YORK Barbican has announced a couple of stellar concerts for 2026: David Essex OBE on September 24 and Alfie Boe OBE on April 28. Tickets for both go on sale on Friday at 10am.
Plaistow singer, composer and actor Essex, 78, will play York and further Yorkshire shows that week at Victoria Theatre, Halifax, on September 21, Sheffield City Hall, September 23, and Hull Connexin Live, September 25, on his 21-date Thanks For The Memories tour to “celebrate his monumental career”
Shooting to fame when chosen for the role of Jesus in the London production of Godspell, Essex received major awards that then saw him lead the cast at the Roundhouse and in the West End for two years.
David Essex’s itinerary for next September’s Thanks For The Memories tour
Since then he has written and produced albums that have sold millions of copies worldwide, as well as notching 16 Top 30 singles in Britain alone, led off by the Grammy-nominated Rock On, followed by the likes of Lamplight, the chart-topping Gonna Make You A Star and Hold Me Close, Rolling Stone, Oh What A Circus, Silver Dream Machine, A Winter’s Tale and Tahiti. He last released a studio album, Reflections, in October 2013.
His acting credits include Silver Dream Racer, That’ll Be The Day, Stardust, Traveller, The Guvnors and BBC One’s EastEnders, as the head of the Moon family. In the West End, he has starred in Evita, Footloose, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects Of Love, She Stoops To Conquer and Childe Byron, plus his own musicals Mutiny! and All The Fun Of The Fair. His past two UK tours sold more than 65,000 tickets across 39 dates.
Tickets will be on sale at www.gigsandtours.com.
Alfie Boe: York Barbican concert on April 28 2026. Picture: Ray Burmiston
TENOR Alfie Boe will play 35 dates on his UK tour, where he will combine his most iconic hits and fan-favourite classics with powerful material from his upcoming album Facing Myself.
Born Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe on September 29 1973 in Blackpool, the Lancashire singer and actor will play further Yorkshire concerts at Hull City Hall on April 24; Royal Hall, Harrogate, April 29, and Sheffield City Hall, May 1, as well as York Barbican on April 28.
“I’m thrilled to be hitting the road again for my tour across the UK next spring,” says Alfie, 52. “I can’t wait to sing the songs you love, share some fantastic new surprises and celebrate with you in venues up and down the country.”
Alfie Boe’s tour itinerary for April and May 2026, when Jessica Sweetman will be his special guest
Boe’s career has spanned stage, recording and television. He has released more than a dozen studio albums, several of them topping the UK charts en route to multi-platinum sales. His collaborations with Michael Ball, including the record-breaking Together, Together Again and Back Together, have been complemented by sold-out arena tours.
The Tony Award winner has conquered the world’s greatest opera stages and arenas and led the cast of Les Misérables in his defining role as Jean Valjean, also starring in the concert tour of Les Misérables in Australia and the Arena Spectacular tour across the UK.
He has appeared at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Royal Albert Hall too and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2019, in recognition of his outstanding services to music and charity.
Tickets go will be available from www.gigsandtours.com and www.ticketmaster.co.uk; VIP Packages from www.sjm-vip.com.