Jools Holland, OBE – born Julian Holland on January 24, 1958, in London, England – is best known as a television host and founding member of British pop band Squeeze. As a founding member of Squeeze in 1974, his lively piano playing, and irrepressible personality played a key role in their reign of success through the 1970s. After the enormous success of Squeeze’s 1980 album Argybargy, he left the band to form his own group, Jools Holland and His Millionaires. In addition to launching his solo career, Holland earned his first experience as a TV presenter on rock variety show The Tube and guested on records by other artists before forming the Jools Holland Big Band in 1987, which focused on jazz and R&B music. He started presenting the musically eclectic show Later... with Jools Holland - and its acclaimed annual offshoot New Year show Hootenanny - in 1992, playing piano with many of the show's guests, while also continuing to tour and record with his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. Jools Holland also returned to Squeeze for three albums released between 1985 and 1989. His solo albums, which feature musical and vocal assistance by many of his famous musical friends, include Lift the Lid (1997), Beatroute (2005), Best of Friends (2007), Rockinghorse (2010), Sirens of Song (2014), Piano (2016), As You See Me Now (2017), and Lovely Life to Live (2018). His Pianola: Piano & Friends (2021) found him collaborating with musicians spanning generations and genres including Tom Jones, Dr. John, Herbie Hancock, Booker T, Lang Lang, David Gilmour, Gregory Porter, and Rick Wakeman. He’s also recorded full collaborative albums with artists such as Ruby Turner, Marc Almond, and Tom Jones. Jools Holland was honored with an OBE in 2003 in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for services to the British music industry as a television presenter and musician. Other honors throughout his career include an honorary fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University (2009) and was appointed honorary colonel of 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment in 2011.
