He’d been the keyboardist in Squeeze, but many teenagers of the early 1980s didn’t really get a taste of who Jools Holland was until he barged his way to the forefront of youth culture TV as a main presenter on The Tube.
The Tube exploded onto UK screens in early November 1982 as a flagship programme for the brand new alternative channel – Channel 4. As its name suggests, ‘4 was only the fourth TV channel to join the UK’s broadcasting network.
The show was disorganised, but game changing in its packaging of youth-targeted entertainment. And Holland, alongside his main co-host Paula Yates, exuded irreverence, swagger, clownery and banter. And then, one evening amid this live extravaganza of chaotic, WTF presenting, he sat down in front of a piano and did a personalisation of the instrumental version of Billy Taylor’s I Wish I Knew.
It was one of those moments where you’re just floored. To see a young, gaffe-happy presenter deliver a gospel/jazz piano classic, completely solo, with spectacular garnish and immense sensitivity to the style, was just too contradictory to make sense.
Holland rarely played piano on The Tube, and in ’87 the programme ended in a blaze of ignominy when he inadvertently used the F-word on early evening television. But on his subsequent TV shows, the sight of him sitting in front of a grand to belt out high-octane boogie-woogie, blues or jazz became much more familiar. An obsessive fan of the New Orleans piano style, he ultimately transitioned in the public perception from “the guy who got thrown off TV for swearing in front of the kids”, to one of the most respected and accomplished musicians in regular TV work.
Off screen he was touring relentlessly with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, and this cassette – Live Performance – preserves the brilliance of the ensemble amid a 10-night residency at Edinburgh’s Queens Hall in August 1994.
It’s very exciting, and it’s got one of the longest cassette inlays I think I’ve ever seen. There are twelve case-lengths of paper in all, one of which suggests you cut it all up with scissors and make a puppet theatre out of it. Then apply to the fan club to get a new one.
Predicatbly, the set opens with a storming version of Bumble Boogie, and it includes a fave of mine – the New Orleans celebration Doctor Jazz, which Jools also used to play with Squeeze. Another highlight is Jools’ brother Christopher Holland’s performance of I Saw The Light. After which Jools describes Christopher as “Disadvantaged, because I used to punch him”.
If I were going to suggest one album which really sums up the humour, personality and remarkable musical talent of Jools Holland, it would be this live humdinger. If you need an instant dose of feelgood, this is a perfect solution.
Tape Tardis 