Jools Holland, OBE DL, is a musical legend and wellloved TV host who doesn’t need an introduction.
The founding member of new-wave band Squeeze makes his talent look simple. Despite the countless accolades, impressive achievements and his status as one of the most popular pianists and bandleaders in the UK, Jools is astonishingly humble.
“I do think to myself sometimes I just can’t quite believe all the people I have met,” he says. “People I have learnt from, admired or been up close to, I have been so fortunate and blessed; I really mean that.”
Born Julian Miles Holland in January 1958 in Blackheath, he grew up in Greenwich but had relatives in Gravesend and friends and family in Canterbury too, so Kent was familiar territory from a young age.
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 pubs in south-east London and the East End Docks.
As the music maestro says: “A piano is sort of a friend in the living room; you hit it and you are never quite sure what noise is going to come out. Ever since I was a small child, this is what I have done on my grandma’s piano in her front room.”
This spring he is once again on the road with The Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, who will be taking their popular annual tour around the UK.
Denne historien er fra April 2020-utgaven av Kent Life.
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Denne historien er fra April 2020-utgaven av Kent Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The choice of leaders
It’s a small, scenic Kentish market town on the border with Surrey, famous for not one but two great leaders. We take a look around Westerham
The eco-warriors
Awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2019 in recognition of its research in global nature conservation, the role of Kent-based DICE has never been more relevant
Kent's most CURIOUS MONUMENTS
Our county can boast some of the most celebrated and downright unusual protected mouments in the country
Ghosts of a river's life
Kent Life discovers an an other-worldliness about the marshes, creeks, and saltings of the lower reaches of the river Medway
The return of the son
The Unknown Warrior’s journey from the World War One battlefields via Dover to his resting place in Westminster Abbey is 100 years old this month
We will remember
In a year when we got an inkling of what living through a war means, we remember the 75th anniversary of the end of the Great War
Age-old advice
Just become a grandparent for the first time? Perhaps you need a little guidance, so here are some top tips about how to embrace your new family role
10 GOOD REASONS TO VISIT Medway Towns
A vast Dockyard, a Napoleonic fort and a JCB diggers theme park - let’s visit Chatham and Medway
KENT'S CREEPIEST- GHOST STORIES
Here are 10 tales to make you shiver as we celebrate All Hallows’ Eve
Joking apart
From his home in Broadstairs, Royston Robertson comes up with satirical, topical and sometimes just plain silly cartoons
