The squeeze on Jools Holland

Julian Miles Holland was born in Deptford, south London, in 1958. By the age of 8 he had picked up the rudiments of boogie-woogie and blues piano.

By his teens he was playing in the pubs and clubs of south and east London where he met Glen Tilbrook and Chris Difford. They formed Squeeze, whose hits included Cool for Cats and Up the Junction.

In 1980 Holland left to present Britain's pioneering music programme The Tube with Paula Yates. In 1992 he started his series Later with Jools Holland, a showcase for new and interesting music.

He also has a 14-piece band, the Jools Holland Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. Holland has performed and recorded with BB King, the late George Harrison and Dr John.

Do you remember the first time you ever sat down at a piano? Who inspired you?

I used to sit down and tinkle with my mother but the real excitement came when I was about 8 when my uncle started playing boogie-woogie. He played in a group called the Planets, a rhythm-and-blues group. As soon as he started playing, I was like, this is it, this is what I've got to do.

Is having a swinging band a compensation for some other deficiency? If so, what?

Having a swinging band is the best thing that anybody could have. You'd have Bessie Smith accompanied by James P. Johnson on the piano. Then you'd have the Beatles when they were just a great rock'n'roll group. Then you'd have a young Mozart on the piano, then maybe Marie Lloyd would do a little song and then Enrico Caruso. After that you'd have all the Skatalites from Jamaica from the early-60s and then
Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Lucky Millinder Orchestra.

What was your favourite moment on The Tube and what was your first impression of Paula Yates?

I think when Squeeze came on. They put up a big sign with our name written on it but they left out the "u". That rather summed up the programme. I thought the world of Paula. She was very funny and I thought she was going to be my new friend, and she was.

Your new record is an album of duets. What was it like working with all these big names?

It's been amazing. I've written a piece with Joe Strummer and Paul Weller's done one. Van Morrison's done a piece, which is like a blues piece. I'm singing on a collaboration with Dr John, which is sort of surrealist boogie-woogie. We did one with the Stereophonics, one with Eric Clapton, one with Suggs, who's written a tribute to Ian Dury, and we were delighted and amazed that George Harrison did one. He recorded a new song which I'm really pleased about.

What three big band records do you consider essential to life?

Small World Big Band, which is our most recent record. Sister Rosetta Tharpe with the Lucky Millinder Orchestra and Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Actually Sweet for New Orleans by Duke Ellington is pretty good and there's one by Count Basie from 1947, which I think is called The Count.

What will you do the day Ray Charles dies?

I'll cry.

- INDEPENDENT

• Small World Big Band by Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and Friends is out.