Jools Holland

Infobox musical artist
Name = Jools Holland


Img_capt = Jools Holland at the Tsunami Relief concert in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, January 22, 2005
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1958|01|24|df=yes
Blackheath, London, England
Died =
Origin = | Instrument = Piano, keyboard, guitar,
Genre = Boogie, Jazz, Blues, Rhythm And Blues
Occupation =
Years_active = 1978—
Label =
Associated_acts = Squeeze
Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader and television presenter. His work has involved him with many of the biggest names in the contemporary rock and popular music industry.

Biography

Born in Blackheath, London, Holland was a founding member of the band Squeeze which formed in March 1974. Holland played the keyboard with the group until after the band produced its third album in 1980 when Holland left to forge a solo career. During performances with Squeeze, he was regularly seen smoking Cuban cigars.

Holland had begun issuing solo records in 1978, his first EP being "Boogie Woogie '78". He continued his solo career through the early 1980s, releasing an album and several singles between 1981 and 1984. He branched out into TV, co-presenting the Newcastle-based TV music show "The Tube" with Paula Yates. Holland achieved notoriety by inadvertently using the phrase "groovy fuckers" in a live, early evening TV trailer for the show, causing it to be suspended for three weeks. He later referred back to this in his sitcom "The Groovy Fellers" with Rowland Rivron.

In 1983 Jools played an extended piano solo on The The's re-recording of "Uncertain Smile" for the album "Soul Mining".

In 1985, Squeeze (which had continued in Holland's absence through to 1982) unexpectedly re-grouped. Holland was once again the keyboard player for the band until 1990. At that point, he again departed Squeeze on amicable terms to resume his solo career as both a musician and a TV host.

In 1987, Holland formed The "Jools Holland Big Band" which consisted of himself and Gilson Lavis from Squeeze. This gradually became his 18-piece Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.cite web|url=http://www.joolsholland.com/about1.htm|title=About Jools - Official site|accessdate=2007-07-04]

Between 1988 and 1990 he performed and co-hosted along with David Sanborn during the two seasons of the acclaimed music performance program Sunday Night on NBC late-night television. ["Sunday Night" episodes #104 (1988), #113 (1989), #114 (1989), #121 (1989)]

Since 1992 he has presented the eclectic music programme "Later with Jools Holland", plus an annual New Year's Eve "Hootenanny", and has shaken off his "bad boy" image to become a respected musician.

In 1996 Holland signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records.

Singers Sam Brown and Ruby Turner often join his touring band, The Rhythm And Blues Orchestra.

Holland is a fan of the cult 1960s TV series "The Prisoner". He owns some of the costumes and props from the series, and occasionally appears wearing the trademark brown-with-white-pipe blazer featured in the series. Holland lives in the Westcombe Park area of Blackheath in south-east London, where he has had his studio, Helicon Mountain built to his own design, heavily inspired by Portmeirion, the setting for "The Prisoner".

In 1987, Jools Holland demonstrated his love of the series and starred in a spoof documentary, "The Laughing Prisoner", with Stephen Fry, Terence Alexander and Hugh Laurie. Much of it was shot on location in Portmeirion, with archive footage of Patrick McGoohan, and featuring musical numbers from Siouxsie & the Banshees, Magnum and XTC. Holland himself also performed a number towards the end of the programme. Also appearing was Stanley Unwin.

He was also one of the interviewers for The Beatles Anthology TV project. Although he wasn't supposed to be seen or heard during the programme, on a couple of occasions his presence is detectable. For example, he is in the boat that Paul McCartney was steering.

Holland appeared in the 1997 film "Spiceworld" as a musical director.

He received an OBE in 2003 in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for services to the British music industry as a television presenter and musician. He is also a published author and appears regularly on television shows besides his own and contributes to radio shows. In 2004, he collaborated with Tom Jones on an album of traditional R&B music. In January 2005 Jools and his band performed with Eric Clapton as the headline act of the Tsunami relief concert in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

On 29 August 2005 Holland married his girlfriend of fifteen years, Christabel McEwen, the former wife of Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham. The wedding at St James's Church, Cooling near Rochester, was attended by stars including Ringo Starr, Robbie Coltrane and Stephen Fry. Other guests included comedians Lenny Henry and his wife Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and her husband Adrian Edmondson, film director Tim Pope with girlfriend actress Victoria Scarborough, and singer Lulu.

In September 2006 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent.

In December 2006, Jools appeared at Capital Gold Legends Live, a series of up-close-and-personal gigs hosted by the national radio station Capital Gold.

Holland is also a Hammond organ player, and was seen demonstrating his skills to Jo Brand in the BBC documentary series "Play It Again".

He is also known for his charity work; in June 2006 he performed in Southend for HIV / AIDS charity Mildmay [cite web |url=http://www.thenetco.co.uk/mildmaynew/events.aspx?pg=events-joolshollandconcert |title=Jools Holland rocks the Park for Charity |accessdate=2007-12-05] , and in early 2007 he performed at Wells and Rochester Cathedrals to raise money for maintaining cathedral buildings. [cite web |url=http://www.easier.com/view/Lifestyle/Entertainment/Going_Out/article-95595.html |title=Jools Holland To Play UK Charity Concerts |date=2007-01-25 |accessdate=2007-12-05] He is also patron of the [http://www.drakemusicproject.org/ Drake Music Project] [ [http://www.drakemusicproject.org/makepage.asp?page=3b patrons, trustees and staff - Drake Music Project ] ] - and has raised many thousands for the charity.

Writing

His autobiography, "Barefaced Lies and Boogie Woogie Boasts" (Michael Joseph Ltd, October 2007) was BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week in the week beginning 8 October 2007 and was read by Holland himself. He is the author or joint author of four other books.

Discography

*1978 "Boogie Woogie '78" (EP)
*1981 "Jools Holland and His Millionaires"
*1984 "Jools Holland Meets Rock 'A' Boogie Billy" (U.S. release only)
*1990 "World Of His Own"
*1991 "The Full Complement"
*1992 "Together Again" (single with Sam Brown)
*1992 "The A-Z Geographer's Guide To The Piano"
*1994 "Solo Piano"
*1994 "Live Performance"
*1996 "Sex & Jazz & Rock & Roll"
*1997 "Lift The Lid"
*1998 "Best Of"
*1999 "Sunset Over London"
*2000 "Hop The Wag"
*2001 "Small World Big Band"
*2002 "SWBB Volume Two: More Friends"
*2003 "Jack O The Green (SWBB Friends 3)"
*2004 "Tom Jones & Jools Holland"
*2005 "Beatroute"
*2005 "Swinging the Blues, Dancing the Ska"
*2006 "Moving Out To The Country"
*2007 "Best of Friends"

Film and television

* 1981 "Urgh! A Music War"
* 1982 "Police: Around the World"
* 1982 "The Tube" (Episodes 1.5-1.9)
* 1983 "Rebellious Jukebox": Compere
* 1984 "The Young Ones": Punk (Episode entitled "Summer Holiday")
* 1985 "Walking To New Orleans" (Jools Holland in New Orleans)
* 1987 "Eat the Rich": Sun Reporter
* 1987 "Filthy Rich & Catflap": Strip Show Pianist (Episode #1.3)
* 1987 "The Laughing Prisoner": No. 7
* 1987 "French and Saunders" (Episode 1.5)
* 1988 "Sunday Night": Host (unknown episodes)
* 1989 "Juke Box Jury": Host (unknown episodes)
* 1994 "There's No Business": Pianist
* 1997 "Spice World": Musical Director
* 2003 "Jool's History of the Piano" : Presenter
* 2007 "Fairport@Forty": Interview
* 2007 "Top Gear: Star in a reasonably priced car.

Books

* "Rolling Stones": A Life on the Road", (with Dora Loewenstein), Viking/Allen Lane (1998), (ISBN 0670880515)
* "Beat Route: Journeys Through Six Counties", Weidenfeld & Nicholson (1998), (ISBN 0575067004)
* "Ray Charles: Man and Music", (with Michael Lydon), Payback Press (1999), (ISBN 0862419298)
* "Hand That Changed Its Mind ", International Music Publications (2007), (ISBN 1843286459)
* "Barefaced Lies and Boogie-woogie Boasts ", Michael Joseph Ltd (2007), (ISBN 0718149157)

References

External links

* [http://www.joolsholland.com Official website]
* [http://www.jooligans.co.uk Jooligans - Forum for Jools Holland/Sam Brown fans]
*
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/holland Jools Holland's BBC Radio 2 show]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/later Later with Jools Holland]

Persondata
NAME=Holland, Julian Miles
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Holland, Jools
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Musician and television personality
DATE OF BIRTH=24 January 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH=Blackheath, London, England
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=