Can you believe that in September this year, I hit the ‘500 Shows’ milestone…!?! I never thought for a second when I lauched the show in 2019 that I’d get to this point.
It actually crept up on me and passed me by, when I was hoping to mark the occasion with a cake and balloons. We were at the at the William Aston Centre in Wrexham with the Uptown Girl show and I just completely forgot. The good news is, Show No. 600 is already in the diary, but we won’t be hitting that milestone until Autumn / Winter 2026.
I’m so proud to have come this far, and so grateful for all of the opportunities that have been presented to me, including two Australian tours, cruising around the Caribbean and Scandinavia, seeing New York, Boston, New Orleans and Miami, as well as a crazy one-nighter in Lithuania, not to mention the numerous festivals, events and venues I’ve been lucky enough to perform at. I’ve definitely checked a few items off my Bucket List over the last few years.
Which brings me to the current iteration of the show, which is Uptown Girl – The Billy Joel Collection, in collaboration with Prestige Productions and Se7ven Productions.
We are currently on tour around the UK until mid-November, having kicked-off in Swindon at the start of September. All the shows have gone incredibly well so far, and the audiences have responded brilliantly, with everyone up singing and dancing by the time we get to the title track. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, both in person and on Social Media.
I’m so grateful to Ross at Prestige Productions and Ged at Se7ven Productions for having the faith in me to produce and launch the tour. And I couldn’t be more thankful for my exceptional band, who have been working SO hard, on and off stage, so shout-outs to Samuel C. Lees, Andy Griffiths, Mike Higgins & Kerry Williams…and to Ross McTeague, Jules Nelson and Keith Peberdy for stepping-in to help too. And I can’t forget out Technical Manager, Nat Benn, who co-ordinates with the technical staff at each venue, sets all the gear up, and runs the show each night.
If you’ve not been to the show yet, but would like to come, there are still plenty of chances. Checkout the remaining dates here!
And if you have already been to the show, please let me know what you enjoyed about it in the comments!
It’s been such a pleasure to meet so many of Billy Joel’s fans, and I hope to continue to do so for another 500 shows!
Thanks again, everyone…
Gaz
Billy Joel Tribute UK 