Jools Holland & His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra

What an interesting journey this UK icon has had. By the time he reached his early teens Jools Holland was playing the piano in many of the pubs in South East London and the East End Docks. At the age of 15, Jools formed the band Squeeze. Up the Junction and Cool For Cats made Squeeze's success meteoric and their popularity rapidly extended to America, where their tour included performances at Madison Square Garden. Although Squeeze sold millions of records, the most successful record Jools ever played on was Good Thing by The Fine Young Cannibals, which reached number one in 17 countries. Jools was paid the statutory session fee of £150. In 1987, Jools formed The Jools Holland Big Band – comprising himself and Gilson Lavis. This has gradually metamorphosed into the current 20-piece Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, which now plays to audiences in excess of 500,000 each year. As well as formidable live performances, Jools has maintained a prolific recording career which includes the multimillion selling Jools and Friends series. Jools' career as a television presenter has run parallel to his musical career. He must hold the record for making more music programmes for TV than any other host: The Tube, made in Newcastle; four series of Night Music, made in New York; three series of The Happening, filmed at London's Astoria Theatre; two series of Name That Tune, filmed in Leeds; thirty-five series of Later…with Jools Holland; fourteen Hootenanny shows; and one series of Beat Route, filmed all over the world. Jools was awarded an OBE in 2003 for his services to the British music industry.

Sideshows

www.joolsholland.com