Jack Randle third in New Jersey Sinatra Idol contest

Jack Randle

Jack Randle was placed third of 15 contestants in the Sinatra Idol contest in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Mr Randle, who grew up in Rochdale, is understood to be the first British contender to have entered the contest, which aims to find the best ‘Sinatra-style’ singer. He was the only competitor to have entered this year from outside the United States.

He said: “I’ve been on cloud nine ever since and smiling from ear to ear. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience; it was like the best gig of your life. The sun was setting, lights were twinkling and we were all singing Sinatra songs overlooking the Manhattan and the Hudson river. I’ll have a lot of great memories and footage. I’d like to thank everyone who helped me get here and those who wished me well; I had a great time.”

Singing ‘It Was A Very Good Year’ to a crowd of around 400 people, he scored 22 out of a possible 25 points with judges (a maximum of five per judge), with the winner, Jerry Pearce, scoring 24/25.

Jack added: “I went on last, but I had a great reception from the crowd. They were booing when I was given four points by some of the judges. It was a bit of a blur when they were announcing the winners.”

One audience member, Tim Flaherty, was so impressed by his performance, he left a glowing review for Jack, likening his performance to ‘jumping in a time machine’.

He wrote: “His performance is perfectly nuanced and his talent singing Sinatra songs is absolutely brilliant. The fact that he resembles Frank in his 50s is just an added bonus.”

Speaking before the contest, Jack compared the event as ‘like the X-Factor for Sinatra’ in the singer’s home town.

The singer, who is also a technical support helpdesk worker, said: “I got to love the music of Frank Sinatra because my father was a big fan and one of the only two LPs we had in the house when I was growing up in Rochdale in the 1960s was ‘Sinatra & The Count Basie Orchestra’.

“When my father died four years ago, I sang My Way at his wake, as I had done at each of his previous birthdays. I feel every time I sing now, as I do semi-professionally these days, there is a direct connection to my dad. I love that, and it makes singing the songs he loved very special to me.”

Jack, who moved to Milton Keynes 22 years ago, still regularly visits Rochdale as many of his friends still live here and both his parents are buried here.

He said: “Rochdale has a fantastic community. My roots mean a lot to me and it’s a great place to come from.”

Jack returns to Rochdale next month, where you have the chance to hear him ‘Sing Sinatra’ at Norden Cricket Club on Saturday 15 July:

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/48107/events-in-rochdale/jack-randle-sings-sinatra