23 January 2024

Henry Hall and the BBC Dance Orchestra | Phantom Dancer 23 January 2024

Greg Poppleton's Phantom Dancer swing jazz radio show

Henry Hall was an English pianist, composer and the director of the BBC Dance Orchestra from 1932-37. He’s your Phantom Dancer feature artist this week.

The Phantom Dancer is your weekly non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV every week.

LISTEN to this week’s Phantom Dancer mix (online after 2pm AEST, Tuesday 23 January) and weeks of Phantom Dancer mixes online at, at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

HENRY

Henry Hall first learnt trumpet and then piano as a child. He played in Salvation Army bands and wrote marches for them.

In December 1916 he was recruited into the Royal Field Artillery. He was arrested for playing piano in the officers’ mess, and his musical abilities notices, he was transfered to the Cadet School to play piano in the band and write arrangements for revues.

After WWI Henry Hall played in music hall acts and took piano lessons at the Guildhall School Of Music.

Quoting the Henry Hall biography in jabw_vintage/report no. 25:

“In December 1922 Henry heard that a dance band in Manchester needed a relief pianist. He took the job, never having played in a dance band! Very soon another one of those little fortunate events secured Henry’s future. The band was supporting a dance show on New Year’s Eve, with Arthur Towle, Managing Director, in the audience. The dancer needed to change dress between numbers and it was just realised that there was going to be an embarrassing minute of silence…. Henry sitting at the piano heard a whispered ‘Play something – quick!’. His recent lessons at the Guild Hall of Music flashed before him and he launched into Chopin’s ‘Butterfly’ study, the lights turned on to the young pianist, he stole the show. Mr Towle was heard to say something to the effect of ‘Keep that boy!’.”

Henry Hall formed a seven piece dance band for the then nre Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. To advertise the hotel, he organised on opening night, 4 June 1924, the first ever outside broadcast in Scotland took place on June 4, 1924. This led to a series of band remotes from the hotel.

In November 1924 the Henry Hall’s Gleneagles Dance Band made their first records. He also published his first dance band tunes

HALL

By 1931 Henry Hall was running 32 bands across the UK and making records for the new Decca label.

In the first week of 1932 Henry Hall was invited to lead a new BBC Dance Orchestra.

The New BBC Dance Orchestra had thirteen players, with an unusual feature, 16 year old oboe player, Richard Matthews.

The orchestra made its first broadcast from the new unfinished Broadcasting House, studio 8A) on 15 March 1932 at 8.00-8.30pm, and it received a mixed response from listeners.

There had been a big publicity build-up to the broadcast and the band were hard put to live up to the expectations, especially the fact that they were following the very popular show band that Jack Payne had created.

The band moved to a weekjly 5:15-6pm slot, with features including a Children’s Spot with songs like Rusty and Dusty, and Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Vocalists featured included Val Rosing who sang the band’s theme, written by Henry Hall, Here’s To The Next Time.

The BBC Dance Orchestra appeared at the Radio Exhibition, Olympia, in 1933 – much to Henry Hall’s surprise the public were delighted to see the band.

Henry made his first US trip in September 1933, to learn as much as he could about how US bands performed and presented themselves. He met Ben Bernie, Vincent Lopez, Buddy Rogers, Wayne King, Glen Gray, Rudy Vallee, Fred Waring, Irving Mills, George Gershwin and Max Dreyfus.

Back in London, Henry Hall invited Fred Astaire, then appearing on the West End stage, to sing during a broadcast. With composer Cole Porter looking on Fred sang Night And Day with the BBC Dance Orchestra.

He developed the concept of Guest Night the first of which was broadcast on 17 March 1934 featuring Flanagan & Allen, Elsie & Doris Waters, Anona Winn and June. The second Guest Night featured Ronald Frankau, Doris Hare, Leslie Sarony and Layton & Johnstone. Guest Night programmes became very popular. The Radio Times did not publish who would be on the show, it was always a surprise. The stars of Britain continued to appear including Florence Desmond, Tommy Handley, Stanley Holloway, Jack Buchanan, Jessie Matthews as well as international stars like Larry Adler, Tallulah Bankhead, Belle Baker, Mills Brothers and Richard Tauber. To maintain a regular good show Guest Night became fortnightly.

Henry Hall made his first Royal Command Performance in 1934. He also appeared at the London Palladium and Radiolympia that year.

“While Henry Hall was on a second trip to US, during the Autumn of 1934, the BBC Dance Orchestra continued to broadcast, and was announced as ‘the BBC Dance Orchestra directed by Henry Hall’ even though he wasn’t there. The press made a story out of it so on the first night back Henry Hall came on the air and said ‘This IS Henry Hall speaking!’. He continued to do this for a few days and it stuck, and he continued to introduce himself this way for the rest of his career.”

In 1935 Henry Hall and band featured in the movie Music Hath Charms with Gertrude Lawrence and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr.

In 1936 Henry Hall conducted a band on the maiden voyage of The Queen Mary, due to sail on May 27th. As part of the publicity Henry. The BBC Dance Orchestra also appeared on TV.

He left the BBC Dance Orchestra with a farewell broadcast on 25 September 1937. He continued his Guest Night broadcasts on the BBC and led a touring orchestra.

In February 1939 the band spent a month at the Scala, Berlin.

During the war, Henry Hall’s Orchestra entertained the troops.

In 1947 put together a band theatre show with comedian Ted Ray and contined with the Guest Night series.

“With the rise of television came the idea for a programme, similar to Guest Night, where Henry could sit at the piano and recall his favourite personalities, friends, tunes and stories from his thirty-odd year career. The show was called Face the Music. Henry last appeared as a bandleader in 1969 and the following year his service to music was recognised by the award of the OBE.”

23 January PLAY LIST