Music star Jools Holland has announced a new date autumn and winter tour which will bring him to Newcastle with a very special guest. His legendary drummer Gilson Lavis - there since his Squeeze days - has now retied so new band member Ed Richardson will be filling his shoes. It all makes for a new vibe for Holland's tour which will get under way in Southend on October 30 and includes two dates at the Royal Albert Hall in London in November.
His Newcastle date - at the 02 City Hall on December 3 - will be his first of the following month and the other local show will follow the next night at Stockton Globe. Tickets for all dates will go on sale this Friday. Holland's fans will be in for a treat thanks to his musical combination with Irish artist May who has been taking her former rockabilly trend in new directions and whose changing blend of blues, rock, soul, gospel and jazz has also inspired collaborations with the likes of Jeff Beck and performances with artists including Lou Reed, Bono, Tom Jones, Noel Gallagher and Robert Plant.
Holland himself 'discovered' May and she first supported him on tour in Her ravishing voice can illuminate both ballads and boogie woogie like no one else. New drummer Richardson, meanwhile, has told how he has been a fan of his predecessor since first seeing Gilson on Hootenanny and he says of the current "challenge" and "honour" facing him: "I'll do my utmost to continue his legacy and keep the drum chair as exciting as he made it!
Tickets will go on sale this January 31 from 10am on Ticketmaster - see here - and on SeeTickets here. We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all! To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
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