Quote of the day

"No boogie-woogie piano, Mister Holland."

The condition on which Mark E Smith allegedly agreed to the Fall performing on Later With Jools Holland. I wonder if he'd have been happy for his guitarist to join in when, in 2001, the Manics got fellow guests including Nick Cave and Shaggy playing along to an AC/DC riff...

Now twenty years old, Later... was celebrated in a recent Observer article, and rightly so. The focus was on the general quality of the guests and the most memorable performances (no shout-outs for At The Drive-In, Arcade Fire, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds or Grinderman, though), as well as on the format and the fact that performing in a crucible atmosphere in front of fellow musicians regularly helps to bring the best out of the artists.

Rather less was said about the show's host, though Elbow's Guy Garvey did claim Holland is "warm and friendly" and "a bit of a legend" - hard to believe from watching the show, given his irritating mannerisms and cringeworthy attempts at bonhomie...