Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra coming to the Villa Marina
Special Guests
Wed 23rd June - Alison Moyet - Click here for more information
Thu 24th June - Dave Edmunds - Click here for more information
About the Show
Jools Holland OBE is coming to the Isle of Man on 23rd & 24th June 2010 with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and all the regular guests including Gilson Lavis, Ruby Turner and Louise Marshall.
Jools Holland, OBE was born Julian Miles Holland on January 24, 1958 in Blackheath, South East 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, BB 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 18-piece Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, which consists of one pianist, one drummer, two female vocals, one guitar, one bass guitar, two tenor saxophones, two alto saxophones, one baritone saxophone, three trumpets, and four trombones.
A big fan of the cult 1960’s show The Prisoner, Jools’ inspiration for Helicon Mountain – the studio complex he designed and built – was Portmeirion, the setting for the TV series. Jools demonstrated his love of the series and starred in a spoof documentary, The Laughing Prisoner, with Stephen Fry, Terrence Alexander and Hugh Laurie, in 1993.
Gilson Lavis, has achieved legendary status in the world of drumming through a career that has spanned 5 decades of remarkable success, earning him the reputation of being one of the most talented and respected drummers in the entertainment industry. Gilson is currently working with his lifetime friend and colleague Jools Holland in the hugely successful Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.
Ruby Turner "Truly the genuine article and blessed with a voice that has been likened to Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin, Ruby can breathe life and meaning into a song whether it is a passionate soaring ballad or a soulful up-tempo groove" {The Guardian, Feb2002}
Ruby is currently performing her own gigs along with touring the country with Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra as his very special guest. Jools Holland features tracks by Ruby on his last three “Jools Holland & Friends” Platinum-selling albums - “Nobody but you”, “Count me in" and “When I get home”.
Louise Marshall was born in Oldham, Lancashire and started singing at the age of 15months old and playing the piano at 3 and truly loves performing. Her musical styles stem right through from Classical, singing and conducting The National Youth Choir of GB to Jazz at Ronnie Scott’s and The Jazz Café. Numerous film soundtracks, ‘Troy’, “Ray’, and ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and a handful of West End shows such as “Jesus Christ Superstar’, ‘Soul Train’ and ‘The Genius of Ray’ and Louise is also part of the Dance and Pop World where she performed on Top of The Pops singing ‘Right On’ by Silicone Soul’.
Full biography for Jools Holland is available on his website www.joolsholland.com
