R&B/Urban Soul
Venue
Venue
Jools Holland OBE DL was born Julian Miles Holland on 24th January 1958 in Blackheath, Southeast London. At the age of eight, he could play the piano fluently by ear, and by the time he reached his early teens he was proficient and confident enough to be appearing regularly in many of the pubs in South East London and the East End Docks.
At the age of 15, Jools was introduced to Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford; together they formed Squeeze, and shortly afterwards they were joined by Gilson Lavis (who had already played with, among others, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, and Max Wall) – who still drums with Jools.
In 1987, Jools formed The Jools Holland Big Band – comprising himself and Gilson Lavis. This has gradually metamorphosed into the current 19-piece Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, which consists of pianist, organist, drummer, three female vocals, guitar, bass guitar, two tenor saxophones, two alto saxophones, baritone saxophone, three trumpets, and three trombones.
As well as formidable live performances, Jools has maintained a prolific recording career since signing to Warner Music in 1996, which includes the multimillion selling Jools Holland and Friends series. Notable 'friends' have included Sting, Chrissie Hynde, George Harrison, Norah Jones, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Bono, Joe Strummer, KT Tunstall, Robert Plant, Smokey Robinson, Kylie, Marc Almond, Ringo Starr, Peter Gabriel, Solomon Burke, and many more.
Jools' career as a television presenter has run parallel to his musical career. After presenting two series of Juke Box Jury in 1989 and then 26 shows of The Happening in 1990, Jools was asked in 1992 to host a new music programme for BBC2, which combined his talent and experience as a musician with his skills as a TV presenter. This was Later... with Jools Holland.
Jools' achievements were formally recognized in June 2003, when he was awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
As always Jools, his band and the singers were on top form. Marc Almond was a real treat, my favourite was Toby Lee. What an amazing talent at just 19, I'll definitely keep a look out for your dates.
Really enjoyed the show - Jools incredibly musically gifted opened the floor to highlight members of his band and there exteriorise. Really wanted to hear Toby Lee sing but he'd lost his voice, however we were blessed to hear him play guitar with Jools which was amazing. A great evening of entertainment. Ruby Turner was amazing too, she gave her all.
A fantastic concert as always - special guests Toby Lee and Marc Almond were amazing. Toby has the world ahead of him, his playing was outstanding. Marc always delivers. Ruby, Sumudu and Louise were as good as ever and the whole evening was completely enjoyable. Will be booking for next year without fail. Thank you
Absolutely brilliant evening with great guests and superb music all night long , my first time of seeing jools and his orchestra and won't be my last
A fabulous full show with amazing guests just a shame the venue had speaker issues!!
Another fantastic night with Jools and his Guests Toby Kee was fantastic , as always Ruby brought the Church and blew the roof off Can't wait till next year
A wonderful night once again with Jools and his incredible orchestra and guests with one exception - Marc Almond. His first 2 numbers were sadly out of key, he improved a little with Tainted Love, but even he was aware of his performance taking the microphone away from his mouth on the big notes so the audience could drown/help him out!! So sad when this happens. However we didn't let that detract from the wonderful entertainment provided by his younger soloists and the magnificent Ruby Turner who lived up to her name in so far as she is maturing beautifully into the full bodied, incredible performer she is. What a night.
The show was absolutely brilliant from start to finish and had everyone dancing and joining in. talk about being able to paly the piano Jools can make it sing. The whole show was vibrant from the very start with all his very talented guests. A show not to be missed.
We've seen Jools and his orchestra many times but we feel last night's performance was probably the best We've seen. Well done and congratulations to all concerned!
We have seen Jools Holland on a number of occasions. Last night was a stand out performance. All the performers were superb. We appreciated that all the band members were given the opportunity to do a solo performance. Ruby Turner was, as ever, exceptional!!! Jools is the perfect host to a wonderful evening
