Julian Miles Holland OBE DL (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter.
He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Joss Stone, Jayne County, Tom Jones, José Feliciano, Sting, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Ringo Starr, Dr. John, Bono, Rod Stewart, The The and Ruby Turner.
[2] Holland was educated at Shooters Hill Grammar School in southeast London, from which he was expelled for damaging a teacher's Triumph Herald.
[7] In 1983, Holland played an extended piano solo on The The's re-recording of "Uncertain Smile" for their album Soul Mining.
Holland remained in the band until 1990, at which point he again departed to resume his solo career as a musician and a TV host.
[12] In January 2005 Holland and his band performed with Eric Clapton as the headline act of the Tsunami Relief Cardiff.
[19] As a teenager, Holland lived with his grandparents,[20] which he mentioned anecdotally in a 2020 episode of Rhod Gilbert's Growing Pains.
[22][24] Holland lives in Westcombe Park, southeast London, where he had his studio, Helicon Mountain, built to his design and inspired by Portmeirion, the setting for the 1960s TV series The Prisoner.
"[29] He received an OBE in 2003 in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for services to the British music industry as a television presenter and musician.
[33] Holland has been the President of the British Watch & Clock Makers Guild since 2018,[34] and an honorary liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers since 2019.
Holland was an interviewer for The Beatles Anthology TV project, and appeared in the 1997 film Spiceworld as a musical director.
In 2009, Holland commissioned TV series Bangla Bangers (Chop Shop) to create a replica of the Rover JET1 for personal use.