SAXOPHONIST Snake Davis has a whole host of Yorkshire gigs coming up with his Classic Sax Solos show.
The Snake Davis Band plays the Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond, on February 9; Leeds City Varieties, February 10; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, February 11; Victoria Hall, Settle, March 10; Square Chapel, Halifax, April 28; Barnsley Civic Theatre, May 5; Skipton Auction Mart, May 12, and Helmsley Arts Centre, May 19.
"Goole, Grassington, York Theatre Royal, Husthwaite Village Hall and Hull Truck Theatre are all coming up later in the year," says Snake. "When I list them like that it looks like a right ole 'Tour de Yorkshire'."
Snake, once part of the York band Zoot & The Roots in the 1980s, is the sax man on more than 400 records and has worked with such luminaries as Ray Charles, Tom Jones, Take That, Lisa Stansfield, The Eurythmics, George Michael, Cher, Tina Turner, Beyonce and M People.
Last March, he released the album Classic Sax Solos, recorded with his specially formed five-piece band featuring Cutting Crew's Gareth Moulton on vocals and guitar; Snake on sultry sax, searing sax, screaming sax, sexy sax, soulful sax; co-producer Paul Birchall on keyboards; Simon Gouldin on bass and Bryan Hargreaves, once of Terry Wogan's house band, on drums.
Among the tracks are Tequila; Baker Street; Harlem Nocturne; Parker's Mood; Still Crazy After All These Years; Walk In The Night; Deacon Blues; Going Home; Just The Way You Are; Night Train; Poirot/Pink Panther; A Million Love Songs: Yakety Yak and Respect.
"The tour set spans Charlie Parker, 1948, to Take That's A Million Love Songs and Lisa Stansfield's Change in the Nineties," says Snake, who is sure to perform his own solos from M People's Moving On Up and Search For The Hero too. "There'll also be fascinating facts and insights into the music," he adds.
Snake's upcoming engagements also include the Moonbeams Festival in a duo with Helen Watson at The Bell Hotel, Driffield, on March 4; the Shire Hall, Howden, with Snake Davis & The Suspicions, April 15; Junction, Goole, with SnakeStrings, June 3; and York Theatre Royal and Hull Truck Theatre with the Classic Sax Solos show on July 7 and 11 respectively.
The Scarborough show at the SJT on February 11 is billed as Classic Sax Solos Part 2, so will it differ from other nights? Let Snake explain: "Where we're going back for the second time, Scarborough, Helmsley, Skipton, for example, we're adding new material. We're half way through album two so they'll have at least ten new pieces," he says.
"Where we're in for the first time, Richmond and Leeds, for example, I'm going to mix it up: best of the old and a taste of the new. Real big faves from the earlier tours, like Baker Street, Mark Knopfler's Going Home, Aretha's Respect and my Million Love Songs will still be in the new set."
So too will David Bowie's Young Americans, Hazel O'Connor's Will You and Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side, all responding to the Snake charm.
Tickets for Leeds can be booked on 0113 243 0808 or at cityvarieties.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk; York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk, and Hull, 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk
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