professional singer for 10 years, said: “I was on a cruise ship and was away all of last year. Prior to that I was in a UK touring show with Frankie Valli in the Jersey Boys, which I did for three years and it was my first job out of lockdown. I’ve always wanted to put my own show together and have my own thing going on, and I performed a couple of shows in Congleton at the Daneside Theatre last year and the year before.
“I’ve always kept myself busy. I had a couple of years in the industry abroad after leaving acting school, then we went into lockdown in 2020 when I was 24 and I felt like I’d wasted some pretty important years getting into the entertainment industry, because it was one of the hardest hit. It was really slow coming out of the pandemic, so I wanted to hustle and grind which now is really starting to pay off. In 2023 I performed on 150 dates around the UK.”
Explaining how the Trentham show came about, Harry added: “A couple of years ago I was approached by a guy called Jonathan Forrester-Cliffe who’s the producer for Stage Productions in Stoke, and he asked me to play the lead in Rock Of Ages which was on at the Regent Theatre, so I did that and stayed in touch.
"As I was coming towards the end of my cruise ship contract last year, he asked me to play the lead in We Will Rock You at the start of March, but because of other opportunities I had going on I said no initially, but he asked if I'd perform my own show one night, so playing Galileo [Figaro[ for one of the nights of We Will Rock You in the Big Top Arena in Trentham Gardens. Then whilst that’s on during different dates in March, I’ll be performing my own show, Suited N Swinging at the Big Top Arena.
“It’s going to be a really good night, it’s going to be entertaining, funny, upbeat and it’s all swing music. It’s on a Tuesday night, so it’s a brilliant reason for people to get out midweek to do something fun and friendly. It’s been selling really well so far, so I’m hoping it will grow and I can take it to other theatres around the UK and on other cruise ships.
Tickets for Harry’s Suited N Swinging performance start from £25, and can be bought here.