David Essex

David Essex takes over New Theatre Oxford, Oxford, on 28 September 2026. Singer, songwriter and actor, he emerged from London’s late‑60s scene and broke through with the stage musical Godspell in 1971, the film That’ll Be the Day and, a little later, Rock On in 1973. That track set the tone for his blend of glam, British pop and rock’n’roll, with supple vocal lines and a narrative edge. The run of albums that followed through the mid‑70s pushed toward a more melodic pop rock, while his parallel life in musicals saw him in Tommy, Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds and creating the role of Che in Evita.

Onstage today, Essex draws from across that arc: breakthrough singles, deep cuts from Rock On to Imperial Wizard, and pieces shaped by his theatre work. The set leans on songwriting craft and stories carried by a warm, unforced voice, supported by a tight live band. Decades of records, tours and screen work feed into a show that reconnects the dots between the early hits, later releases like Be‑Bop the Future and Cover Shot, and collaborations such as his turn with Saint Etienne, all revisited with clarity and care.