Johnny Cash tribute band Jax&Co to recreate the country legend's Ipswich 'gig that never was' on its 30th anniversary

A Johnny Cash tribute band hope to recreate a Suffolk 'gig that never was' on its 30th anniversary.

Jax&Co are performing at the Ipswich Corn Exchange on Bank Holiday Monday in celebration of the country music legend.

It will mark three decades since the Ring of Fire singer was lined up to perform at the Suffolk Showground on August 29, 1992 infront of 20,000 people.

However, it was canned at the last minute.

Involved are several people who came up with the original gig.

Jax Deacon, the band's frontman, said the performance was 'pulled about two weeks' before it was supposed to take place.

His band came across it through a 2010 BBC article that remains one of the few scraps of information about the event to this day.

Jax said: "We've been using resources to try and figure out the kinds of songs he could have played to add an air of authenticity to the whole event.

"We even came across posters for the event and a radio interview where Johnny Cash revealed Suffolk was among his favourite places to visit in England."

The event is the result of months of planning, contacting and rehearsing.

All of the proceeds are being donated to the East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH) who operate three hospices in the East of England.

They've even extended an invite to surviving members of Cash's family.

Jax added: "I think it's a bit of wishful thinking that they'll turn up, but if they're in the area, it'd be an honour to play for them."

Mr Deacon, 30, has been a musician since he was 15 and outside of the band, organises open mic nights with his partner.

He formed Jax&Co in Hadleigh 2017 and it mainly consists of members of his own family.

They've played prestigious shows in the county, including the BBC Suffolk stage at Ipswich's Music in the Park festival.

He managed to get in contact with the organiser of the original event, Barry Dye, who provided the band with posters and flyers from the gig.

Dye was already familiar with the band.

Jax described these posters as 'really exciting' for a Johnny Cash fan, to have material that barely saw the light of day.

He hopes the event will be a 'huge night' for his band, as they have been searching for a 'big gig' for a little while.

The bands drummer, Tom, suggests an anniversary celebration, and the gig was born.

Jax said: "I could never be Johnny Cash - I'll never be as good - I simply want to pay tribute to him."

Throughout gigs, Jax&Co put on American accents and play Cash classics, trying to get the audience involved.

The frontman even said they play requests, inviting people up to the stage, which often involves them playing lesser-known songs.

The original gig was reportedly cancelled after poor ticket sales.

Brian Mann, the BBC Suffolk country presenter who interviewed Cash in the lead up to the 1992 show, said the show was cancelled due to poor pre-ticket sales, so far away from his heyday in the 1960s.

The interview went into detail about country supergroup The Highwaymen - which included Cash - making an appearence, and him being 'excited' to visit Ipswich.

Brian said: "We spoke about his songs over the years, what his all-time favourite songs were.

"He also explained the planned gig at what's now Trinity Park was a one-off."

A few years after the event was scheduled, Cash had a career resurgence with the 'American' album series that Jax said saw him 'return to playing stadiums'.

The country legend's death in 2003 meant he was never able to return to Suffolk to play.

It is estimated he sold around 90 million records during his 50-year career.

Jax revealed he was 'buzzing' for the event.

He said: "This is the biggest gig we've ever done to date and we're going to give it all we've got.

"We're aiming to have something for everybody - from the hardcore fans to casual listeners.

"It's going to be a real milestone for our band ... I don't think we could quite sell out the Suffolk Showground, but the Corn Exchange has hosted some legendary acts."

Jax&Co are the main event for the show, and they will be joined by opening acts Brooke Telling and Painting The Silence.

Tickets are £15 - the same price as the original event, with front row tickets costing £20.

Doors open at 7pm and it will opened by BBC Radio Suffolk's Wayne Bavin.