‘Later…with Jools Holland‘, the first ever episode of which was screened on Thursday, 8th October 1992 at 11.55pm on BBC2, needs no introduction. During the most recent series, Series 61, it passed the landmark of running for over thirty years, and it doesn’t look like finishing any time soon. Guests on the programme cover eclectic tastes, and it is quite possible to watch for half an hour or longer and not enjoy any of the featured artists – I’m sure I am not alone in experiencing that- but every so often a gem is unearthed, and a performance unfolds in front of you that takes the breath away.
Through ‘Later..‘, I’ve been introduced to, among others, kd Lang, Ray Lamontagne, The Civil Wars, The Magic Numbers, Fleet Foxes and Michael Kiwanuka. But the band that I most remember seeing with Jools, whose Stax Records released self-titled album I rushed out to buy the very next day, is Nathaniel Rateliff And The Night Sweats. This ‘Classic Clip’, from Series 47, episode 3 shown on 29th September 2015, is of the wonderful ‘S.O.B.’, which showcases their thrilling upbeat, soulful sound and the trumpet playing of Wesley Watkins and the saxophone of Andy Wild.
Rateliff had previously appeared on ‘Later..’ as long ago as May 2011, a solo singer songwriter with a stripped down and sombre sound, but with his music career seemingly going nowhere, he linked up with longtime collaborator Joseph Pope (bass), Mark Shusterman (keyboards) and Patrick Meese (drums) to play shows around Denver and Boulder during 2013- the Night Sweats line up had started to form. Within two years, ‘S.O.B.’ had become a huge hit, the album received critical acclaim, and subsequent album releases ‘Tearing At The Seams’ (June 2018) and ‘The Future’ (November 2021), along with a great live show, have seen them go from strength to strength.
