There’s no better place to celebrate the new year than Jools Holland, and Mirror man Mark Jefferies can now reveal the reasons behind the celebrations.
Even though I only have two bottles of beer, I’m on my feet dancing and singing along at 8:47 PM. Some people appear a little teary, while others are hugging or arm-in-arm. It’s midnight on New Year’s Eve in this make-believe world I’ve entered.
Thanks to Jools Holland and a magical night in a glittering West London TV studio on December 10, I had a special occasion to celebrate 2026 before all of you. Hootenanny by Jools Holland is just as important as soaps and the monarch’s Christmas Day address. For the 33rd time, Jools will officially welcome the new year’s eve.
Peter Kay, a comedian, claimed that his mother still believes it to be live in his most recent book. Before visiting Versa Studios, my main inquiry was how to create the party atmosphere, which, it turns out, is as real as it appears on television.
A free bar offers drinks to attendees, which is unusual for the BBC, and they can take their seats. Around 30 minutes after the music starts, they are given glasses of prosecco to celebrate “midnight.”
Jools asks us to be quiet while the performers sing and then yell “keep it up” at the end. That is fantastic if you feel the urge to dance and move as a result. We have some incredible musical guests, and everyone is looking very beautiful.
Ronnie Wood, Olivia Dean, Craig David, Lulu, Jessie J, The Kooks, Heather Small, Imelda May, and the 1st Battalion Scots Guards are on this year’s bill.
The running order and set list are changed before the final version of the set list, according to Executive Producer Alison Howe, and it is important to have a diverse lineup of musicians.
People who accept it as New Year’s Eve are the other thing that counts. You kind of enter a mystical world where you forget what is going on inside the doors, she says.
Many musicians are very excited about the performance. Luke Pritchard, the singer behind Kooks, states: “It’s quite nerve-racking but in the best way. The New Year’s Eve show is Hootenanny, not just another gig. You’re a part of this unique experience that only occurs once while everyone is watching, and we hope everyone is in good spirits. It’s a legitimate right to be fair.
Knowing that you are someone’s soundtrack to their night, or the song they’re dancing around the kitchen with their nan means a lot to me. When you consider it, it is quite touching.
Jools leaves after taking a photo with me and spends the next three hours chatting and greeting A-list stars. He starts recording music, plays it on the piano with his band, and interviews famous people in the audience. To navigate a teeming circle of bands, singers, and guests, he only receives assistance from whiteboards with names or directions.
When the recording is over, Jools says, “It’s kind of like a swimming pool where you just throw yourself in and it’s all right once the water’s clear and you start swimming,” and you keep the momentum going.
You’re attempting to recall your piano playing. What will happen when that is over? Because of this, I can remember where I need to go for the next bit on a board.
With the exception of a few brief moments when production requests a pause, the filming is nonstop. Its goal is to film it without any breaks or stops. You want the energy to keep going, Jools states. So it becomes like real if we record it in a recording studio. It was all just, bang, bang, bang.
Who cares if there are a few minor errors there, though? It is what it is. Olivia Dean, a singing sensation who sings hits and sings alongside Jools in Natalie Cole’s 1975 debut single This Will Be (An Everlasting Love), is a “definite highlight.”
Olivia Dean has “gone ballistic this year,” he claims. She was playing clubs when she first appeared on the show a few years ago. She is currently adding on nights and selling stadiums from all over the world, including Rio de Janeiro to Munich to London’s O2.
She is an extraordinary, unbeliever, and a remarkable person. She enjoys doing things with us or doing things for me because she recalls her childhood favorites, Carole King, and, in this case, Natalie Cole songs.
I thought it was fantastic. a person might perform at a Christmas party. My grandfather would throw a Christmas party at my nan’s house, where everyone would sing their favorite songs, which were frequently musical ones. And that’s a little similar. “
The other key component is Jools’ band, who collaborate with many of the musicians, including both new songs and cover songs that they don’t typically play while traveling.
Everyone gets to soundcheck and practice their tracks after a day’s worth of rehearsals in the studios, followed by the other bands on the recording day.
There is a lot to learn for my band, Jools says, as well as a lot of horn-related arrangements. The public generally does not notice that.
Making notes while taking notes in their hotel rooms, so that when we go to rehearsal and play the first time, it sounds good. The band has never sounded better, and I’m not just saying that.
Tonight at 11 p.m., Jools’ Annual Hootenanny airs on BBC2 and BBC iPlayer.
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply