b. 19 December 1949, Alton, Hampshire, England. Holland’s early career was spent performing in the folk clubs of Surrey, Bristol and Hampshire from 1967-72. In 1973, she formed the duo Hot Vultures with her then husband Ian A. Anderson. Recording a number of albums, she and Anderson then formed the English Country Blues Band in 1980 with Rod Stradling, formerly with Oak and the Old Swan Band, and hammer dulcimer players Sue Harris and Chris Coe (formerly of the New Victory Band). Despite the various group commitments, Holland found time to record 1983’sStill Pause, her first solo album. During the same period, she supplied vocals and bass guitar on the Ian A. Anderson and Mike Cooper release The Continuous Preaching Blues.
Between 1984 and 1989, Holland played with the roots dance band Tiger Moth, but still found time to engage in plenty of extracurricular activities. A Short Cut, recorded with guitarist Jon Moore, led to the formation of the trio Maggie’s Farm (with keyboard player Kevin Mason) which toured both in the UK and Bangladesh. Also during the period 1984-86, Holland worked occasionally as a duo with Coe, touring the UK, Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines and Ghana. In 1985, she had the role of lead singer in the National Theatre’s production of The Mysteries at the Lyceum, London.
By the start of the 90s, Holland was able to begin concentrating on her solo career once more. In 1992, she issued Down To The Bone and three years later By Heart, which featured excellent cover versions of Billy Bragg’s ‘Tank Park Salute’ and Michael Chapman’s ‘Postcards Of Scarborough’. Now based in Leith, Scotland, Holland returned to the studio to record 1999’s Getting There. The album featured the acerbic Holland original, ‘A Place Called England’, alongside material by contemporary songwriter Robb Johnson. The follow-up Circle Of Light (2003) featured the excellent Holland original, ‘Number 4071, Private Bennett’, alongside tracks by Bragg, Johnson, Al Stewart and Bob Dylan.
