Meet the unknown singer who’s nearly sold out York’s biggest music venue

Jerome Remblance may not be a name you have heard of before – but he has nearly sold out York Barbican.

The singer from Pocklington is a businessman most of the time, owning an amusement arcade in Bridlington and a Caribbean-themed bar, The Beach House, in Pocklington.

But he’s always had a passion for singing – and dreamed of one day putting on his own concert.

“I’ve always loved music, especially soul music,” said Jerome. “I was brought up with the soul legends Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway.

“I always sang when I was a kid, but never really took myself too seriously.”

For his 50th birthday, Jerome’s family pushed him to finally go for his dream. And if you’re going to go for your dream, why not aim as high as you can?

Jerome Remblance will be performing at York Barbican on Tuesday 22 March 2022.

“I actually said initially that York Barbican is too big – we’re not going to fill all these seats.”

He was proved wrong. York Barbican has a seated auditorium capacity of 1,450 – over a thousand seats have sold for Jerome’s show, with only a couple hundred tickets remaining.

“It’s incredible to be honest with you. I honestly didn’t know what to expect. It feels brilliant.”

People first started to really notice Jerome’s singing ability when he was asked to sing a song at a wedding when he was around 15.

At 17, Jerome would drive to York for singing lessons with voice teacher Barbie Benson – a jazz singer from London who was completing a degree in Philosophy at the University of York and who had worked with legends such as Annie Lennox, Bono and Lenny Henry.

Singing had to take a backseat though, as work, marriage, opening his own arcade and having children took the forefront.

Once Jerome reached 30, he started to sing at weddings and similar events which he still does today. “But I’d never felt like I fulfilled where I should have been with music.

“So here we are, I’m 50 years old – and I should have done what I’m doing now a long time ago.”

It’s been an even longer time coming, as the concert had to be postponed for two years due to the pandemic.

Jerome, now 52, will be joined on the night by a 15 piece band featuring world-class musicians, as well as a gospel choir. The music will be all covers with songs “to put a smile on your face.”

“We want the best sound, we want the best lighting – I want it to be a show where everybody goes away and says ‘Wow that I didn’t expect to see that.’

“I sing a bit of swing, a bit of soul, a bit of reggae. I’m trying to do something for everybody.”

He will be supported by Nicole Lawrence, who appeared on The X Factor and made it all the way to Simon Cowell’s house. Nicole will be performing in the lobby as the audience arrives.

While the audience take their seats a DJ will be playing, with live sax from Andre SaxMan Brown as support.

There will also be merchandise available to buy such as programmes, t-shirts and tote bags.

The concert will be in support of York Against Cancer, an independent local charity that cares for cancer patients and their families in York and North and East Yorkshire. All proceeds will be going to the charity.

An after-party will take place afterwards at Manahatta, with entry for anyone who attended the concert.

So what’s next? “After this concert is done it will be back to my everyday job,” said Jerome. But who knows what future opportunities could arise…

Tickets are £40 and can be purchased via the York Barbican website. Get them while you can!

“You don’t know me, you’ve never seen me before, you’ve never heard of me before. But all I can tell you is – I think I’m a great singer, and there’s going to be a great band.

“This will be my biggest gig beyond a doubt.”