David Essex

David Essex takes over Ipswich Regent Theatre on 12 September 2026. Raised in Canning Town after being born in Plaistow, he started out on drums before singing in local bands, then landed the lead in Godspell in 1971. The film That’ll Be the Day and his self-penned Rock On (1973) set a template between glam, British pop and rock’n’roll, with supple, narrative vocals that run through Rock On (1973), David Essex (1974) and All the Fun of the Fair (1975), before leaning into a more melodic pop rock on late-70s records.

On stage as much as in the studio, he moved through Tommy, Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds and originated Che in Evita, while albums and UK tours paced the 80s and 90s, from Be-Bop the Future to Cover Shot. At Ipswich, he digs into that catalogue and later chapters too, including the Saint Etienne collaboration Tales from Turnpike House, linking songs with the stories that shaped them. A night tracing a singular path across pop, theatre and screen, back where it all connects: live, on stage, in Ipswich.