Later... With Jools Holland - Programme Format

Programme Format

Later... draws from a diverse palette of both popular and world music, and each show features around five bands with a variety of styles performing for each other and a small studio audience. Jools Holland introduces the show and interviews one or more of the performers. A unique feature is the short jam session that begins each show, involving all of his invited guests, along with Holland on piano. This beginning jam session also best shows the unusual layout of the set – all the bands are arrayed in a circle with the audience filling in the gaps between them. Holland often also accompanies his guests' performances, with mixed results - Mark E. Smith of the Fall insisted that he would only appear on the show if Holland would promise not to play piano over any of his songs. On 1 April 2008, a new format was debuted featuring a 30-minute, fully live show broadcast on a Tuesday followed by the original hour-long pre-recorded show broadcast on a Friday. The Friday show will feature the performances recorded on a Tuesday as well as other performances recorded during the session for the live show. The BBC HD broadcasts use Dolby Digital 5.1, which adds to the overall ambience of the studio environment.