Why Jools still rules (with a little help from a royal friend)
WhAT does it mean to be called a national treasure? Jools holland has been pondering that very thing, since he was declared exactly that — and by none other than the Prince of Wales, which presumably makes it official.
‘At first, you think “that’s nice”, but then you think “national treasure?” When I think of national treasures, I think of buildings, or places like Stonehenge — craggy, stoneyfaced things you have to pay £50 to look at. I’m kind of waiting for the National Trust to slap a plaque on me.’
Still, even though he looks less craggy and stoney-faced than you might expect after 35-odd years in showbiz, he’s managed to find some interesting parallels with our historic buildings.
‘Most national treasures, like the Tower of London, are not being used for their original purpose. Stonehenge is lost in the mists of time. Maybe you could say the same about me. I’m not sure what the original purpose of me was, but I’m not sure it was this.’
By ‘this’, he means his current status, which is indefinable. The former frontman of Squeeze, Jools, 54, tours with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. But it was his work as a TV presenter — fronting The Tube with the late Paula Yates — that made him a household name.
his TV career might have come to an end before it had begun when he was suspended for swearing on air (a huge scandal in those days), but he has gone on to carve himself a unique role, fronting Later With Jools holland, where anyone who is anyone in the music business seems to fall over themselves to appear, often alongside obscure and eccentric folk acts.
he has been called both the nicest man in showbiz and the best connected man in showbiz — with the two presumably being inextricably linked.
We meet at his recording studio complex in Greenwich, SouthEast London, near where he grew up. It is an eccentric warren of a place, modelled on Portmeirion, the Welsh village created for the Sixties TV drama The Prisoner.
he now lives in some splendour in Kent, and his home boasts turrets. he jokes of holding jousting contests. he once described himself as a ‘keen medievalist’, but says all periods of history fascinate him.
‘I rather like the idea of time travel. I love finding out about the world. I was on tour in Stuttgart and I took myself off on a bicycle, visiting the cathedral and museums. I was in my shorts with a camera round my neck, like a Sixties tourist. I love all that.’
It’s a bit anoraky, he agrees. ‘Some performers are the most uncool people you’ve ever met.’
There is a sense of modern history in the making within the walls of his studio. The names of many of those who have played with him are recorded on the walls. It’s like a Who’s Who of the entertainment world. Tom Jones, BB King, Eric Clapton, George harrison, Joe Strummer, Smokey Robinson, Bono.
Is there anyone he hasn’t been able to lure into either his recording or TV studio?
‘Aretha Franklin. She doesn’t like to fly. And I haven’t been able to get Bob Dylan on Later. he’s never been in the country at the right time and the BBC won’t pay to fly guests in.’
It seems no one appears on Later for the fee. he chuckles. ‘Nobody is paid any more than anybody else — they all just get Musicians’ Union rates.’ he has seen the biggest stars come and go. Yesterday, he was working on a song Amy Winehouse had recorded with him before she died. ‘ Do you know what surprised me? The voice. I’d forgotten how good it was. When people become as lionized as her, everything becomes about their lives. But the point of Amy was always her voice. It blew me away.’
he talks about the modern crop of TV talent shows who claim their aim is to discover the next Amy. ‘ Can you see an Amy Winehouse or a John Lee hooker in front of a panel of judges, asking what they think? They’d say: “Who cares what they think?” ’
What of The Voice, which makes much mileage of the not seeing contestant’s faces. ‘I thought it might have been good if we couldn’t see the judges. Except Tom Jones. I like him. But seriously, I like the format. But I don’t like the blubbering. If someone started blubbering on my show, I’d be mortified.’
he’s much too polite ( or clever) to disparage anyone he has worked with, but he does say the old showbiz adage about the bigger the star, the nicer the person, tends to be true. ‘Paul McCartney is so easy to deal with. he has time for the other musicians; he is humble.’
And others aren’t? ‘ We have had people on who get a little, shall we say, tired.’
The curious thing about Jools is how he has managed to collect friends and acquaintances across all stratas. he still drinks with friends he grew up with, cites Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as mates, and is married to Christabel McEwen, who comes from a landed Scottish family.
his royal association began when he duetted with Princess Diana after a charity event. he got involved with the Prince’s Trust charity and has been close to Prince Charles ever since.
‘I’ve seen what he does first hand, and he impresses me. The thing about Prince Charles is he is not a phoney. he genuinely cares about the problems we are facing. I think he is ahead of his time in a lot of things, particularly the environment.’
HAS he always been a royalist? he says he recently saw footage of the young Jools performing at a Silver Jubilee street party in 1977. ‘Everyone was a royalist in South London then, especially the gangsters. It was all “Laaave the Queen”.’
Would the young Jools holland ever have imagined he would one day be moving in royal circles?
‘We were more concerned about getting free beer, or a snog.’
he says he was obsessive about his music aged eight, when he heard his uncle play jazz. By 15 — self-taught — he was playing in pubs. he wonders how different it would be had he been starting out today. ‘ My talent would probably have been picked up. Maybe I would have been directed somewhere. But I learned the way my heroes did — by ear.’
he was a nerdy teenager. he remembers having a motorcycle frame in his bedroom ‘to impress the girls’. ‘It didn’t work. And it didn’t impress the bikers either because it was a c**p bike.’ The piano did help, though. ‘Billy Joel once said that when he played Moonlight Sonata, all the girls wanted to talk to him. I would say the same. You weren’t particularly interesting, but the music made you interesting. I still think that is true.’
JOOLS HOLLAND and his rhythm & Blues Orchestra are on tour in the uk. For tickets, visit joolsholland.com/ tourdates.htm