''Later... with Jools Holland'' (also known as ''Even Later... with Jools Holland'', and previously known as ''Later Live... with Jools Holland'' and ''...Later with Jools Holland'') is a contemporary British music television show hosted by
Jools Holland
Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...
. A spin-off of ''
The Late Show'', it has been running in short series since 8 October 1992 and is now part of
BBC Two
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 a ...
's ''Saturday Night Music'' block, usually broadcast at around 10pm The day of transmission has varied over the years, but it is usually recorded on a Tuesday for Saturday broadcast
and features a mixture of both established and new musical artists, from solo performers to bands and larger
ensembles.
The show is considered an institution, having notched up millions of fans around the world. It is currently broadcast in America on
MTV Live (formerly known as
Palladia); previously it had been shown on
Ovation,
BBC America,
Fuse
Fuse or FUSE may refer to:
Devices
* Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current
** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles
* Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...
, and
Dave Dave may refer to:
Film, television, and theater
* ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver
* ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film
* Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...
. The Ovation and Fuse broadcasts leave out several performances (and usually one or two performers entirely) to air commercials within a one-hour timeslot. It is also shown in Australia on the UKTV channel and
ABC2, in Canada on
HIFI and
AUX TV, in Germany on
ZDFkultur
ZDFkultur (stylized as zdf.kultur) was a German free-to-air television channel owned by ZDF. It was launched on 7 May 2011, replacing ZDF theaterkanal. It mainly broadcast music shows, such as '' Later... with Jools Holland'', pop concerts and ...
, in Spain on
Canal+ Xtra, in
Croatia
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, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capi ...
on
HRT 2, in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...
on Film&Arts and in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, France,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
on iConcerts HD, and in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
on
TG4.
The 200th programme was broadcast on 1 February 2008.
[
] The 250th edition was broadcast in September 2010.
Programme format
''Later...'' draws from a diverse palette of both
popular and
world music, and each show features around five bands with a variety of styles performing for each other and a
studio audience of around 300 people. Jools Holland introduces the show and interviews one or more of the performers. A unique feature is the short
jam session that begins each show, involving all of his invited guests, along with Holland on piano. This beginning jam session also best shows the unusual layout of the set – all the bands are arrayed in a circle with the audience filling in the gaps between them. Holland often also accompanies his guests' performances, with mixed results –
Mark E. Smith of
the Fall insisted that he would only appear on the show if Holland would promise not to play piano over any of his songs.
Over time, these jam sessions have changed - the end of the hour-long show ends with a jam session now - and Jools accompanies relatively few artists in comparison to earlier seasons.
On 1 April 2008, a new format was debuted, featuring a 30-minute, fully live show broadcast on a Tuesday, ''Later Live... with Jools Holland'', followed by the original hour-long pre-recorded show, ''Later... with Jools Holland'', typically broadcast on a Friday. The Friday show features the performances recorded on a Tuesday as well as others recorded during the session for the live show. The HD hour-long broadcasts use
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dolby Digital, originally synonymous with Dolby AC-3, is the name for what has now become a family of audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. Formerly named Dolby Stereo Digital until 1995, the audio compression is lossy ...
, which adds to the overall ambience of the studio environment. For Series 51, the hour-long show was moved to Saturday nights, seemingly to accommodate the new BBC One show, ''
Sounds Like Friday Night''.
After the 2012 closure of
BBC Television Centre for redevelopment, production from April 2013 moved to Studio 1 at
The Maidstone Studios
The Maidstone Studios, formerly called TVS Television Centre, is the UK's largest independent television studio complex, and is based at Vinters Park in Maidstone, Kent, UK. It has been home to a varied selection of independent British televisi ...
, close to Holland's home in
Cooling, Kent.
2018 tendering process
''Later...'' and ''
Jools' Annual Hootenanny'' were opened up to tender in 2018, with the contract to produce the show being retained by BBC Studios. A number of changes were made to the show's format, with the 60-minute show having a more relaxed feel, including "bespoke films and backstage interviews". Each 60-minute programme also saw Holland joined by a special guest to co-host. The October 2019 series of the programme saw it return to
Television Centre, where it was filmed until 2012. It is filmed in TC1, the largest studio on the site.
As of Series 54 both editions are pre-recorded: the 30 minute edition airs Thursday night at 10pm, with the 60 minute ''Even Later'' edition airing Friday night, usually at around 11 pm to 12 midnight, as part of BBC Two's post-''Newsnight'' late-night line-up.
In 2020, the format was changed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, with Holland introducing guests via videolink from his Helicon Mountain home studio and the programme becoming 45 minutes in length, as ''Newsnight'' was now starting at 10:45pm.
After a number of years where the show had been broadcast on Tuesday and Friday nights, in October 2021, series 59 started to be broadcast on a Saturday, still in a 45 minute format, at around 10pm, as part of a schedule block devoted to music programming. In 2022, the programme moved from Helicon Mountain to a permanent location at the restored
Alexandra Palace Theatre in North London, with Wet Leg, Joe Bonamassa and Cat Burns appearing on the first episode recorded at the theatre, which was episode one of series 60.
Special editions
Occasional special editions of the show showcase a major artist under the ''Later...'' banner, with the ''Later presents...'' title. Artists featured in these shows have included
Alice in Chains in 1992,
Paul Weller and
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
in 1996,
R.E.M. and
the Verve in 1998,
Oasis in 2000,
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass ...
in 2001 and 2007, and the
Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2007. The bands in question play for the duration of the hour-long show. Despite the different name, the show is still introduced by Jools Holland and takes place in a similarly set-up studio.
The special episode featuring
M People in 1998 was later released on video and DVD under the title ''One Night in Heaven''. Also, a selection of the songs from the programme have been released on the limited edition of ''
The Best of M People'' album and as a b-side to the single "
Dreaming".
Special editions broadcast on New Year's Eve each year are referred to as ''Jools Holland's
Hootenanny'' and are pre-recorded, typically in early December.
In 2003 a 'Spring Hootenanny' was broadcast, which proved to be a one-off.
In 2017, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show, a ''Later 25'' show was held at London's
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
- it was recorded on 21 September 2017 and broadcast two days later on the 23rd. The setup was roughly similar, with bands located around the arena of the Hall with some artists also on the stage. The 2 hour long show featured 10 artists.
Repeated excerpts from the show were broadcast under the title ''A Little Later'' as fill-in programmes on
BBC HD, while in 2022, BBC Four had a number of new ''Later'' compilations made for the channel, themed around various musical genres like pop or musical collaborations.
On 12 November 2022 a special "30th Birthday Bash" programme, recorded at London’s
Eventim Apollo
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ham ...
in London, was broadcast on BBC 2. It was followed by the special "The A-Z of ''Later... with Jools Holland: From Adele to ZZ Top'', narrated by comedian
Paul Whitehouse.
Criticism
In 2008, the head rock and pop critic of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'',
Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...
, claimed the programme featured a "distinct lack of spontaneity" and was failing to showcase enough dance music, pop, hip-hop, experimental music or present R&B artists. He also argued "all the artists it breaks are essentially the same:
MOR singer-songwriters".
In 2010,
Joe Elliott
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...
, lead singer of rock band
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
, criticised the programme for excluding the band from appearing on it, claiming "Jools Holland won't have us on his show because we're not
cool enough."
Accolades
In 2000, the series was ranked at number 81 in the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
's list of the "
BFI TV 100", listing the top 100 British television programmes of the 20th century.
Discography
Numerous albums containing performances from the show have been released over the course of the show's run.
*1996 ''...Later Volume One: Brit Beat''
*1996 ''...Later with Jools Holland Volume Two: Slow Beats''
*2008 ''Later... with Jools Holland The First 15 Years''
*2008 ''Later... with Jools Holland Live''
*2009 ''Later... with Jools Holland Live 2''
Music DVDs have also been released, listed below:
*2003 ''Later... with Jools Holland Hootenanny''
*2003 ''Later... with Jools Holland Giants''
*2003 ''Later... with Jools Holland Louder''
*2005 ''Later... with Jools Holland Even Louder''
*2005 ''Later with Jools Holland: World''
*2006 ''Later... with Jools Holland Mellow''
*2006 ''Best of Later... with Jools Holland''
*2008 ''Later... with Jools Holland The First 15 Years''
*Two DVDs subtitled ''Cool Britannia''
Shows
See also
*
The Tube
References
External links
*
''A Little Later''*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Later with Jools Holland
BBC high definition shows
BBC Television shows
BBC television talk shows
1992 British television series debuts
1990s British music television series
2000s British music television series
2010s British music television series
2020s British music television series
English-language television shows
Television series by BBC Studios