Jools Holland

Jools Holland And His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra with special guest star Roachford plus guest vocalists Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall and Sumudu Jayatilaka have confirmed a concert date at 3Arena, Dublin on 8th June 2026.

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.

Jools' colourful autobiography, Barefaced Lies & Boogie-Woogie Boasts, hit the shelves on 4th October 2007 (published by Michael Joseph Ltd.); the paperback was published in the summer of 2008.

2009 saw the collaboration between Jools & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra with Eddi Reader on tracks for (and a cameo role in) the movie Me & Orson Welles, starring Claire Danes (Romeo & Juliet, Homeland) and Zac Efron (High School Musical, The Lucky One). Available on DVD, it was directed by Richard Linklater (School of Rock, Dazed & Confused). Jools and the Orchestra with Eddi Reader perform Let's Pretend There's A Moon, I Surrender Dear, and You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It) on the Soundtrack album (Decca/Universal Records).

One of Jools' personal 2010 highlights was the Sony Radio Academy Silver Award for 'Best Specialist Music Programme' presented to his highly-acclaimed and eclectic BBC Radio 2 Show. The show ran for 20 years. 2010 saw a further prestigious achievement: the Sony Gold award for 'Music Broadcaster Of The Year'.

In the same year, Jools took on the very challenging role of Music Curator for Prince Charles' September 2010 green initiative START, a festival in the heart of London to raise awareness on all environmental issues. Jools graced the event with a special performance, backed by his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

He also had the privilege of being part of the stellar line-up at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert, set against the spectacular backdrop of Buckingham Palace, on Monday 4th June 2012.

On Friday 1st September 2017, BBC Proms celebrated The Sound of Soul: Stax Records with a very special night at the Royal Albert Hall. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stax/Volt Revue's first tour of the UK, Booker T. Jones and Sam Moore, both of whom were part of the 1967 tour, joined Stax artists William Bell, Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, and special guests Sir Tom Jones, Beverley Knight, James Morrison and Ruby Turner in a magical concert underpinned by Jools and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

 

In 2019, Jools Holland joined forces with Jim Moir – best known as British comedy star and artist Vic Reeves – for a brand-new podcast: Jools and Jim's Joyride. Launched at the beginning of 2021, the irreverent comedy pairing has been joined by a raft of weekly celebrity guests as Jools and Jim buckled up and hit the road, chattering about transport, travel, trips and general tittle-tattle to unravel the inner psyche of each guest. Fuelled by Jim and Jools' long-term love of motoring, Joyride features a huge range of celebrity talent and their eclectic tales of travel. The 6-series podcast is available on all streaming platforms.

On 22nd June 2022, Jools and The Rhythm & Blues Orchestra 'Raised The Roof' of the Royal Albert Hall with a very special star-studded show in aid of Prostate Cancer UK.

In 2022/2023 Jools Holland the R&B Orchestra were honoured to collaborate with Sir Rod Stewart on the album Swing Fever, a 13-track sparkling salute to the timeless songs of the big band years. The album went straight to the top spot in the UK album charts, rewarding Jools with his first No. 1 album of his music career.

Jools has also been working with BBC Radio 3 on a new programme called Earlier with…Jools Holland, where he shares his love and knowledge of classical music.