What a Racket!

"What a Racket!, also known as Mr. Joe Jackson Presents Max Champion in 'What a Racket!', is the 21st studio album by English singer-songwriter and musician Joe Jackson, released by earMUSIC on 24 November 2023.

The album features Jackson and a 12-piece orchestra performing eleven songs supposedly written by the fictional music hall performer Max Champion. Champion, according to his fictional backstory, was born in 1882 in the East End of London and is believed to be a relative of the music hall composer, singer, and comedian Harry Champion. After his death on the Western Front in World War I, Champion's songs "faded into obscurity," but some of his sheet music resurfaced from 2014 onward. By 2019, there were enough songs for Jackson to "resurrect" by recording the album. Jackson noted that, while these songs were from a different era, they still have a modern sensibility, saying, "Sometimes it's almost as if Max is speaking, from his London of the early 20th century, directly to us in the early 21st."

The album was announced with the release of the first single, "Health & Safety", on 27 September 2023. A second single, "What a Racket!", was released on 25 October 2023.

In December 2023, Jackson announced The Two Rounds of Racket Tour, which will include 20 dates across the United States in June–July 2024. The tour will be split into two sections: the first is a solo set by Jackson, followed by a second section featuring The Music of Max Champion, performed by Jackson and a nine-piece band.