INSTANTLY recognisable as the face of Later...with Jools Holland, the television personality is heading to Brighton for a concert with his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.

Born in Blackheath, London, Holland honed his “boogie woogie” piano style in the pubs of Greenwich and Deptford before forming pop band Squeeze in 1974, who went on to sell millions of albums.

The pianist has been releasing solo records since 1978 and began to host his now hugely popular television programme in 1982. Featuring a variety of bands and musicians, the show is currently in its 49th season. In Brighton, Holland is joined by his backing ensemble as well as soul singer Ruby Turner and Pauline Black and Arthur “Gaps” Hendrickson from ska legends The Selecter.

Your live show brings together blues, soul and ska. How do all these elements work together?

One of the things for us was that we had Rico Rodriguez, the legendary Jamaican trombone player, in the group. He died a couple of years ago. When we lost him we lost that ska element. So when The Selecter started with us it brought back that side of it. For some reason ska fits very well alongside boogie woogie and blues music. Gaps and Pauline come on and do three or four numbers with us and they lift the roof off. People want to jump up and down.

Did it take a while for that fusion of ska and blues to take off?

One of the things I learnt from Rico is that a lot of ska musicians were listening to early boogie music when they were young men. Fats Domino, people like that. The Selecter and me are doing our own unique take on that. It’s a big circle and a big mash up. What’s important is the effect that has on the human spirit. When you see people’s necks involuntarily moving in time with us it’s a great feeling.

You and Ruby Turner are long-time friends. What was it like working with her in the studio?

I think Ruby is a unique person. She is the same age as me and like a sister. She is saintly and fiery all at the same time – that’s what I love about her, you never know quite which way it’s going to go. She is like something from another age because she really connects with that 1940s blues music. But she’s also connected to church music which is one of the big influences on western music in general. The words are different to the blues but the feeling is the same.

Does the set include any Squeeze songs?

No, we should do some really... we have done some in the past but not at the moment.

You played in pubs across south east London when you started out in music. What was the scene like then?

The thing I’ve realised is that generally in any big urban area there is a good scene for music. They used to say it was great if you were in a port town because you got the records the sailors brought in. That was true in Greenwich and Liverpool and the docklands in London. In Brighton you’d have that, too – these were groovy places in the 1940s and 1950s that people went to for records. You’re more likely to get a music scene in places like that than, I don’t know, Biggleswade.

You said in another interview that the piano has disappeared from working class homes. Why do you think this is?

Well, that’s a good question and a socio-economic one. In short, the answer is that everybody used to have pianos in their front rooms. My grandparents had one and they weren’t rich. In the same way now that people might spend a lot of money on a widescreen television, the thing to have was a piano. People don’t buy or learn a piano now.

The one I learnt on was the one my great-grandmother gave to my grandmother. It still works. I still play the one my mother-in-law was given as a wedding present. I feel like I’m selling pianos here. But the point is that people don’t buy pianos now, that tradition is being lost.

My uncle showed me how to play piano. He’s only 15 years older than me. He had photographs of him and his band called The Planets. Looking at the pictures of them playing in pubs in Deptford and Greenwich, it looked the same as when I was playing in Squeeze or even as it would look now. If you’ve got a place with lots of young people, you’re going to get people playing music. I think perhaps playing in the pubs has disappeared a little bit now but it was a great way for me to learn how to get people to dance and cry. It was a valuable experience, trying to figure that out. I’m still trying to figure it out.

How do you mean you are still trying to figure it out?

Well, at the moment I’m making a piano record. I’ve had a lifelong relationship with this piano but I haven’t made many piano albums. It’s interesting to get out of my comfort zone. At first it’s like looking at yourself in the mirror and it’s not necessarily such an agreeable thing to do. Then you realise that it’s great because it takes you to a different place. It’s been part of whatever I do, whether I’m on television, on stage or at home. This is the one thing I do anywhere, and it’s just about distilling that into the record.

Do you consider yourself a natural extrovert? It seems that way on television but is any part of that an act?

I suppose there is a certain mode you go into, but no more so than you would if you were going to a dinner with a load of people. You have to make the effort sometimes. But I enjoy it, I like communicating with other people and having a laugh. That’s the point – in my exchanges on television I’m always trying to lead it to a point where we both laugh.

The programme seems like a high-wire act and very tightly produced. Is it stressful?

It is, but there are lots of people working on it. Someone asked me how I keep the big band the television show going at the same time, and the short answer is I don’t really. Other people do the work and I just play. I’m quite fortunate in that sense.

Do you source the musicians who appear on the programme yourself?

There is a team of people doing that. We always try and put on a bit of a mix, though, and you can’t just ring up anybody you want and they’ll come. People are only available at certain times and usually only want to do it if they’re promoting a record. We usually want a show that has a new person, a legend, and someone from a type of music that is less mainstream. That’s the hard part to achieve, but we’re trying.

Brighton Centre, King’s Road, Saturday, December 17, 6.30pm, from £41, 08448 71515