A ''lead single'' is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.

During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less commercial appeal on a single ten-inch 78 RPM shellac record. After the launch of the long-playing microgroove record in 1948 and the arrival of the 45rpm single the following year, singles continued to appear separately from albums into the 1960s. For instance, the early rock and roll market of the 1950s and early 1960s was very much focused on singles rather than albums. Songs such as "Heartbreak Hotel," "Johnny B. Goode," and "Tutti Frutti" only appeared later on album compilations of singles. Even through the 1960s, leading rock artists such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones issued songs such as "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Penny Lane," "Good Vibrations," "Positively 4th Street," and "Honky Tonk Women" as singles apart from any contemporary albums.

This changed in the 1970s as the popular music industry shifted to the album as its main profit center. Singles became advertisements for an album, the lead single conceptually defined as a foretaste of the album to come. On average a lead single will appear approximately one month before the album's release date. "Go Your Own Way" from ''Rumours'', "Miss You" from ''Some Girls'', and "The Girl Is Mine" from ''Thriller'' all roughly follow this pattern. This has become a common practice through the twenty-first century for album-oriented recording artists.

Lead singles are often a deciding factor for consumers debating purchase of a still unissued album, and the choosing of which track from an album to be issued as the lead single can be crucial to the album's commercial success. The standard rejoinder for record company executives, when presented with an album of dubious commercial potential, is "I don't hear the single."

In the 2000s, a common trend developed to release a lead single months in advance of the album release date. It has equally become common for a second lead single to be also released before the release of the album. Usher issued the lead single "Love in this Club" four months prior to the May 29 release of ''Here I Stand''. The second single "Love in This Club, Pt. II" was released one month before the album release date. This has precedents in the past, however: "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" by Elton John appeared three months ahead of ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road''. Rock bands tend to release a lead single one month prior to the release of an album.

Currently, in the US as well as many other countries, artists will choose songs that are more up-tempo as lead singles. Such songs are often catchier and attract attention, although the subsequent lead single might be slower in tempo to demonstrate the range of the album. Female vocalists like Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera often maintain a formula of an up-tempo first lead single with a slow ballad follow-up. This was a successful practice of 1980s heavy metal bands. However, not all artists decide to choose their lead single with the up-tempo criteria. Artists may release a lead single that has a message they want to convey to listeners over a song with more commercial potential, such as Fall Out Boy's choice to release "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" over the radio friendly "Thnks fr th Mmrs".

Japanese artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro and B'z release may release four to eight singles prior to their albums in order to achieve record-breaking debut-week sales. The lead singles in Japan are very heavily advertised and promoted, in some cases even more than the album itself. With album sales declining year after year, record labels are taking advantage of a booming singles market, online retail stores iTunes and others encouraging record labels to release singles in advance as they are available to consumers in the United States for the small investment of only 99 cents. This trend has become increasingly popular in many markets.

Category:Single types Category:Music industry

mk:Водечки сингл simple:Lead single sv:Ledande singel

Coordinates	23°33′″N46°38′″N
Name	Rita Ora
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Rita Sahatçiu Ora
Born	November 26, 1990 Pristina, SFR Yugoslavia
Origin	Pristina, Kosovo
Instrument	Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano
Genre	R&B;, pop, neo soul
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, actress
Years active	2004–present
Label	Roc Nation
Website
Notable instruments	}}

Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born November 26, 1990) better known as Rita Ora, is a Albanian British mezzo-soprano, recording artist, and actress. Rita Ora is signed to Roc Nation. She is of Kosovar Albanian ethnicity.

Biography

Early life and career beginnings

Rita Ora moved to the United Kingdom the same year of her birth. She grew up in London and attended St Cuthbert with St Matthias CE Primary School in Earls Court, following which she graduated from Sylvia Young Theatre School and then St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College. She began singing from a young age. In 2004, she appeared in the movie ''Spivs''. She auditioned for ''Eurovision: Your Country Needs You'' on BBC One for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest and qualified, but later withdrew from the competition as she did not feel ready.

In 2007, Ora had her first taste of music when she appeared on Craig David's track entitled "Awkward" and then again in 2008 on "Where's Your Love" featuring Tinchy Stryder, for which she also appears in the music video. Ora began singing in bars and in 2009 a A&R; told Roc Nation about Ora, a few days after Ora flew out to New York and met Jay Z. In 2009, Ora made a cameo on Jay-Z's video for "Young Forever" and Over by Drake. Ora caught the attention of Jay-Z and he quietly signed her to Roc Nation, in which she was featured in a commercial for Roc Nation + Skullcandy Aviator Headphones. She has been predicted as a Future Star by This Must Be Pop.

2011–present: debut album

Throughout 2011, Ora released viral videos of herself working on her debut album.

On December 14, 2011 Ora released "Hot Right Now" (featuring DJ Fresh) on YouTube. The video has had almost 10,000,000 views.

She has been recording her first studio album for two years Will.I.Am, Ester Dean, Drake, The-Dream, and Stargate are all working with Ora on her debut album. Ora spoke on working with Drake on her debut saying “He’s given me some great songs which I was honored to take.” When Ora spoke on the album she said "The crazy thing is I wanted the album to sound exactly like the subway, almost as if its just so free and raw". She also announced that a British artist would be the only feature on the album, stating ''There's only one feature, a British artist. It's nice to keep in our little British family''. The artist was later revealed to be rapper Tinie Tempah. Rita has also been working with Kanye West saying, “Kanye is very much a genius. He’s a talent beyond belief,” shared Rita. “We’ve done some things together, but I might save it for the next album.” Ora spoke about the sound of the album and her main influences for it. “It definitely has pop in it, but I love soul music and I love my jazz music and I love all genres,”. “You can hear influences of jazz in there, you can hear influences of Monica and Aaliyah, and then you can hear Gwen Stefani.”

In a interview Ora confirmed some or the titles of the tracks to be featured on her debut. The first she confirmed was Rock the Life "which is about having no boundaries in life" , the single song Love at War "it's a very simple track, it's literally just a beat and my voice".

On February 24, 2012, Ora visited New York's Z100 radio station alongside her Roc Nation label boss Jay-Z, to premiere "How We Do (Party)," her debut single and the lead single from her upcoming studio album. "How We Do (Party)" borrows its familiar refrain from The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Party and Bullshit".

Ora released R.I.P featuring Tinie Tempah as her first UK single. R.I.P was written by Drake and produced by Chase & Status. The video was recording in Hackney, East London.

Artistry

Influences

Ora sites Gwen Stefani as her biggest influence, saying in a interview “Do you know how much I love that woman?” "I love everything about her". She also classes Beyonce Knowles as a major influence and a mentor, saying that both Knowles and Gwen Stefani are her two main role models and spoke of her admiration at being able to have one of her idols (Beyonce) give her feedback on her debut album. She also said in a interview " I love Vybz, I listen to a lot of dancehall".

Discography

Singles

+ List of singles, with selected chart positions	scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"	Title	Year	Peak chart positions				! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"	Album
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"		! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"
"How We Do (Party)"		—	—	—
scope="row">"R.I.P." (featuring Tinie Tempah)	—	—	—

As featured artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions				! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"	Album
		! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"

Cameo appearances

+ List of cameo appearances in music videos	Title	Year	Director(s)	Ref.
align="center"| "Over" (Drake)

Filmography

Film
! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
2004	rowspan="1"	Rosanna	First acting role
Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
2009	''Eurovision: Your Country Needs You''	Contestant	Contestant for the honor of representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

References

Notes

External links

Category:1990 births Category:Living people R Category:Mezzo-sopranos Category:Kosovar singers Category:British female singers Category:British film actors Category:British people of Kosovar descent Category:Kosovar Albanians Category:Kosovar people of Albanian descent Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Category:People from Pristina Category:People from London

sq:Rita Ora sv:Rita Ora

Coordinates	23°33′″N46°38′″N
Name	Petey Pablo
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Moses Barrett III
Origin	Greenville, North Carolina
associated acts	Busta Rhymes, Adam Madoun
Labels	Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Motown}}

Petey Pablo is best known for his hit singles "Raise Up" and "Freek-a-Leek" which both reached the Billboard 200 by 2002 and 2004.

Biography

Petey Pablo was arrested in Raleigh, North Carolina for armed robbery in June 1993 and sentenced to 14 years. He also lived in Pasquotank County, North Carolina.

He spent five years in prison and on his release moved to New York City, where he met Black Rob and Busta Rhymes, and, according to legend, was signed by the A&R; director of Jive Records after hearing him rapping in a club bathroom. After a few guest spots, his first solo single was "Raise Up" in 2001 at the age of 28, produced by Timbaland, followed by debut album ''Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry'' the same year. "Raise Up" was helped by rotation on MTV and heavy play on urban radio, reaching #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Rap Singles Chart.

He appeared as himself in Drumline (2002) (performing "Club Banger", "You Can Find Me", and "Raise Up/I Told Y'All"). The release of his second album, ''Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry'', was delayed until 2004. Lead single from the album, the sexually-explicit "Freek-a-Leek" was another major success, reaching #7 in the Hot 100, although little chart success followed. In 2005 Petey Pablo formed a relationship with Suge Knight, but never signed an official contract with his former label Death Row Records.

Barrett currently resides in the Raleigh suburb Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he is working under his own label: Carolina Music Group, or CMG.

In 2009, Petey Pablo collaborated with a music producer from Minnesota on a song title called "How Do You Know."

His new album, ''A&R;: Anticipated Recordings'' is scheduled to be released in 2011. He released the first single from the new album on July 22, 2010 entitled "Go", produced by Timbaland.

On September 11, 2010, he was arrested at RDU Airport after allegedly trying to carry a 9mm automatic pistol aboard a US Airways flight bound for Los Angeles.

Film career

In 2009 Petey played a character named B-Bone in the film "Just Another Day". The film is about the intersecting lives of an aspiring rapper and an old successful rapper over the course of one day. B-Bone is another successful rapper that has a beef with the successful rapper, A-maze.

In 2002 Petey played himself in the film "Drumline" nearing the end of the film.

Personal life

Petey Pablo has been married twice. He married Amy Caro on October 18, 2001. They have two children. His first marriage, from 1998 to 2000, was to Monica Brown.

Discography

;Studio albums

2001: ''Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry''

2004: ''Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry''

;Independent albums

2011: ''A&R;: Anticipated Recordings''

References

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=35&a;=465901

http://www.amazon.com/How-Do-You-Know/dp/B002ORTXAK/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid;=1282246839&sr;=301-1 §

http://www.postbulletin.com/entertainment/photo_gallery/image.asp?id=48&imageid;=104474 §

External links

[ Petey Pablo entry] at Allmusic

Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:American robbers Category:Death Row Records artists Category:Southern hip hop musicians Category:Date of birth missing (living people)

de:Petey Pablo es:Petey Pablo fr:Petey Pablo it:Petey Pablo nl:Petey Pablo pl:Petey Pablo fi:Petey Pablo

Coordinates	23°33′″N46°38′″N
name	Paolo Nutini
background	solo_singer
birth name	Paolo Giovanni Nutini
birth date	January 09, 1987
origin	Paisley, Scotland
instrument	Vocals, guitar
voice type	Baritone
genre	Pop rock, Blue eyed soul, folk, blues, Easy Listening,
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
years active	2005–present
label	Atlantic
website	}}

Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley. His father is of Italian descent, from Barga, Tuscany, although both his parents are Scottish, his family having been in Scotland for three generations.

Paolo Nutini's debut album, ''These Streets'', was released by Atlantic Records in the United Kingdom in July 2006 and included the singles "Last Request", "Jenny Don't Be Hasty", "Rewind" and "New Shoes". "Last Request", the most successful, reached number five on the UK Singles Chart. The album peaked at number three on the UK Album Chart and was certified 4× platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It has been in the album charts for a record-breaking 196 weeks.

In May 2009 Nutini released his second album, ''Sunny Side Up'', which debuted at number one in the UK and has produced four singles; "Candy", "Coming Up Easy", "Pencil Full of Lead" and "10/10". It has so far been certified 4x platinum by the BPI. On 19 February 2010, it scooped "Best International Album" at the 2010 Meteor Awards.

Musical career

Early life and breakthrough

Paolo Nutini was expecting to follow his father into the family fish and chip shop business. He was first encouraged to sing by his music-loving grandfather, Jackie, and a teacher at his school, St Andrews Academy, who recognised his talent. He left school to work as a roadie and to sell t-shirts for Speedway. He spent three years learning the music business and performing live. He later worked as a studio hand at Glasgow's Park Lane Studio.

His big chance came when he attended a concert staged by 102.5 Clyde 1 for David Sneddon's return to his home town of Paisley at the beginning of 2003. Sneddon was delayed, and as the winner of an impromptu pop quiz, Nutini was given the chance to perform a couple of songs on stage during the wait. The favourable reaction of the crowd impressed another member of the audience, Brendan Moon, who offered to become his manager. Brendan and his business partner Mike Bawden continue to manage Paolo. Only 17, Nutini moved to London and performed regularly at The Bedford pub in Balham. Other radio and live appearances followed, including two live acoustic spots on Radio London, The Hard Rock Cafe, and support slots for The Rolling Stones, Amy Winehouse and KT Tunstall.

When Nutini was young he was a member of PACE Youth Theatre

''These Streets'' (2006–2009)

Throughout 2006 Nutini played a number of sold-out concerts in the UK and performed at a wide variety of venues worldwide, including King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, a TV appearance on Later with Jools Holland, Carnegie Hall in New York, The Montreux Jazz Festival, The Wireless Festival, Oxegen and T in the Park. He supported the Rolling Stones in Vienna and was invited to appear with them again at the Don Valley Stadium in August 2006. He was also booked to appear at the V Festival and The Austin City Limits Music Festival, Texas later in 2006, with a European tour in the autumn. In May 2006, he also played at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Dundee.

On Hogmanay 2006, Nutini appeared on BBC Scotland's Hogmanay Live celebrations, after the official celebrations in Princes Street Gardens were cancelled at short notice due to abysmal weather. He performed several songs in the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle for the TV audience with little or no rehearsal.

On Wednesday 11 April 2007, Nutini performed in a concert that was streamed live via MSN Music.

Nutini performed at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2007 on the famous Pyramid Stage on the second day of the event. Nutini also performed at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium on 7 July 2007, with his set including a cover of "What A Wonderful World", a classic pop tune by Bob Thiele, George David Weiss, and George Douglas. He performed the following day at T in the Park, in Scotland. He performed at the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert on 10 December 2007, an event that drew enormous international attention as it was the first full live concert performance by Led Zeppelin in 27 years.

Scottish independent TV company Volt MediaFix made a one-off documentary of Nutini's US tour. The programme, for the BBC, was scheduled for broadcast on BBC2, on Thursday 7 June throughout Scotland and on Sky channel 990 throughout the rest of the UK.

Nutini's songs have infiltrated American TV shows as well. "Last Request" featured at the end of the ''Scrubs'' episode "My Words of Wisdom" from Season 6, the first-ever episode of "Gavin and Stacey," and the ''One Tree Hill'' Season-4 episode "The Birth and Death of the Day." "Million Faces" could be heard at the end of the ''Grey's Anatomy'' episode "Testing 1–2–3" from Season 3 and is on the Volume 3 Soundtrack. "Rewind" was played at the end of ''CSI: Miami'' Season-5 episode "Broken Home." "Jenny, Don't Be Hasty" was also featured on another member of the ''CSI'' franchise when it played on ''CSI: NY'''s Season-3-finale, "Snow Day". "New Shoes" featured in ''The Jane Austen Book Club'' and in a TV ad for Puma AG during summer 2008. On 24 July 2007, Nutini was awarded The Golden St. Christopher medal by the city of Barga in Italy, the highest honour the city can give, to celebrate his extraordinary contributions to Barga and its people. On 17 September, Nutini performed on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' performing "Last Request". In September 2007, Nutini recorded a short radio show with imeem.com where he listed his top 10 favourite tracks and the reasons behind his choices. In October 2007, Nutini performed for the annual Voodoo Fest held in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2008, Nutini's music was featured in a movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel ''Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance''. On New Year's Eve 2008–09, Nutini performed at the Hogmanay street parties in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland, becoming the first act to play both locations on the same day for the event. In The View's 2009 album ''Which Bitch?'', he is featured singing on the song "Covers."

''Sunny Side Up'' (2009–present)

On 1 June 2009, Nutini released his second studio album ''Sunny Side Up'', which debuted at number one. The first single from the album "Candy" was released on 25 May. In July, he appeared on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'', performing "Coming Up Easy". This was released as the second single to the album on 10 August and it debuted at number 62 in the UK Singles Chart on 16 August 2009. On 10 September 2009, Nutini performed "Coming Up Easy" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. The third single from the album was "Pencil Full of Lead".

The album received a mixed critical reception. Allmusic's Thom Jurek noted the move away from the sound of the debut album: "Nutini has taken huge chunks of America's (and Scotland's) pop and folk pasts and reshaped them in his own image," going on to describe it as "wise beyond this songwriter's years". Andy Gill of ''The Independent'' commented on Nutini's progress since his debut, saying the album "sees the singer making giant strides in several directions", and going on to say "don't be surprised if, come December, this is one of the year's biggest-selling albums." Neil McCormick of ''The Daily Telegraph'' was also positive, stating "his joyous second album organically blends soul, country, folk and the brash, horny energy of ragtime swing."

Some reviewers were less impressed. It was described by ''The Guardian'''s Caroline Sullivan as "not bad", with opening track "10/10" described as "jaunty enough to make you retch". Graeme Thompson of ''The Observer'' saw the album as an attempt by Nutini at "rebranding himself as a mongrel hybrid of John Martyn, Otis Redding and Bob Marley".

The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with sales of over 60,000 copies, fighting off strong competition from ''Love & War'', the debut album of fellow male solo artist Daniel Merriweather. The album performed similarly well on the Irish Albums Chart, debuting at number two behind Eminem's new album before rising to the top of the charts the week after.

The album has been one of the best UK album sales of the year. On the UK Albums Chart on the Week of Monday 19 Oct, the album move from number 31 to number 5, making the album sell more than The Saturdays second album. On 3 January 2010 ''Sunny Side Up'' topped the UK Album Charts for a second time, making the album the first Number one album in the United Kingdom of 2010 and the decade.

On 19 February 2010, Colin Farrell presented Nutini with "Best International Album" for ''Sunny Side Up'' at the 2010 Meteor Awards.

Paolo Nutini embarked on a world tour with his ''Sunny Side Up'' album. The band consisted of, in addition to Paolo: Donny Little-Guitars, Vocals Seamus Simon-Drums Michael McDaid-Bass, Keyboard Dave Nelson-Guitars, Keyboard, Vocals, Percussion Gavin Fitzjohn-Trumpet, Saxophone Ben Edwards - trumpet & flugelhorn, and Tom Pinder - trombone & sousaphone. The brass section are collectively known as the "Horns of Thunder" (a name formed by Paolo himself)

Recording history

Nutini made his first demo which saw him signed to Atlantic Records in May 2005, shortly after his 18th birthday. He released his first single "These Streets" as a free download in May 2006, this was then followed by his next single "Last Request" which was released on 4 July 2006 and charted at number 5 in the official UK charts. In the video for "Last Request", Nutini plays the part of a robber – though this is not revealed until the end. Nutini's third single, "Jenny Don't Be Hasty", was released on 25 September 2006 and got to number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. "Rewind" was Nutini's fourth single. It was released on 4 December 2006, and reached number 27 in the UK.

His debut album ''These Streets'', produced by Ken Nelson (who has also worked with Coldplay and Gomez), was released on 17 July 2006 and immediately entered the UK album charts at number three. Many of the songs on the album, including "Last Request" and "Rewind", were inspired by a turbulent relationship with his girlfriend Teri Brogan, and "Jenny Don't Be Hasty" is a true story about encounters with an older woman. ''These Streets'', as Paolo himself puts it on his official website, he states, "The album is a little glimpse of some of the experiences I have been through in the last three years". In late 2007 he covered Labi Siffre's "It Must Be Love" for BBC Radio 1's Radio 1 Established 1967 album.

His self-produced second album ''Sunny Side Up'' was released on 1 June 2009.

As of February 2011, Paolo Nutini was in the studio working on new material.

Discography

Albums

''These Streets'' (2006)

''Sunny Side Up'' (2009)

External links

Official Paolo Nutini website

"Singer Paulo Nutini headlined the Hogmanay bash..." ''eveningtimes.co.uk'', 1–1–09.

References

Category:1987 births Category:Scottish guitarists Category:Scottish male singers Category:Scottish people of Italian descent Category:Scottish rock singers Category:Living people Category:People from Paisley Category:Scottish Roman Catholics Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:Italian British musicians Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:People educated at St Andrews Academy

bg:Паоло Нутини cs:Paolo Nutini da:Paolo Nutini de:Paolo Nutini et:Paolo Nutini es:Paolo Nutini fr:Paolo Nutini hr:Paolo Nutini it:Paolo Nutini hu:Paolo Nutini nl:Paolo Nutini ja:パオロ・ヌティーニ no:Paolo Nutini pl:Paolo Nutini pt:Paolo Nutini ru:Нутини, Паоло fi:Paolo Nutini sv:Paolo Nutini th:เปาโล นูตินี tr:Paolo Nutini

Coordinates	23°33′″N46°38′″N
name	Jools Holland
background	solo_singer
birth name	Julian Miles Holland
birth date	January 24, 1958
birth place	Blackheath, London, England
instrument	Piano, keyboard, guitar
genre	Boogie-woogie, jazz, blues, R&B;
occupation	Musician, composer, television presenter, bandleader
years active	1974–present
associated acts	Squeeze Rhythm & Blues Orchestra
website	Official site }}

Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze (1974-1980 & 1985-1990) and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour, Magazine and Bono.

Holland is a published author and appears on television shows besides his own and contributes to radio shows. In 2004, he collaborated with Tom Jones on an album of traditional R&B; music. He currently hosts ''Later... with Jools Holland'', a music-based show aired on BBC2, on which his annual show the Hootenanny, is based.

Life and career

His great grandfather came from Ireland.

Holland played as a session musician before finding fame, and his first studio session was with Wayne County & the Electric Chairs in 1976 on their track "F*ck Off."

Holland was a founding member of the British pop band Squeeze, formed in March 1974, in which he played keyboards until 1981 and helped the band to achieve millions of record sales, before pursuing his solo career.

Holland began issuing solo records in 1978, his first EP being ''Boogie Woogie '78''. He continued his solo career through the early 1980s, releasing an album and several singles between 1981 and 1984. He branched out into TV, co-presenting the Newcastle-based TV music show ''The Tube'' with Paula Yates. Holland achieved notoriety by inadvertently using the phrase "groovy fuckers" in a live, early evening TV trailer for the show, causing it to be suspended for six weeks. He referred to this in his sitcom "The Groovy Fellers" with Rowland Rivron.

thumb|right|Holland at the Tsunami Relief concert in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, 22 January 2005In 1983 Holland played an extended piano solo on The The's re-recording of "Uncertain Smile" for the album ''Soul Mining''. In 1985, Squeeze (which had continued in Holland's absence through to 1982) unexpectedly regrouped including Jools Holland as their keyboard player. Holland remained in the band until 1990, at which point, he again departed Squeeze on amicable terms to resume his solo career as a musician and a TV host.

In 1987, Holland formed The ''Jools Holland Big Band'' which consisted of himself and Gilson Lavis from Squeeze. This gradually became his 18-piece Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

Between 1988 and 1990 he performed and co-hosted along with David Sanborn during the two seasons of the music performance program Sunday Night on NBC late-night television. Since 1992 he has presented the eclectic music program ''Later... with Jools Holland'', plus an annual New Year's Eve "Hootenanny".

In 1996 Holland signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records and his records are now marketed through Rhino Records.

Holland has a touring band, The Rhythm And Blues Orchestra, which often includes singers Sam Brown and Ruby Turner. In January 2005 Holland and his band performed with Eric Clapton as the headline act of the Tsunami Relief Cardiff. He also headlined the Skegness SO Festival in July 2010.

Personal

Holland lives in the Westcombe Park area of Blackheath in southeast London, where he had his studio, Helicon Mountain, built to his design, heavily inspired by Portmeirion, the setting for the 1960s TV series ''The Prisoner''. Holland owns costumes and props from the series and occasionally appears wearing the trademark brown-with-white-pipe blazer featured in the series. In 1987, Holland demonstrated his love of the series and starred in a spoof documentary, ''The Laughing Prisoner'', with Stephen Fry, Terence Alexander and Hugh Laurie. Much of it was shot on location in Portmeirion, with archive footage of Patrick McGoohan, and featuring musical numbers from Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magnum and XTC. Holland performed a number towards the end of the program. Holland is also a Millwall FC fan. His younger brother Christopher also plays organ in the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra as well as being a successful singer/songwriter in his own right.

Holland was an interviewer for The Beatles Anthology TV project, and appeared in the 1997 film ''Spiceworld'' as a musical director.

He received an OBE in 2003 in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for services to the British music industry as a television presenter and musician. In September 2006 Holland was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent. He is also known for his charity work: in June 2006 he performed in Southend for HIV/AIDS charity Mildmay, and in early 2007 he performed at Wells and Rochester Cathedrals to raise money for maintaining cathedral buildings. He is also patron of the Drake Music Project and has raised many thousands of pounds for the charity.

Jools Holland was appointed an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University at a ceremony held at Canterbury Cathedral on 30 January 2009.

On 29 August 2005 Holland married Christabel McEwen, his girlfriend of 15 years (between 1983 and 1995 she had been married to Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham, but they divorced). The wedding, at St James's Church, Cooling near Rochester, was attended by many celebrities, including Ringo Starr, Robbie Coltrane, Stephen Fry, Lenny Henry, Noel Gallagher, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

Holland is also a patron for The Milton Rooms, a new Arts centre in Malton, North Yorkshire, along with Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton and Kathy Burke.

Writing

His 2007 biography, ''Barefaced Lies and Boogie Woogie Boasts'' was BBC Radio 4 "Book of the Week" in the week beginning 8 October 2007 and was read by Holland. He is the author or joint author of four other books.

Discography

Albums that have charted and gained Certifications

Year	Album	Peak chart positions		!style="width:4em;font-size:75%"
1996	Jazz & Rock & Roll''
1998	''Best Of''				UK">Music recording sales certifications
!style="width:4em;font-size:75%"	!style="width:4em;font-size:75%"
1996	Jazz & Rock & Roll''
1998	''Best Of''				UK: Silver
2000	''Hop The Wag''				* UK: Silver
2001	''Small World Big Band''				* UK: 2× Platinum
2002	''SWBB Volume Two: More Friends''				* UK: Platinum
2003	''Jack O The Green (SWBB Friends 3)''				* UK: Silver
2005	''Swinging the Blues, Dancing the Ska''
2007	''Best of Friends''				* UK: Silver
2011	''Finding The Keys - The Best of''

Releases

1978 "Boogie Woogie '78" (EP)

1981 ''Jools Holland and His Millionaires''

1984 ''Jools Holland Meets Rock 'A' Boogie Billy'' (U.S. release only)

1990 ''World Of His Own''

1991 ''The Full Complement''

1992 "Together Again" (single with Sam Brown)

1992 ''The A-Z Geographer's Guide To The Piano''

1994 ''Solo Piano''

1994 ''Live Performance''

1996 " Jazz & Rock & Roll''

1997 ''Lift The Lid''

1998 ''Best Of''

1999 ''Sunset Over London''

2000 ''Hop The Wag''

2001 ''Small World Big Band''

2002 ''SWBB Volume Two: More Friends''

2003 ''Jack O The Green (SWBB Friends 3)''

2004 ''Tom Jones & Jools Holland''

2005 ''Beatroute''

2005 ''Swinging the Blues, Dancing the Ska''

2006 ''Moving Out To The Country''

2007 ''Best of Friends''

2008 ''The Collection''

2008 ''The Informer (With Ruby Turner)''

2008 ''"The Informer" (single with Ruby Turner)''

2009 ''"I Went By" (single with Louise Marshall)''

2010 ''Rockinghorse''

Film and television

1981 ''Urgh! A Music War''

1982 ''Police: Around the World''

1982 - 1987 ''The Tube'' (Host for 121 editions)

1983 ''Rebellious Jukebox'': Compere

1984 ''The Young Ones'': Punk (Episode entitled "Summer Holiday")

1985 ''Walking To New Orleans'' (Jools Holland in New Orleans)

1987 ''Eat the Rich'': Sun Reporter

1987 ''Filthy Rich & Catflap'': Strip Show Pianist (Episode #1.3)

1987 ''The Laughing Prisoner'': No. 7

1987 ''French and Saunders'' (Episode 1.5)

1988 ''Sunday Night'': Host (unknown episodes)

1989 ''Juke Box Jury'': Host (unknown episodes)

1989 ''The Groovy Fellers'' Himself, 6 episodes

1991 ''Mr Roadrunner'' (Jools Holland in Memphis)

1994 ''There's No Business'': Pianist

1994 - 1995 ''Don't Forget Your Toothbrush''

1995 ''The Beatles Anthology''

1997 ''Spice World'': Musical Director

1997 ''Name That Tune'': Host and Pianist

2003 ''Jool's History of the Piano'' : Presenter

2006 ''Top Gear: Star in a reasonably priced car.

2007 ''Fairport@Forty'': Interview

2009 ''Chop Shop Rover Concept: The Jet 1 Car'' : Customer

Current television programmes

1992–present ''Later... with Jools Holland''

1993–present ''Jools' Annual Hootenanny''

Books

''"Rolling Stones": A Life on the Road'', (with Dora Loewenstein), Viking/Allen Lane (1998), (ISBN 0-670-88051-5)

''Beat Route: Journeys Through Six Counties'', Weidenfeld & Nicholson (1998), (ISBN 0-575-06700-4)

''Ray Charles: Man and Music'', (with Michael Lydon), Payback Press (1999), (ISBN 0-86241-929-8)

''Hand That Changed Its Mind '', International Music Publications (2007), (ISBN 1-84328-645-9)

''Barefaced Lies and Boogie-woogie Boasts '', Michael Joseph Ltd (2007), (ISBN 0-7181-4915-7)

References

External links

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:Boogie-woogie pianists Category:English rock pianists Category:English television presenters Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Bandleaders Category:Squeeze (band) members Category:I.R.S. Records artists Category:People from Blackheath, London Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters Category:Deputy Lieutenants of Kent Category:British people of Irish descent Category:English people of Irish descent

cy:Jools Holland de:Jools Holland es:Jools Holland fr:Jools Holland nl:Jools Holland pl:Jools Holland pt:Jools Holland fi:Jools Holland