Jools Holland tour dates for 2018 reveal 35 gigs
Special guests include Marc Almond and Ruby Turner with the 35-date tour including London’s Royal Albert Hall, plus arena shows in Dublin’s 3Arena, Aberdeen’s BHGE Arena, Leeds’ First Direct Arena, Brighton Centre and Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena.
Jools has been a regular in the BBC Two schedules with his own music series since 1992.
Musical master of ceremonies Jools Holland and his acclaimed Rhythm & Blues Orchestra have announced their annual musical excursion around the UK and Ireland for 2018. Tickets went on general sale yesterday (Friday 2nd) much to the delight of the BBC Two regular’s fans and music lovers in general.
Highlights of the 35-date tour, now in its 23rd year, include a return to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne where Jools spent much of the 1980s co-hosting the legendary Tyne Tees Television music and comedy showcase, The Tube. Sadly the Channel 4 broadcast show, and indeed the Tyne Tees studios, are a distant memory these days, however, Newcastle City Hall is open for business and Jools and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra aim to entertain audiences in the capital of the North East once more.
Soft Cell frontman Marc Almond will be accompanying Jools for the 2018 autumn/winter UK tour as a special guest; with the exception of the December 1st gig at the Royal Albert Hall where Chris Difford and Pauline Black & Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson of The Selecter will join Jools and the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra on stage instead.
Jools with the late Paula Yates on the set of The Tube, at Studio 5, Tyne Tees Television in Newcastle.
In his 36-year career, Marc has sold over 30 million records worldwide with his list of hit songs including ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, ‘Touch’ and, of course, the Gloria Jones cover of ‘Tainted Love’. Marc has also collaborated with the likes of Gene Pitney, Tony Visconti and Burt Bacharach, as well as Jools who Marc previously toured with in 2014. He was awarded an OBE this year for his services to arts and culture.
Previous special guests who have performed alongside Jools on his UK tours include the likes of Lulu, Joss Stone, Roland Gift, Melanie C and most recently José Feliciano who released a joint album with Jools in November 2017, ‘As You See Me Now’.
Also performing with Jools will be the supremely talented vocalists Ruby Turner and Louise Marshall as well as original Squeeze member Gilson Lavis on drums with the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. With a tremendous collection of Jools compositions and boogie-woogie classics to choose from, Jools’ annual UK tour is set to be an unforgettable night out that will delight both Jools and Marc Almond fans and have audiences on their feet!