I woke up this morning with Eddie Floyd's "634-5789" soul song going around my head. Better than a hangover, that's for sure. Last night he and a few others performed on Later with Jools Holland for the annual Hootenanny New Year's Eve show on the BBC.
Rather than go out, which is what we were planning to do, Dave and I stayed in for New Year's. A very kind and generous friend had given us tickets to go out to see a few bands play at the Carling Academy Oxford and we ungraciously didn't show up. Very naughty indeed. Hopefully he's still talking to us.
So, we settled for a couple bottles of bubbly and the TV instead. Later with Jools was pretty good. Of course, the show isn't filmed live, which is a bit of a let down, but it's still fun to watch.
After Jools Holland arrived to the Land of the Hootenanny via Dr. Who's Tardis (sounds crazy, I know) "Boogie Woogie Queen" Ruby Turner opened the show with "Jumpin' at the Jubilee" along with Jools and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. Soul legend Eddie Floyd followed with "634-5789". I used to sing that song in a band called Soul Wagon...crikey...about 15 years ago. The band was only together a couple of months, but that's another story.
Other guest performers on the show included Kaiser Chiefs, Lulu, Madness, Duffy, Kate Nash, Kylie Minogue, Seasick Steve, Mika and Paul McCartney. Jools also spoke to a few guests in the audience like Lenny Henry, Dawn French, David Tennant, Formula One's Bernie Ecclestone, Gabby Logan and more.
Duffy performed a superb cover of the Cat Stevens song, "The First Cut Is The Deepest". I've mentioned on several occasions, here on Band Weblogs, how much I like Duffy and that she's the cat's meow. Jools and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra accompanied Duffy, for her classy rendition of "The First Cut Is The Deepest", which could easily be released as a single. Duffy's been on Later with Jools two times now - sometimes she reminds me of Lulu, who Jools will often perform with, so it's apropos that he would seem to be enamored with her.
Speaking of Lulu, she sounded great, as always, singing "Where Have All The Good Guys Gone". It would have been good to see her sing more songs, though.
Kylie Minogue was the star of the night. For her first number, Jools reminded viewers of Kylie's recent stint on Dr. Who before she vamped it up with "Come On Strong". She spent the song being sultry, sitting on the piano and singing, whilst Jools played along with the band.
The other "big star of the night" was Paul McCartney. Who would have thought that one day Sir Paul McCartney and Kylie Minogue would be introduced together for a duet? That they were, and they sang Paul McCartney's "Dance Tonight". Later, Kylie performed "2 Hearts" from her album 'X', with Dr. Who's David Tennant dancing along in the audience. She also sang a jazzed up lounge version of her hit song "I Could Be So Lucky" with Jools Holland on piano.
The Duffy and Eddie Floyd "Bring It On Home To Me" duet was a treat and Mika performed "Grace Kelly", playing the piano - as I had first heard him play the song for his debut on Later with Jools Holland about a year ago. This time he played along with the Jools Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. It's too bad the song gets so overplayed on the radio, because I really liked it the first time I heard it. Especially the stripped down piano version.
There were many more performances throughout the night and if you missed the Hootenanny on the BBC, luckily the Later with Jools Holland website has added video footage of the complete show.
For some reason, Ruby Turner doesn't have a section on the Hootenanny page. Hopefully they'll add one soon. In the meantime, you can go to Ruby Turner Official Website for more information about her.
Watch Hootenanny videos from Later with Jools Holland
Later with Jools Holland BBC Website
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