Unique Radio Programme by Oscar Rabin's Romany Band - 1936

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This is is an incredibly special video. A few weeks ago I was contacted by the grandson of Alf Kaplan, pianist in Oscar Rabin's Romany Band. He was keen to learn more about his grandfather, and said he had a bunch of 12" records at home he had no way of listening to. I borrowed them this weekend to transfer and to my surprise they contain a full 45 minute show from Saturday 29th February 1936 on the BBC's London station! It is completely unique - the discs are in exceptional condition bar one flake. I am hugely indebted to the family for lending me this, and letting me see Alf's photo album, which is where the pictures in the video come from. This is truly a remarkable find. Only two of the songs (On Top Of A Bus and Goodnight But Not Goodbye) were ever recorded by the band so the rest is "new" to us. Gerry Fitzgerald also never appeared on record with this band, so that's a first too!
In order, the songs are:
1) Dancing Time (theme) and College Rhythm
2) A Little Bit Independent
3) Eeny Meenie Minie Mo
4) Expiation (Tango)
5) Moon Over Miami (v. Gerry Fitzgerald)
6) Shine (v. Dinah Miller)
7) The Chesnut Man (Rumba)
8) Smiling Through (Waltz)
9) Ders Jazz In Dem Dere Horns (v. Dinah Miller)
10) Birth Of The Blues (Johnny Swinfen saxophone solo)
11) On Top Of A Bus
12) Sunset Trail (v. Gerry Fitzgerald)
13) Mammy Bong (Runba)
14) Woe Is Me
15) Avalon (Johnny Swinfen saxophone solo) and Goodnight But Not Goodbye
OSCAR RABIN'S ROMANY BAND
Harry Davis, g, compere, v, ldr: Bob Hutchinson, George Gurgess, t / Hamish Christie, tb / Johnny Swinfen, cl, as, vn / ? Raymond Doughty, cl, as / Sid Brown, cl, ts, p / Oscar Rabin,? vn , ldr / Alf Kaplan, p, pac / George Senior, sb / Cecil Walden, d / Gerry Fitzgerald, Billy Nichols, Dinah Miller, The Romaniacs - Raymond Doughty, Sid Brown & Hamish Christie, v.
Recorded by Permarec Recording Studios, 19 Lisle Street, London, W.C. 2.
Broadcast Saturday 29th February, 1936

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24 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 22

@anthonyfrew1571 11 месяцев назад

This could be the only copy in existence - what a wonderful talent Dinah Miller was - great to have this show online - It should be safe now - so many broadcasts remain lost; this needs to be looked after

@mabel8179 Год назад

A wonderful radio broadcast! I was delighted to hear Dinah Miller! A lovely surprise. Excellent dance band and music. Love this so much!

@johnwestwood7524 Год назад

This is a really great discovery, for which huge thanks Jonathan. According to Rust/Forbes*, the Rabin band didn't make any commercial recordings between August 1935 and September 1938 so this falls into a time when the band were out of contract to Columbia, or anyone else. The line-up in '35 was only slightly different to this broadcast: *THE ROMANY BAND directed by OSCAR RABIN from the Palais de Danse, Hammersmith : Harry Davis-g-v dir. Bob Hutchinson-George Burgess-t/Hamish Christie-tb/Johnny Swinfen-cl-as-vn/?Raymond Doughty-cl-as/Sid Brown-cl-ts-p/Oscar Rabin-bsx.ldr/Alf Kaplan-p-pac/Cecil Walden-d/Eve Becke-Beryl Davis-Al Bowlly-Garry Gowan-Dinah Miller-v London, 15th August 1935 CA15633-1 On top of a bus - vHD Col FB-1339 When they started recording again in '38 it was for the Rex label, the Crystalate company having sold out to Decca. The personnel was much the same, except that Harry Gold had joined the reed section.

@MikeThomas78 Год назад

This is amazing, Jonathan. I think it shows how good this band was, which for some reason was ignored by the record companies at this time. Just a few additional things regarding the personnel. The bass player is George Senior, who seemed to live in the recording studios, and is reported in "Melody Maker" as being added to this band for broadcasts & records. The vocalist on "Eeeny Meeny Miny Mo" & "Woe Is Me" is Billy Nichols, (introduced as "young Billy, our page boy"). Nichols later learned to play the bass and played with this band, but is likely to be the guitarist here. Harry Davis was also a guitar player, and may have played while Nichols was singing. The vocal trio "The Romaniacs" (heard with Billy on his titles) are Raymond Doughty, Sid Brown & Hamish Christie. Raymond Doughty is the singer on the waltz "Smiling Through". He played accordion as well as reeds, and is heard on the tango playing this. I don't believe Rabin ever played bass sax on record, but he may be the extra violinist heard. A minor point - The Chestnut Man and Mammy Bong are rumbas not tangos.

@JonathanHolmesjazz Год назад

Thanks Mike, I’ve amended that.

@telmar98 Год назад

An astonishing find and what a treat to hear. The band really get the chance to show off their versitility, and I especially enjoyed the 'hotter' items. And isn't Dinah Miller good, she brings a real Harlem swing to her vocals. The Romany Band made no commercial radio appearances that could equate to these discs in 1936, but they did a number of 45 minute National Programme broadcasts on the BBC, and I think this is one of them.

@risingchads Год назад

Wonderful to hear a complete programme of this age with its full musical mix, played straight through just as if you were listening-in or out for the night. So different to selecting from commercial discs.

@spencersmith2798 Год назад

What an unusual treat…nice.

@SwingBandHeaven Год назад

I'm going to enjoy listening to this unique recoding. Any complete radio show from this period in the uk is incredibly rare. Are these shellac disks or some other material

@JonathanHolmesjazz Год назад

They have an aluminium base, with a surface which is quite tough compared to acetates from this period. As far as I understand, Permarec discs were recorded onto and then literally baked in oven to set the surface for playing on windup gramophones

@nickdellow6073 Год назад

Very interesting. A rare chance to hear a British dance band as it would have sounded during a broadcast. As usual with such band broadcasts, there is a real mix of styles, from tangos to hot numbers, showing the Rabin band's versatility. Dance bands had to cater for a wide variety of tastes of course. Johnny Swinfen's extraordinary feature solo "Birth Of The Blues" sounds very like those well-known post-War Freddy Gardner sides such as "I'm In The Mood For Love". Harry Davis seems to have a North American twang! Do we know where he was born? He emigrated to the USA in 1951, but did he emanate from the States (or Canada)? Really great photos too. Everything really well put together.

@telmar98 Год назад

Harry Davis, bandleader and singer: born Liverpool 10 August 1901 - died Los Angeles 15 December 1996.

@nickdellow6073 Год назад

@@telmar98 Many thanks for the information.

@mabel8179 Год назад

@@telmar98 Wow, from Liverpool?! Do tell me more.

@The_Incredible_Voice Год назад

WHAT?!? This is incredible 😳🎶🥰

@mabel8179 Год назад

Isn't it just! This is very valuable to British dance band history.

@SwingBandHeaven Год назад

I listened and wasn't disappointed! I did wonder though whether this was recorded for broadcast or recorded from the broadcast itself. I suppose there is no way of knowing for sure - although at the end of the last side the music very slowly fades to nothing with no hint of any announcer so perhaps it was recorded to be broadcast? Although did the BBC broadcast whole shows from disks that would need to be changed every 4 minutes when they probably had one of those huge reel to reel machines with metal tape by 1936 for such purposes? I also wondered were the disk sides numbered sequentially by which I mean did disk one have sides 1 and 2, disk 2 sides 3 and 4 etc or were they numbered like an automatic coupling such as disk 1 had side 1 and 3, disk 2 sides 2 and 4 etc. Or were they all single sided? I ask only because these disks will probably never see the light of day again in public and it would be interesting to know.

@ianblakesley3349 Год назад

It is more likely that it was prerecorded to be broadcast later by one of the European commercial stations, whose studio announcers would add the sponsor and product advertisement at each end of the show.

@JonathanHolmesjazz Год назад

Just seen this! The discs are numbered as follows: 1 and 3, 2 and 4, 5 and 7, 6 and 8 etc. it was intended for radio play, but the dubbing is a bit odd - sometimes at the end of one disc the announcement cuts out halfway through only for it to be repeated at the start of the next disc

@mabel8179 Год назад

@@ianblakesley3349 Yes maybe for Radio Luxembourg or Normandy? I collect 1930s women's and radio magazines, so I will keep an eye out for a radio broadcasting listing for this date.

@robturner3065 6 месяцев назад

The staggered sides and continuity overlap indicate they were recorded off air with two separate machines. There were many companies offering this service in London in the 30s, Cecil Watts' MSS being one. They manufactured the only BBC-approved cutting blanks, baked blanks had been tried and rejected by the beeb. And there's no way the BBC would syndicate their programmes to the commercial pirates on the continent! Edit... also BBC broadcast discs were cut at 60rpm....