Description:
Jools Holland
was born in 1958 with an unusual musical gift: at the age of eight, he could
play the piano fluently by ear and by the time he reached his early teens he
was proficient and confident enough to be appearing regularly in many of the
pubs in South East London and the East End Docks.
At the age of 15, Jools was introduced to Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, and
together they formed Squeeze; shortly afterwards they were joined by Gilson
Lavis (who'd already played with, among others, BB King, Chuck Berry, and Max
Wall), who drums with Jools to this day.
Up The Junction and Cool For Cats made Squeeze's success meteoric
and their popularity rapidly extended to America
where they toured extensively and eventually carried out a stadium tour,
including performances at Madison
Square Garden.
In 1987, Jools
formed The Jools Holland Big Band comprising entirely of himself and Gilson
Lavis. This has gradually metamorphosed into the current 18-piece Rhythm and
Blues Orchestra, which currently consists of: one pianist; one drummer; two
female vocals; one guitar; one bass guitar; one organ; two tenor saxophones;
two alto saxophones; one baritone saxophone; three trumpets; and four
trombones.
Jools and the Rhythm and Blues Orchestra now play an average of 100 live shows
a year, touring Britain
and the world to audiences of 500,000.
As well as the formidable live performances, Jools has maintained a prolific
recording career since signing to Warners in 1996, and has released eight
albums since then. The most recent, released in September 2004, is entitled Tom
Jones & Jools Holland,
and entered the UK Album Chart at Number 5.
Jools has designed and built his own studio complex in South East
London.
Since 1981, he has released 16 albums – either solo or with his Rhythm and
Blues Orchestra – and in 2001 he made the double platinum album Small World,
Big Band, which featured 22 guest artists, including Eric Clapton, Mica
Paris, David Gilmour, Taj Mahal, and George Harrison. More Friends,
released in 2002, is a similar collaboration between Jools, the Rhythm and
Blues Orchestra and 22 more guests, including George Benson, Jeff Beck, Ray
Davies, Dionne Warwick, Norah Jones, Robert Plant, Bryan Ferry, Chrissie Hynde,
Tom Jones, Jimmy Cliff, and many others.
Jack O The Green: Friends 3, released in 2003, is another
successful addition to the series.
Altogether, Jools
has sold millions of albums across his varied career.
Jools' career as a
television presenter has run parallel to his musical career. He started in the
early eighties when he interviewed the Police for a documentary made while recording
at George Martin's Montserrat studio. Soon
after, Jools auditioned to become co-presenter with Paula Yates of The Tube,
which was granted almost immediate cult status, discovering a whole new
generation of musicians and comedians between 1981 and 1986.
In two subsequent documentaries (Walking to New Orleans in 1985 and Mr.
Roadrunner in 1991), Jools unearthed some of the roots of American music,
which led him to talk to and play with many of his heroes, including Fats
Domino, Dr. John, and Lee Dorsey. In between these, in 1988, came the six-part
series The Groovy Fellas, and in 1989 he spent six months in America
hosting the New York NBC music show Saturday Night with David Sanborn.
Other television
programmes include: Name That Tune; Don't Forget Your Toothbrush;
Beatroute; Jools Meets The Saint; and, in 2002, Jools' History
Of The Piano. He also conducted the interviews for the definitive Beatles Anthology,
and the Rolling Stones Biography.
After presenting two series of Juke Box Jury in 1989 and then 26 shows
of The Happening in 1990, Jools was asked in 1992 to host a new music
programme for BBC2, which combined his talent and experience as a musician with
his skills as an interviewer. Later...with Jools Holland has re-awakened
the innovative spirit of The Tube, is now in its 25th series, and has
been running for 13 years. Jools' New Years Eve show, the exuberant Hootenanny,
is also celebrating its 13th year.
In June 2003, Jools' achievements were formally recognized when he was awarded
the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
In 2004, Jools
recorded a groundbreaking album with superstar Tom Jones. Recorded at Jools'
own studio – Helicon Mountain – with Laurie Latham, the album is
spontaneous and immediate and catches all the excitement of a live recording.
It contains some of the greatest R&B and rock 'n' roll songs of all time,
together with some new compositions of their own.
In 2005, Jools continued to tour with his Big Band to enthusiastic audiences
around the world, kicking off with a gala star-studded concert at the historic
Royal Albert Hall, donating all proceeds to the Teenage Cancer Trust. The stars
included Sam Brown, Mica Paris, David Gilmour, Marc Almond, Solomon Burke,
Terri Walker, Beverley Knight, Jay Kay of Jamiroquai, Suggs, Chrissie Hynde,
Ronnie Wood, Tom Jones, Chris Difford, Shane McGowan, John Cale, and Paul
Weller.
He has since made
the 25th series of Later...with Jools Holland, a new series of his Radio
2 show, and charity engagements that included Comic Relief and the Tsunami
Appeal at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium with Eric Clapton. In addition,
there was another extensive Autumn Tour, including his now-annual shows at the
Royal Albert Hall as well as summer festivals – including two nights at Kew Gardens.
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