Jools Holland, 66-year-old piano player and TV presenter has finally won his first UK number one hit and he quite literally can’t believe it. He says scoring his first UK number-one album “means more to me than anything I’ve ever had”. He recently teamed up with Sir Rod Stewart to make ‘Swing Fever’ the album where listeners can enjoy songs from the big band era. This chart success came 50 years after Holland’s first band Squeeze was formed. In a cheeky interview with BBC, he jokingly commented, “I think the last big band record that was number one was probably in 1946.”
Sir Rod Stewart also admitted that he started the celebrations on Thursday itself! It was the night before the chart was officially announced and he played at a Prince’s Trust dinner. The 79-year-old said, “I stayed at the event and had continual Martinis until one o’clock in the morning with the three girls in my band, it was lovely.”
After the official announcement, it is clear how much having a number one means to Holland, especially after trying for five decades. “I shall be celebrating tonight. I will be overdoing it. I can’t believe it. It can’t be happening to me,” Holland says. His highest-charting album was in 1982 for a Squeeze hits complication including songs like ‘Up the Junction’, and ‘Cool For Cats’ which reached the position of number three. Explaining why he was so moved by finally hitting number one, he said “As my life has gone on, particularly playing a lot of swing music, it’s not the mainstream music. So for me, the idea that you would have a huge hit with this had gone years ago. That’s why this does mean more to me.” “That’s why it’s so wonderful that Rod has shone the light on this type of music. None of it would have been possible without Rod thinking of it and then bringing his amazing vocals,” he continued.
When it comes to Sir Rod, he had his first number one in September 1971. With ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’ reaching the top position, he remembers exactly what he was doing when he found out. “I was driving along in my nice Bentley. I was driving down St John’s Wood and it came on the radio in the afternoon that the album was number one and also number one in America.” “I drove around and went all the way back to my mum and dad’s house, gave them a big hug and we all had a cry together. So I remember it like it was yesterday,” he further mentioned.
For music, both artists have plans to tour this year and are more than happy and hoping to work together again. “We might try and come back together in November and do some shows somewhere,” says Holland. “Because with Rod it is the dream. We did this little show in this club called Pryzm in Kingston. This music is swing music, but it’s not like you’d imagine a Frank Sinatra show. It was like a Faces gig or a Squeeze gig. It was like punk almost. Oi! Oi! It’s exciting, and that’s why I love it. It’s bit more aggressive. It’s not easy listening,” he mentioned.
