Jools Holland

Early life and education

Holland was born on 24 January 1958 in Blackheath, southeast London. At the age of eight, he could play the piano fluently by ear. By his early teens he was appearing regularly in many of the pubs in southeast London and the East End Docks.

Holland was educated at Shooters Hill Grammar School in southeast London, from which he was expelled for damaging a teacher's Triumph Herald.

Career

Holland began his career as a session musician. His first studio session was with Wayne County & the Electric Chairs in 1976 on their track "Fuck Off".

Holland was a founding member of the rock band Squeeze, formed in London in March 1974, in which he played keyboards until 1980, through their first three albums, the eponymous Squeeze, Cool for Cats and Argybargy, before pursuing his solo career.

Holland began 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 used the phrase, "be there, or be an ungroovy fucker" in one early evening TV trailer for the show, live across two channels, causing him to be suspended from the show for six weeks. He referred to this in his sitcom The Groovy Fellers with Rowland Rivron.

In 1983, Holland played an extended piano solo on The The's re-recording of "Uncertain Smile" for their album Soul Mining. In 1985, Squeeze (which had continued in Holland's absence through to 1982) unexpectedly regrouped including Holland as their keyboard player. Holland remained in the band until 1990, at which point he again departed to resume his solo career as a musician and a TV host.

In 1987, Holland formed the Jools Holland Big Band, which consisted of himself and Gilson Lavis from Squeeze, which gradually grew and was renamed as Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. In May 2022, it was a 17-piece orchestra and included singers Louise Marshall, Ruby Turner and Holland's daughter Mabel Ray, as well as his younger brother, singer-songwriter and keyboard player, Christopher Holland.

Between 1988 and 1990 Holland performed and co-hosted along with David Sanborn during the two seasons of the music performance programme Sunday Night on NBC late-night television. Since 1992, he has presented the music programme Later... with Jools Holland, plus an annual New Year's Eve Hootenanny.

In 1992 he interviewed the surviving Beatles as part of the Beatles Anthology documentary series.

In 1996, Holland signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records, and his records are now marketed through Rhino Records.

On 29 November 2002, Holland was in the ensemble of musicians who performed at the Concert for George, which celebrated the music of George Harrison. In January 2005, Holland and his band performed with Eric Clapton as the headline act of the Tsunami Relief Cardiff.

In 2004, he collaborated with the Welsh singer Tom Jones on an album of traditional R&B music.

On BBC Radio 2 Holland regularly hosted the programme Jools Holland, a mix of live and recorded music and general chat, featuring studio guests, along with members of his orchestra. Holland currently hosts the music magazine programme Earlier with Jools Holland on BBC Radio 3 at 12.00 - 13.00 on Saturdays.

In March 2023, Jimmy Barnes announced the formation of supergroup the Barnestormers, featuring Barnes, Holland, Chris Cheney, Slim Jim Phantom, and Kevin Shirley. A self-titled album was released on 26 May 2023.

Holland achieved his first UK number one album in 2024 with Swing Fever, a collaboration with Rod Stewart.

Personal life

As a teenager, Holland lived with his grandparents, which he mentioned anecdotally in a 2020 episode of Rhod Gilbert's Growing Pains.

Holland has a son, George, and daughter, Rose, with his former partner Mary Leahy. On 30 August 2005, Holland married Christabel McEwen at St James' Church, Cooling, his girlfriend of 15 years and daughter of artist Rory McEwen. The couple have a daughter, Mabel, and McEwen has a son, Frederick Lambton, Viscount Lambton, by her former marriage to Ned Lambton, the 7th Earl of Durham.

Holland lives in Westcombe Park, southeast London. He also owns a manor house near the medieval Cooling Castle in Kent.

Holland appeared on the cover of Railway Modeller magazine in January 2019. In the attic of his house, Holland has spent ten years building a 100 ft model railway. It is full of miniature buildings and landscapes that stretch from Berlin to London. He started with photographs and paintings from early 1960s London. According to The Daily Telegraph, "In the evenings, he builds some trains and buildings before switching on some music, pouring a glass of wine and switching on the trains to watch them move around the room."

Holland 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. In September 2006, Holland was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent.{{cite news | author-link = Nigel Farndale | access-date = 19 August 2009 |access-date=19 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720143843/http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/News/newsRelease.asp?newsPk=1301 |archive-date=20 July 2011 }} On 1 February 2011, he was appointed honorary colonel of 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment. Holland has been the President of the British Watch & Clock Makers Guild since 2018, and an honorary liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers since 2019.

In June 2006, Holland performed in Southend for HIV/AIDS charity Mildmay, and in early 2007 he performed at Wells and Rochester Cathedrals to raise money for maintaining cathedral buildings. He is also patron of Drake Music.

A fan of the 1960s TV series The Prisoner,

Holland was an interviewer for The Beatles Anthology TV project, and appeared in the 1997 film Spiceworld as a musical director.

In 2009, Holland commissioned TV series Bangla Bangers (Chop Shop) to create a replica of the Rover JET1 for personal use.

Writing

Holland's 2007 autobiography, Barefaced Lies and Boogie-Woogie Boasts, was BBC Radio 4's "Book of the Week" in the week beginning 8 October 2007 and was read by Holland.

Discography

Charting and certified albums

Releases

• 1978 "Boogie Woogie '78" (EP)
• 1981 Jools Holland and His Millionaires
• 1984 Jools Holland Meets Rock 'A' Boogie Billy (US 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
• 2001 Jools Holland's Big Band Rhythm & Blues
• 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
• 2008 The Collection
• 2008 The Informer (with Ruby Turner)
• 2008 "The Informer" (single with Ruby Turner)
• 2009 "I Went By" (single with Louise Marshall)
• 2010 Rockinghorse
• 2011 Finding the Keys: The Best of Jools Holland
• 2012 The Golden Age of Song
• 2014 Sirens of Song (UK No. 25)
• 2015 Jools & Ruby (with Ruby Turner)
• 2016 Piano
• 2017 As You See Me Now (with José Feliciano)
• 2018 A Lovely Life to Live (with Marc Almond)
• 2021 Pianola. Piano & Friends
• 2024 Swing Fever (with Rod Stewart)

Guest appearances

Film and television

• 1981 Otway & Barrett Live
• 1981 Urgh! A Music War
• 1982 Police: Around the World
• 1982–1987 The Tube (Host for 121 editions)
• 1983 Rebellious Jukebox: Compere
• 1984 The Young Ones: punk (episode entitled "Cash")
• 1985 Walking to New Orleans (Jools Holland in New Orleans)
• 1987 Eat the Rich: Sun Reporter
• 1987 Filthy Rich & Catflap: Strip Show Pianist (Episode No. 1.3)
• 1987 The Laughing Prisoner: No. 7
• 1987 French and Saunders (Episode 1.5)
• 1987 Mister Corbett's Ghost as Defrocked Priest
• 1988 Sunday Night: Host (unknown episodes)
• 1989–1990 Juke Box Jury: Host (unknown episodes)
• 1989 The Groovy Fellers Himself, 6 episodes
• 1990–1992 Jools Holland's Happening (Noel Gay Productions 37 episodes (BSB 1990–1991); 12 episodes (Channel 4, 1991–1992). Entire series believed lost.
• 1991 Mr Roadrunner (Jools Holland in Memphis)
• 1994 There's No Business...: Pianist (uncredited)
• 1994–1995 Don't Forget Your Toothbrush
• 1995 The Beatles Anthology
• 1997 Spice World: Musical Director
• 1997 Name That Tune: Host and Pianist
• 1998 Beat Route: Round the World with Jools Holland: Host and Pianist
• 2001 Astley's Way: Tribute to composer Edwin Astley
• 2003 Jools' History of the Piano: Presenter
• 2007 Fairport@Forty: Interview
• 2007 Top Gear: Star in a reasonably priced car.
• 2009 Chop Shop Rover Concept: The Jet 1 Car : Customer
• 2012 Jools Holland – London Calling: Presenter
• 2014 The Life of Rock with Brian Pern as himself
• 2023 Little Trains & Big Names with Pete Waterman as himself}}

Current television programmes

• 1992–present Later... with Jools Holland
• 1993–present Hootenanny
• 2020–present Celebrity Gogglebox with Vic Reeves

Books

• "Rolling Stones": A Life on the Road (with Dora Loewenstein), Viking/Allen Lane (1998) ()
• Beat Route: Journeys Through Six Counties, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1998) ()
• Ray Charles: Man and Music, (with Michael Lydon), Payback Press (1999) ()
• Hand That Changed Its Mind, International Music Publications (2007) ()
• Barefaced Lies and Boogie-woogie Boasts, Penguin Books (2007) ()

References

References

1. "Biography".
2. Farndale, Nigel. (19 November 2006). "A man in touch with his inner anorak".
3. "About Jools".
4. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Squeeze | Biography & History".
5. "Laughing Policeman Wireless Society: History of Swearing".
6. (19 May 2022). "Groovy Fellers, The – Nostalgia Central".
7. Bonner, Michael. (2 July 2014). "'Somewhere between pure euphoria and terrible insecurity': An interview with {{Not a typo".
8. "Jools Holland {{!}} Official Web Site {{!}} About Jools {{!}} The Rhythm & Blues Orchestra".
9. ''Sunday Night'' episodes 104 (1988), 113 (1989), 114 (1989), 121 (1989)
10. "BBC Later With Jools Holland". BBC.
11. "Concert for George. Performers".
12. "22 January 2005 - Eric Clapton with Jools Holland - Where's Eric!".
13. (26 January 2022). "ERIC CLAPTON WITH JOOLS HOLLAND [TSUNAMI RELIEF CARDIFF] 1.22.2005".
14. (2 October 2004). "TOM JONES & JOOLS HOLLAND".
15. "BBC Radio 2 - Jools Holland - Episode guide".
16. "BBC Radio 3 - Earlier... with Jools Holland".
17. (10 March 2023). "The Barnestormers Reveal Debut Album Details".
18. (7 March 2024). "SWING FEVER".
19. (2012-06-02). "Jools Holland: My family values". The Guardian.
20. Edge, Simon. (2011-06-28). "Jools Holland rules".
21. (28 November 2005). "The Pied Piper of cool rubs shoulders with royalty yet still retains the common touch".
22. (30 August 2005). "Musician Jools Holland and Christabel McEwen pose at their wedding at...".
23. (2005-08-30). "Wedding bells for Jools Holland".
24. (4 May 2001). "Face of the Day".
25. (17 March 2018). "Jools Holland wins battle over late night music from wedding venue neighbour".
26. (16 March 2018). "Jools Holland in wedding venue noise row".
27. "Railway Modeller - January 2019".
28. "Jools Holland reveals 100ft long model railway in his attic that he spent 10 years building". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
29. {{London Gazette. (14 June 2003)
30. {{London Gazette. (6 December 2011)
31. "Who's who – The British Watch and Clock Makers' Guild".
32. (22 April 2019). "Jools Holland – Our New Honorary Liveryman". The Worshipful Company of Plumbers.
33. (September 2010)
34. (25 January 2007). "Jools Holland To Play UK Charity Concerts".
35. (20 June 2014). "Leaders in Music, Disability & Technology". Drake Music.
36. "About Jools – Biography – Official site".
37. (October 2007). "BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week, Barefaced Lies and Boogie-Woogie Boasts, Greenwich".
38. "Jools Holland {{!}} full Official Chart history". [[Official Charts Company]].
39. Steffen Hung. "Discography Jools Holland".
40. {{cite certification
41. "Chart Log UK: New Entries Update: Chart Date 18 June 2011".
42. "Official UK Albums Top 100 – 22nd December 2012 | Official UK Top 40 | music charts | Official Albums Chart".
43. Copsey, Rob. (11 December 2015). "Adele beats Coldplay to Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart".
44. "Jools Holland - Album Discography".
45. "Jools Holland". [[AllMusic]].
46. link. (5 July 2015 . Publisher: ''Kaleidoscope Publishing''. Retrieved: 29 May 2015.)
47. link. (4 March 2016 . Publisher: ''Kaleidoscope Publishing''. Retrieved: 29 May 2015.)
48. "Virginia Astley".