Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including

Jayne County Wayne Rogers (born July 13, 1947), better known by her stage name Jayne County is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer whose career has spanned six decades. Under the name Wayne County (inspired by Wayne County, Michigan), ...

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

Magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

The The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

and

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

. From 1982 until 1987, he co-presented the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

music programme '' The Tube''. Since 1992, he has hosted '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a music-based show aired on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

, on which his annual show ''

Hootenanny A hootenanny is a party involving music in the United States. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Placeholder Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in the early twentieth century U.S. as a placeholder nam ...

'' is based. Holland is a published author and appears 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. On

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

Holland also regularly hosts the weekly programme ''Jools Holland'', a mix of live and recorded music and general chat and features studio guests, along with members of his orchestra.

Education

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

Triumph Herald The Triumph Herald is a small two-door car introduced by Standard-Triumph of Coventry in 1959 and made through to 1971. The body design was by the Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, ...

Career

Holland began his career as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

. His first studio session was with

Wayne County & the Electric Chairs Wayne County & the Electric Chairs were part of the first wave of punk bands from the 1970s. The band was headed by Georgia-born singer Jayne County and became known for their campy, foul-mouthed ballads, glam punk inspired songs and image which ...

in 1976 on their track "

Fuck Off Fuck off may also refer to: * ''Fuck Off'', an art exhibition that ran alongside the Shanghai Biennial Festival in 2000 * "Fuck Off", a 1977 song by Wayne County & the Electric Chairs * "Fuck Off", the preliminary title of "Le Freak", a 1978 so ...

". Holland was a founding member of the British pop band Squeeze, formed in March 1974, in which he played keyboards until 1980, through its first three albums, the eponymous '' Squeeze'', '' Cool for Cats'' and ''

Argybargy ''Argybargy'' is the third studio album by the English new wave band Squeeze. Written and recorded after the band's successful sophomore release, '' Cool for Cats'', the album's lyrics were written by Chris Difford while living with his wife in ...

'', 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 Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

-based TV music show '' The Tube'' with

Paula Yates Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1959 – 17 September 2000) was a British television presenter and writer. Yates is best known for her work on two television programmes, '' The Tube'' and ''The Big Breakfast''. She was the girlfriend of musicia ...

. Holland used the phrase, "be there, or be an ungroovey 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 Rowland John Rivron (born 28 September 1958) is a British writer, comedic actor and television personality. Early career Rivron played the comic character "Dr Martin Scrote" on the Jonathan Ross chat show ''The Last Resort'', and also played Scr ...

. Holland also appeared as a guest host on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

In 1983, Holland played an extended piano solo on

'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 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 for the show

Gilson Lavis David Leslie Gilson Lavis ( , born 27 June 1951, Bedford, England) is an English drummer and portrait artist. He gained fame as the drummer with band Squeeze in the 1970s and 80s. Lavis is currently the drummer for Jools Holland's Rhythm and ...

from Squeeze, which gradually grew and was renamed as

Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra (also known as Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra) is a rhythm and blues band led by boogie-woogie pianist Jools Holland. History Holland formed the band in 1994. In May 2022 the 17-piec ...

. In May 2022, it was a 17-piece orchestra and included singers Louise Marshall,

Ruby Turner Francella Ruby Turner MBE (born 22 June 1958) is a British Jamaican R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress. In a music career spanning more than 30 years, Turner is best known for her album and single releases in Europe and North Americ ...

and Holland's daughter Mabel Ray, as well as his younger brother, singer-songwriter and keyboard player,

Christopher Holland Christopher William Holland is an English keyboard player, singer and songwriter. He is the younger brother of pianist and band-leader Jools Holland. Career Holland left school at 16 to concentrate on his first band, B Sharp, with twin brot ...

. Between 1988 and 1990 Holland performed and co-hosted along with

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...

during the two seasons of the music performance programme '' Sunday Night'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

late-night television. Since 1992, he has presented the music programme '' Later... with Jools Holland'', plus an annual New Year's Eve ''

''. In 1996, Holland signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, and his records are now marketed through

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

On 29 November 2002, Holland was in the ensemble of musicians who performed at the

Concert for George The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his son, Dhani, and arrange ...

, which celebrated the music of

. In January 2005 Holland and his band performed with

as the headline act of the

Tsunami Relief Cardiff Tsunami Relief Cardiff was a charity music concert held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 22 January 2005, in aid of the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which had occurred the month before. The concert raised £1,248,963. The ...

Personal life

As a teenager, Holland lived with his grandparents, which he mentioned anecdotally in a 2020 episode of

Rhod Gilbert’s Growing Pains RhoD (Ras homolog gene family, member D) is a small (~21 kDa) signaling G protein (more specifically a GTPase), and is a member of the Rac protein, Rac subfamily of the family Rho family of GTPases. It is encoded by the gene RHOD. It binds GTP a ...

. Holland has a son, George, and daughter, Rose, with his former partner Mary Leahy. On 30 August 2005, Holland married Christabel McEwen, 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 Westcombe Park is a largely residential area in Blackheath in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, South East London, England. It is bounded by the main London-Dartford railway line to the north, the Blackwall Tunnel southern approach to the east, ...

, south east London, where he had his studio, Helicon Mountain, built to his design and inspired by

Portmeirion Portmeirion is a tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village, and is now owned by a charitable trust. The village is located in the com ...

, the setting for the 1960s TV series ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

''. He also owns a manor house near the medieval

Cooling Castle Cooling Castle is a 14th-century quadrangular castle in the village of Cooling, Kent on the Hoo Peninsula about north of Rochester, Kent, Rochester. It was built in the 1380s by the Baron Cobham, Cobham family, the local lords of the manor, to ...

in Kent. He appeared on the cover of ''

Railway Modeller ''Railway Modeller'' is a monthly British magazine about model railways now published by Peco Publications in Beer, Devon. It has been in publication since 1949 with Vol. 1 No. 1 published as The Railway Modeller, being an Ian Allan Production ...

'' magazine in January 2019. In the attic of his house, Holland has spent ten years building a

model railway Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

. 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." He received an OBE in 2003 in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

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 Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Holland was appointed an

honorary fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

Canterbury Christ Church University , mottoeng = The truth shall set you free , established = 2005 – gained University status 1962 – teacher training college , type = Public , religious_affiliation = Church of England , city ...

at a ceremony held at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

on 30 January 2009. On 1 February 2011 he was appointed honorary colonel of 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment. In June 2006, Holland performed in

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

for HIV/AIDS charity Mildmay, and in early 2007 he performed at

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

and

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Kent. The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church of England and the s ...

s to raise money for maintaining cathedral buildings. He is also patron of Drake Music. Bluehorns

A fan of the 1960s TV series ''The Prisoner'', in 1987 Holland demonstrated his love of the series and starred in a spoof documentary, ''The Laughing Prisoner'', with

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

Terence Alexander Terence Joseph Alexander (11 March 1923 – 28 May 2009) was an English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the British TV drama '' Bergerac'', which ran for nine series on BBC One between 1981 and 1991. ...

and

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a ...

. Much of it was shot on location in Portmeirion, with archive footage of

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

, and featuring musical numbers from

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

, Magnum and

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

. Holland performed a number towards the end of the programme. Holland was an interviewer for ''

The Beatles Anthology ''The Beatles Anthology'' is a multimedia retrospective project consisting of a television documentary, a three-volume set of double albums, and a book describing the history of the Beatles. Beatles members Paul McCartney, George Harrison and R ...

'' TV project, and appeared in the 1997 film '' Spiceworld'' as a musical director. In 2009, Holland commissioned TV series ''

Bangla Bangers ''Bangla Bangers'', later followed by sequel-series ''Chop Shop: London Garage'', was a reality program on the Discovery Channel about Bangladeshi coachbuilder Nizamuddin "Leepu" Awlia and Cockney mechanic Bernie Fineman. In every episode the ...

'' (''Chop Shop'') to create a replica of the

Rover JET1 The Rover JET1 was a gas turbine car originally built in Solihull in 1949/1950 by the Rover Company, and modified to a more aerodynamic style in 1952. It held a world speed record for a gas turbine-powered car in 1952 with a speed of 152.691&nb ...

for personal use. Holland has previously owned cats. in 2018, Holland became the President of the British Watch & Clock Makers Guild.

Writing

His 2007 autobiography, ''Barefaced Lies and Boogie-Woogie Boasts'', was

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

"Book of the Week" in the week beginning 8 October 2007 and was read by Holland.

Discography

Albums which charted and received certifications

Releases

Film and television

Current television programmes

* 1992–present '' Later... with Jools Holland'' * 1993–present ''

'' *2020–present ''

Celebrity Gogglebox ''Gogglebox'' is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for thei ...

'' with ''

Vic Reeves James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), better known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, artist, surrealist, musician, actor and television presenter, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mortimer. ...

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 Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.''Jools Holland''
(BBC Radio 2)
''Later...with Jools Holland''
(BBC Two) {{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Jools 1958 births Living people Boogie-woogie pianists English rock pianists English new wave musicians English television presenters Officers of the Order of the British Empire English bandleaders Squeeze (band) members I.R.S. Records artists People from Blackheath, London BBC Radio 2 presenters Deputy Lieutenants of Kent British people of Irish descent English people of Irish descent Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra members East West Records artists