Gilson Lavis
Gilson Lavis is an English drummer and portrait artist. He gained fame as the drummer with band Squeeze in the 1970s. Lavis is currently the drummer with his ex-bandmate Jools Holland's band Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.
Before joining Squeeze, he had already built up a substantial amount of experience, having toured with Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Dolly Parton. He was working in a brickyard when he noticed the advertisement in Melody Maker for Squeeze.
Lavis now tours around the United Kingdom with Jools Holland, his long-term musical partner. They both appeared as members of "The Nice Twelve" in the 1994 partially-improvised comedy film There's No Business... starring Raw Sex and The Oblivion Boys.
Lavis is also a portrait artist having had several exhibitions in London and the home counties. He has painted numerous musicians including Lily Allen, Paloma Faith, Lulu and Smokey Robinson.
