‘On the saxophone, Mr Ed Barker.”
Those were the words that George Michael would say before Ed Barker walked out on stage to perform the saxophone solo on Michael’s hit single, Cowboys And Angels, when he toured with the global superstar in 2012. 
After performing to tens of thousands of Michael’s adoring fans each night, Barker is now performing his very own tribute to the music of George Michael, Fastlove.
North-East fans can join him for an unforgettable evening with the late superstar’s music during a performance by Fastlove, the UK’s leading tribute to George Michael.
The show is packed with crowd-pleasing anthems: from the Wham classics of the new pop revival to the chart-topping success of the Eighties album Faith, plus the awesome tunes of the Nineties and Noughties. 
Fans will be getting up (to get down) to all their favourite songs: Careless Whisper, Freedom, Faith, Father Figure, Outside, Jesus To A Child and many more.
Barker’s solo sax on Cowboys And Angels put him on the map and led to incredible success in his own right.
A unique background in jazz, pop and classic music means he fuses a myriad of musical traditions with every piece of music he creates. It is this diversity that saw Barker’s debut album, Simple Truth, rocket up the US independent charts and saw him step away from his career as aspeech writer for senior British politicians.
FastLove – A Tribute to George Michael is fronted by Joseph Sansome, regarded as one of the top George Michael/Wham tribute artists.
Sansome has made numerous television appearances including BBC Children in Need and ITV’s Brit Awards.
He says: “It all started when I sang Careless Whisper on a karaoke. People thought I was miming to the record. I guess I should take that as a great compliment.”
Since his karaoke days Sansome has gone on to perform alongside countless famous artists such as Sir Bob Geldof, Billy Ocean, Level 42, Rick Astley, M People, the Sugarbabes, UB40 and many more. He haseven made several appearances to crowds of 32,000 at his home football club Leicester City!
His passion for music was evident from an early age and he took every opportunity to sing. As he grew his main musical influences came from bands such as The Eagles, Dire Straits and The Beatles but George Michael became the biggest. Joseph loves to perform all of Michael’s classic hits but it is the ballads that really stand out for him, saying that the wonderful “A Different Corner” is the song that he can relate to the most.
The Fastlove tour is the most exciting project of Joseph’s career so far and along with the extremely talented team around him, he aims to deliver a spectacular show for everyone that George himself would have been proud of. He says, “If I can make people happy, cry, smile and leave the show fulfilled then I have done my job.”

  • Fastlove – A Tribute to George Michael, Middlesbrough Theatre, February 16-18. Tickets from the venue