_Pianist Jools Holland on secrets and stories of his musical career
Pianist Jools Holland on secrets and stories of his musical career
Lifestyle
The bandleader and TV presenter opens up about sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in music and his friendship with the piano
Sharing incredible moments in east London studio
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Helicon Mountain wasn’t in east London. With its small pastel-coloured buildings, pseudo-Italian square and intricate Mediterranean architecture, the place is a hidden treat. And, like the many of the other unexpected mash-ups and mix-tapes that are brought to life here, it's the creation of Jools Holland.
Today, the musician is showing us around, sharing the secrets and stories of Helicon Mountain, and playing some music himself. “There have been a lot of amazing moments in this studio,” he says from behind a grand piano. “And I’ve seen some amazing things in here — maybe the most magical moments of my life.”
Names from Tom Jones to Eric Clapton, Bono to Paul McCartney, are printed on the walls in gold lettering. All of them have recorded here, coming from far and wide to collaborate with Holland.
“We like to give artists the opportunity to have some fun,” says the bandleader, absent-mindedly playing the blues as he talks. “Because all artists love experimenting with music. For me, it’s amazing. Some of these people I’ve been listening to since I was 12 — and then they’re here in this room recording with me.”
Sharing the stage with biggest names in music
Now 60, Holland has released many albums of these collaborations. He has worked with everyone from Cee Lo Green to Amy Winehouse — and can’t think of a single genre he actively dislikes.
“The great thing about music is that there’s always something exciting,” he says, still playing. “I listen to music that’s two seconds old, or one hundred years old. I’ve got 78s and digital downloads. I think I owe that to my parents. Growing up we listened to a lot of pop music, but also classical music. So I was exposed to Bach, the Beatles and the blues. And that’s only B…”
Helicon Mountain, built over two decades ago from a jumble of lock-ups and stables, is a homage to Holland’s collaborative and varied approach. European in architecture, it's decorated with thoroughly English antiques and borrows a tower that began life as a folly in a Chelsea Flower Show garden.
And it isn’t far from where Holland’s passion for music was first sparked.
"My grandmother’s house was in a little terraced street in Greenwich. It had been in the Blitz, actually. And, although it hadn’t been destroyed, there was a lot of fire damage. I remember the piano, a tough old thing, was charred all over the front. But, when she put me on her lap and opened up that burnt front, there was this beautiful wood inside."
It was on this piano that Holland heard his first boogie-woogie tune. He says that the song, played by his uncle, was one of the best things he had ever heard.
“It made me want to jump up and down,” he laughs, performing the piece on his Yamaha grand. “It gave me so much joy.”
That joy still runs through Holland’s music to this day. He reveals Ed Sheeran and Rag’n’Bone Man as his favourite current artists, and how he hopes to bring many more musicians to the storied studios of Helicon Mountain to collaborate.
This mash-up mentality is the key to Holland’s success. In a world he today considers careful, the musician isn’t afraid to let a rapper sing the blues, or bring the far-flung architecture of Europe to the British capital. In fact, he’s never more at home than when behind his piano, pushing boundaries.
“That’s the thing about bringing things together,” he grins, pausing for a theatrical clap. “You get something quite unique.”
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