Jools Holland's love for Later...

By Fiona Pryor
Entertainment reporter, BBC News

Later... with Jools Holland has been on air since 1992

"I'm outraged and appalled!" laughs Jools Holland when asked how he feels about recording the 200th episode of his iconic music show Later...

"How the show has been allowed to stay on I'll never know. It's unbelievable that you can make 200 shows."

"If you add that up, you could watch it solidly for weeks on end, and if you put them end to end you could probably run them along the Great Wall of China," he quips.

Joking aside, the 50-year-old is actually very proud of the show's achievements.

'Incredible music'

"It is great to be on for that long. The real point of it, of course, is there has been so much incredible music which we have captured," says Holland.

"We've captured it hopefully not just for ourselves, but also for years to come for people who will be watching it."

I am the luckiest man in the world because I have the best job in the world, I accompany some of the most fantastic people in the world Jools Holland

Mary J Blige, Cat Power, Feist and Dionne Warwick - "some of the greatest female artists in the world," says Holland - feature on the anniversary programme.

One of his favourite bands, Radiohead, will complete the bill.

"I'm very pleased that it's such a great line-up for the 200th show," he says.

Holland's passion for music has made him a household name. From the age of eight he could play the piano fluently by ear. From his early teens he began performing at pubs in London.

At 15, he formed pop band Squeeze with Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford.

Playing pubs

He recalls a family friend recently flicking through a scrapbook of his career put together by his mother.

"It went right back to when I was 16 and playing the pubs," he says.

"My mother's friend said, 'So he's never had a job then'. And it's sort of true.

"I really am lucky. I am the luckiest man in the world because I have the best job in the world, I accompany some of the most fantastic people in the world."

Holland hosted Channel 4's The Tube with Paula Yates

Since his days playing pubs he has enjoyed success around the world with sold-out tours, countless collaborations with a whole range of respected musicians and artists.

He has become a familiar face on TV thanks to The Tube and Later...

His achievements were formally recognised in June 2003, when he was made an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

'Best view'

Asked what has been the highlight of his career so far, he pauses for a moment to think.

"I suppose, funnily enough, writing a song and Dionne Warwick singing it, that was a highlight," he replies.

"When someone else sings a song you've written, there's something really great about that. It's like a great actor to choosing your script.

"The view over the top of my piano of them is the best view you can have, because you're actually in the moment of music with them."

He finds it hard to think of anyone else he would like to accompany. But when pressed, he chooses the late blues legend Bessie Smith. He says he "starts to fly" when he listens to her.

'Little moments'

Holland names his drummer, Gilson Lavis, as the greatest artist he has worked with, but refuses to name anybody else.

South London band Squeeze brought Holland into the spotlight

It would be like "picking which one of your children you want to take off a sinking ship", he explains.

Despite this, Sir Paul McCartney gets a mention.

"I thought, 'this was amazing to play with somebody like that', but also it's sometimes the little moments - a passing moment of something that you'll pick up on," he says.

So having had 30 years in the music business, how has it changed since Holland started out?

"Music hasn't changed. And the people that make it, who are great at it because they love it, haven't changed," he says.

"I believe their attitude and the way they feel about music is exactly the same as people would have felt about music 50 years ago or 500 years ago."

When asked what life would be like without music, he is quick to respond.

"I think it would be incredibly boring and almost soulless. I think music is the bit that makes life."

The 200th edition of Later... With Jools Holland will be shown on Friday 1 February on BBC2 at 2335 GMT.