Later ... With Jools Holland: 30 Years of Music, Magic and Mayhem

by Mark Cooper, Mark Cooper

’You never knew what you were going to be confronted with when you went on Later…’ Nick Cave ‘Later… is a voyage of discovery for us as well as the viewers’ Dave Grohl Dave Grohl and Alicia Keys loved it, Björk treasured it, Ed Sheeran’s life was changed by it, Kano felt at home while Nick Cave was horrified but inspired, and they all kept coming back. This first-hand account of the BBC’s Later… with Jools Holland takes you behind the scenes of one of the world’s great musical meeting places. Legends including Sir Paul McCartney, Mary J. Blige and David Bowie found a regular welcome, alongside the next generation of superstars including Adele, Ed Sheeran and Amy Winehouse. Part of what has made the show so special is the format – all those bands, singers, stars and newbies brought together to listen as well as to perform in Jools’ circle of dreams. But there’s always been plenty of mayhem alongside the magic of convening a room full of musicians hosted by one of their own. Written by the show’s co-creator and 26-year showrunner, music journalist Mark Cooper, this is the story of how Later… grew into a musical and TV institution. It was Mark who had to explain to Jay-Z why he couldn’t just do his numbers and split, who told Seasick Steve why he had to play ‘Dog House Boogie’ on the Hootenanny and persuaded Johnny Cash that he simply had to come in, even when The Man in Black wasn’t feeling well. From Stormzy to Björk, from Smokey Robinson to Norah Jones, from Britpop to trip hop, here is the word on how Later… began, evolved and has endured, accompanied by exclusive interviews with some of the show’s regular stars as well as the unique pictorial record of Andre Csillag who photographed the show for over 20 years. A must-read for music fans everywhere, Later… with Jools Hollandpulls back the curtain on classic performances to reveal that the show is just as magical, if even more chaotic, than you imagined.

448 pages, Paperback

Published February 27, 2024

Reviews

[Christopher Thomas Manson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very entertaining history of the long running BBC music show. The author is not shy about spilling backstage stories on the performers and the secrets of working behind the scenes on a BBC production. It will remind you of performances you've long since forgotten about - many of which are fortunately on YouTube to look back on. It also has insights from some of the big names to appear on the show over the years and a complete list of every artist to have ever appeared up to the point of publication. Indispensable.

[Phil Hodgkiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. You learn a lot about how Later was produced and all the hard work that went on trying to get guests onto the programme that you probably never knew.
Enjoyed reading it but was hard going with the long chapters.