27 May

Non-Stop To Nowhere

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GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5206

Non-Stop To Nowhere

1 On The Side Of The Angels (from the show "Fiorello") (Sheldon Harnick; Jerry Bock, arr. Alfred Newman)
ALFRED NEWMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Capitol ST1343 1959
2 Harum-Scarum (Florian ZaBach)
FLORIAN ZABACH, HIS VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA
Mercury MPT7522 1957
3 Poor Butterfly (Raymond Hubbell; John Golden, arr. Philip Green)
PHILIP GREEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Top Rank RX 3013 1959
4 "The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse" - Love Theme from the film (Andre Previn, arr. Percy Faith)
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Columbia CS 8583 1962
5 Ballad Of The Sea (Joe Reisman, arr. Walter Landauer)
RAWICZ AND LANDAUER at two pianos with Orchestra and Chorus conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Philips 326547 BF 1962
6 Non-Stop To Nowhere (Mark Anthony, real name Tony Hatch)
THE PICCADILLY STRINGS
Piccadilly 7N 35027 1962
7 The Awakening Of Pedro (Mitchell Ayres; Danny Hurd)
MITCHELL AYRES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA 47-6729 1956
8 Antilles (Jacques La Rue; Jean Paul Rene Guilbert)
JOE REISMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA Victor 6404 1956
9 Desiree (James Kriegsmann, arr. Bruce Campbell)
BRUCE CAMPBELL AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Coronet Orchestra’ on disc label)
MGM E 3167 1955
10 Grasshopper (Earle H. Hagen, Herbert Spencer)
THE SPENCER-HAGEN ORCHESTRA
Label "X" LXA 1003 1955
11 Piccadilly Hoe-Down (Chris Armstrong, real name Ray Martin)
RAY MARTIN AND HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA
Columbia DB 3026 1952
12 Badinage (Roger Roger)
ROGER ROGER Conducting THE MODE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Vogue Mode MDINT 9080 1962
13 Hey! Taxi (George Siravo)
GEORGE SIRAVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Decca DL 8464 1956
14 Poppet (Ken Warner)
THE CRAWFORD LIGHT ORCHESTRA
Josef Weinberger JW 156 1958
15 Candy Floss (Peter Dennis, real name Dennis Alfred Berry)
DOLF VAN DER LINDEN AND HIS ORCHESTRA (‘Harmonic Orchestra conducted by David Johnson’ on disc label)
Charles Brull/ Harmonic CBL 334 1953
16 Metropolitan March (Roger Barsotti)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by SIDNEY TORCH
Chappell C 313 1947
17 Frantic Fiddles (Johnny Gregory)
WESTWAY STUDIO ORCHESTRA
Southern MQ 593 1962
18 Folies Parade (Cyril Watters)
LANSDOWNE LIGHT ORCHESTRA
Impress IA 233 1960
19 Twinkle Toes (Van Phillips)
STUTTGART RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KURT REHFELD (‘Lansdowne Light Orchestra’ on disc label)
Impress IA 131-B 1956
20 Pennsylvania Dutch (Dolf van der Linden)
SYMPHONIA ORCHESTRA Conducted by LUDO PHILIPP
Harmonic/Charles Brull CBL 385 1955
21 Jamboree (Clive Richardson)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 343 1948
22 Starlight Special (Alan Perry, real name Ernest Tomlinson)
NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERICH BÖRSCHEL
Francis, Day & Hunter FDH 155 1956
23 Ten To One (Arnold Steck, real name Leslie Statham)
DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by ROBERT FARNON
Chappell C 469 1954
24 Down Channel : Nautical Overture (Alec Rowley)
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA Conducted by WALTER COLLINS
Paxton PR 402 1946
25 Toward Adventure (Gilbert Vinter)
STUTTGART RADIO ORCHESTRA Conducted by KURT REHFELD (‘Lansdowne Light Orchestra’ on disc label)
Impress IA 169-B 1957
26 All The Fun Of The Fair (from "Rustic Revels" Suite) (Percy Fletcher)
QUEEN’S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES WILLIAMS
Chappell C 127 1942

Stereo: tracks 1-4; rest in mono

BOOKLET NOTES

The title of this collection says it all: simply an assortment of all kinds of Light Music, with a good proportion of it included at the special request of music lovers who have purchased previous CDs in this long running series.

The opening track features a great show business number arranged by Alfred Newman (1901-1970) who was, for much of his career, the most influential and respected composer and music director in Hollywood. At Twentieth Century Fox he was responsible for numerous major films, sometimes taken from successful Broadway shows. One exception was "Fiorello" (about the famous New York mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia), for which Frank Sinatra was mooted for the starring role. It never happened, although Newman did some preparatory work on the music score and On The Side Of The Angels is reputed to be a composite of what was intended as the Main Title and Ending of the film.

Florian ZaBach (1918-2006) was an American violinist and conductor who became a well-known television personality in post-war years. His 78 The Hot Canary (1951)sold a million, and during a long career he was invited as violinist and conductor to perform many ‘Pops Concerts’ with orchestras around the world. Harum-Scarum is one of his compositions.

Londoner Philip Green (born Harry Philip Green 1911-1982) began his professional career at the age of eighteen playing in various orchestras. Within a year he became London’s youngest West End conductor at the Prince of Wales Theatre. His long recording career began with EMI in 1933, and he is credited with at least 150 film scores. His own arrangement of Poor Butterfly reveals Green’s ability to come up with fresh ideas for familiar standards.

André Previn (born Andreas Ludwig Priwin in Berlin 1929, or 1930) has enjoyed a glittering career as a conductor, pianist and composer. In 1969 he was appointed conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, where he remained for over ten years. The fame he achieved in London tended to overshadow the fact that he had already forged a successful career in Hollywood, resulting in four Academy Awards. The 1961 adaptation of "The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse" failed to impress the critics, but Previn’s score – arranged in our recording by Percy Faith (1908-1976) – deserves to be remembered.

Rawicz and Landauer were a very popular piano duo, heard regularly on the radio in Britain for many years. Marjan Rawicz (1898-1970) was born in Poland, while Walter Landauer (1910-1983) came from Vienna. Initially they formed their act in Austria in 1932, but soon moved to Britain. Walter Landauer was also an accomplished arranger and, in the early 1960s, Philips Records in the UK commissioned him to write a number of arrangements, notably of some original works by Robert Farnon (1917-2005) and Leroy Anderson (1908-1975), which were recorded under Farnon’s baton, sometimes with a choir. Most titles were for release on LPs, but Ballad Of The Sea was one of several 45 singles. The composer was Joe Reisman (1924-1987), who returns later on this CD with his own orchestra playing Antilles. Born in Dallas, Texas, he began his career playing saxophone and arranging but later held A&R appointments with Roulette and RCA.

Our title track is by a young English composer who would eventually go on to make a big name for himself internationally. Tony (Anthony Peter) Hatch (born Pinner, North London, 1939) studied for a while at the Royal Academy of Music but left to work in the office of a music publisher. While doing his National Service he became involved with the Band of the Coldstream Guards, then returned to work with several different record companies including Pye and Top Rank. His career took a big leap forward when he started writing songs for Petula Clark, becoming her regular producer: Downtown was their first great success. Before that he wrote a number of catchy tunes, often under the pseudonym ‘Mark Anthony’ – one of them being Non Stop To Nowhere.

Making his Guild debut on this CD is the American conductor Mitchell Ayres (1909-1969). He was also an accomplished composer and arranger and is best remembered for his work with Perry Como on radio, television and records. He was the co-composer of the intriguingly titled The Awakening Of Pedro. His career was cut short when he was killed in a traffic accident.

Bruce Campbell was one of several writers who owed much to his association with Robert Farnon. He was a fellow Canadian, who actually came to Britain some years before Farnon, and played trombone with various top British bands during the 1930s. Campbell assisted Farnon on his post-war BBC radio shows and eventually became a frequent contributor to various mood music libraries. Desiree comes from a rare LP that Campbell recorded anonymously in Britain for the American market.

Herbert Spencer (1905-1992) began contributing music to films as early as 1933, and during the 1950s he made several albums with Earle Hagen (1919-2008 – famous as the composer of the jazz standard Harlem Nocturne). The Spencer Hagen Orchestra is still remembered today by collectors of what has become known in the USA as ‘lounge music’. They co-composed Grasshopper, which comes from an LP with each track devoted to a cocktail. Two other tracks from the same album have been featured on previous Guild CDs: Side Car (GLCD5131) and Silver Fizz (GLCD5156).

Raymond (Ray) Stuart Martin (born Raymond Wolfgang Kohn in Vienna, 1918-1988) fled from the Nazis and settled in England before the outbreak of World War 2 where he became known as ‘Ray Martin’. He was one of the biggest names in British popular music during the 1950s due to his work on radio, television, films and especially the recording studios. Piccadilly Hoe-Down was composed under his pseudonym ‘Chris Armstrong’ – he used at least ten at various times, much to the confusion of his admirers.

After the Second World War Roger Roger (1911-1995) played piano and conducted a 35-piece orchestra for a major French weekly radio series "Paris Star Time". His own instrumental cameos that were featured in the show brought him to the attention of the London publishers Chappell & Co., who were rapidly expanding their Recorded Music Library of background music at that time. Roger’s quirky compositions soon became available to radio, television and film companies around the world, but the choice for this CD, Badinage, comes from one of his commercial LPs.

George Siravo (1916-2000) played clarinet with many of the big bands of the swing era and he was also in demand as a free-lance arranger for the likes of Glenn Miller, Charlie Barnet, Artie Shaw and Gene Krupa. Siravo’s contribution to this CD, Hey! Taxi,represents one of the rare novelty numbers that he both composed and recorded himself.

Ken Warner (born in London as Onslow Boyden Waldo Warner 1902-1988), was educated at the Guildhall School of Music. By 1940 he had become well known as ‘Ken Warner’ and in that year he joined the BBC Light Orchestra, playing violin, clarinet and saxophone under Fred Hartley, also doing much arranging. He stayed as a BBC employee until 1959, after which he retired to Cornwall to raise pigs. His compositions (such as Poppet on this CD) found their way into the Recorded Music Libraries of London publishers.

‘Peter Dennis’ hides the true identity of Dennis Alfred Berry (1921-1994), who also composed (sometimes in collaboration with others) under names such as Frank Sterling, Charles Kenbury and Michael Rodney. He was born in London and in 1939 was employed by several publishers before joining Paxton Music as their representative based in Amsterdam. He returned to the London office in 1949 and was responsible for producing numerous titles issued by Paxton during the 1950s. This did not prevent him writing for other libraries such as De Wolfe, Synchro and Charles Brull, for whom he wrote Candy Floss.

London-born Roger Barsotti (1901-1986) was a conductor and composer whose career began as a flautist with the Hastings Municipal Orchestra. Later he was appointed bandmaster of the Queen's Royal Regiment in 1930 and, following retirement from the British army in 1946, he took over the London Metropolitan Police Band, for whom he composed his Metropolitan March. Later it achieved fame as the signature tune for the British TV programme "Blott On The Landscape".

Johnny Gregory (born Giovanni Gregori, London 1924) is a prolific arranger and film composer whose career with Philips records spanned some 20 years. As "Chaquito" he arranged and conducted a series of Latin-American recordings. Essentially he was a backroom boy in the British music business for many years, with numerous arrangements, backings and radio broadcasts to his credit. His compositions, such as Frantic Fiddles, were also welcomed by mood music libraries.

Although not as well-known to the general public as some of his peers, Henry Cyril Watters (1907-1984) was another composer, highly respected by music publishers, whose work was readily accepted for its unfailing high standards. At times he was employed as a staff arranger by Boosey & Hawkes and Chappell, and for many years he willingly devoted some of his energies in running the Light Music Society for the benefit of his fellow musicians. He achieved a minor hit with his Willow Waltz (on GLCD5189)when it was used in Britain as a television theme, but possibly the number on this CD – Folies Parade – is more typical of his many bright and breezy melodies.

The American Van Phillips (1905-1992) was a respected member of London’s dance band fraternity from the late 1920s onwards, but after the Second World War he discovered a new talent for writing background music. Many of his works such as Twinkle Toes were accepted by Inter-Art Music Publishers (Impress), and some admirers have noted possible influences of Robert Farnon and Bruce Campbell. He also worked on a major BBC Radio series "Journey Into Space", first broadcast in 1953. When composing failed to satisfy his creative instincts he eventually became a highly regarded professional photographer.

A musician who is already well represented on Guild Light Music CDs is Dolf Van Der Linden (1915-1999), who conducts his own piece Pennsylvania Dutch. His real name was David Gysbert van der Linden and he was the leading figure on the light music scene in the Netherlands from the 1940s until the 1980s.

Clive Richardson (1909-1998) was best-known as a pianist during his early career, but working on many pre-war British films (usually without any credit on-screen) honed his talents as an arranger and composer. His London Fantasia (on Guild GLCD5120) was widely praised and thereafter his work was regularly commissioned by many leading publishers. It seems likely that Chappells commissioned him to compose Jamboree in a similar style to his earlier Holiday Spirit (on GLCD5120) which had been so successful.

Ernest Tomlinson(b.1924) is one of Britain’s most talented composers, working mainly in light music, but also highly regarded for his choral works and brass band pieces. During a very productive career he has contributed numerous titles to the recorded music libraries of many different publishers, often under the pseudonym ‘Alan Perry’, which he chose for Starlight Special on this CD. His suites of English Folk Dances have become part of the standard light music repertoire. In recent years Ernest has worked hard to preserve thousands of music manuscripts that would otherwise have been destroyed, and he is the President of the Light Music Society. In 2012 he received a well-deserved MBE for his services to music.

Arnold Steck (1905-1974) is a pseudonym used by Major Leslie Statham, conductor of the Band of the Welsh Guards, who retired from the regiment in 1962 to concentrate fully on composing. Not surprisingly he was a master of concert marches and two of his compositions were used by the BBC for many years to introduce their football and tennis programmes. Ten To One on this CD is a fine example of his work.

The English composer Alec Rowley (1892-1958) became known for his educational music aimed at amateur players, which seems to have resulted in his more serious works being unfairly neglected. He studied with Frederick Corder at London’s Royal Academy of Music, and became familiar to early radio listeners as a piano duettist with Edgar Moy. His Piano Concerto No. 1 was premiered in 1938. He makes his Guild debut with his Nautical Overture Down Channel.

Lincoln-born Gilbert Vinter (1909-1969) is probably best remembered in Britain as the conductor of the BBC Midland Light Orchestra when it was one of the foremost contributors of quality light music on the BBC. However he also excelled as a composer, both in light music (such as Toward Adventure on this CD) and the brass band world.

The work selected to complete this collection is a typical piece by Derby-born Percy (Eastman) Fletcher (1879-1932), who is often recognised today for his brass band pieces although he spent much of his career as a musical director in London’s West End theatres. A prolific composer, he wrote numerous ballads as well as choral works and light orchestral suites. Perhaps his best-remembered piece of light music is the valse-caprice Bal Masque, which was the second of his "Parisian Sketches", composed in 1914 (on Guild GLCD 5108 and 5137).The exhilarating All The Fun Of The Fair comes from his "Rustic Revels" suite. Another movement Dancing On The Green was featured on GLCD5107. His work is a fine example of the high standards achieved by British composers working in Light Music spheres during the first half of the last century.

David Ades

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About Geoff 123
Geoff Leonard was born in Bristol. He spent much of his working career in banking but became an independent record producer in the early nineties, specialising in the works of John Barry and British TV theme compilations.
He also wrote liner notes for many soundtrack albums, including those by John Barry, Roy Budd, Ron Grainer, Maurice Jarre and Johnny Harris. He co-wrote two biographies of John Barry in 1998 and 2008, and is currently working on a biography of singer, actor, producer Adam Faith.
He joined the Internet Movie Data-base (www.imdb.com) as a data-manager in 2001 and looked after biographies, composers and the music-department, amongst other tasks. He retired after nine years loyal service in order to continue writing.