NEWS: Martin McCafferty to bring his 'Jack Pack' home
It may be a few miles outside our catchment area - well 70.9 to be exact - but we had to let you know about local boy and Jack Pack singer Martin McCafferty landing in Belfast later this month with his fellow band mates.
Martin was part of the local scene here in Derry for many years before taking his own brand of swing to Belfast's Cafe Vaudeville. Growing up within a well known musical family, Martin's grandfather recorded with Bing Crosby and his grandmother’s choir performed for two different American Presidents at the White House, so you could say he has music in his blood.
He had actually given up on his dream of a musical career when he moved to Plymouth to study for a degree in Primary teaching, but last year he was hand picked by people affiliated with Simon Cowell's SyCo label to replace former member Adam Diplock in the swing band.
This month Martin will be performing with the rest of the band at his old stomping ground Cafe Vaudeville in a special one-off show on 27 September.
Martin is one-fourth of the swing pop group who rose to prominence as finalists on Britain’s Got Talent. “This is definitely a big moment for me,” the 34-year old singer said. “I cannot wait to bring the boys to Belfast and finally show everyone back home what we’ve been working on. So, just a tiny bit of pressure!”
Since joining the suave vocal quartet last year, Martin and his band mates Andrew Bourn, Alfie Palmer and Sean Ryder Wolf have secured a record deal with Syco Music, made a bona fide album, and performed for Prince Charles. “It’s all still a bit surreal to me,” Martin said. “My life now, and all the wonderful experiences we’ve had, couldn’t be further from what I thought I’d be doing this time last year.”
Now Martin is proud to add to his family’s impressive list of accolades. Jack Pack recorded their debut album with a live 72-piece orchestra, produced by music heavyweights Future Cut (who have written and produced for Sir Tom Jones and Olly Murs). The album is a mix of swing covers such as ‘Mack The Knife’ and ‘My Way’. and three original tracks including ‘Forever’, which was written by multi Academy and Grammy Award winner Randy Newman.
Jack Pack is set to support Katy Perry at an exclusive show at Dubai Airports in November and the boys have recently rounded off a busy summer of gigs by playing BBC Proms in The Park at a packed out Hyde Park in London on 12 September, supporting The Jacksons.
