1930s – Radio Days

Song of the Week: Lupino Lane … is doing The Lambeth Walk

Posted 3 August 20193 November 2019 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1930s, Cinema, Dance, Song of the Week

What can one say? great 1937 song from the pen of Noel Gay, interpreted by the brilliant Lupino Lane in this 1939 film version of the musical Me and My Girl.

Sax Rohmer on crime in the UK, 1932

Posted 2 February 20192 February 2019 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1930s

Something a bit different from Radio Days today, and perhaps still topical in its way. Not a song but a short British Movietone clip featuring crime writer and author of the Fu Manchu series, Sax Rohmer (nom de plume of […]

Song of the Week: Don’t Ever Lose It Whatever It Is (1936)

Posted 31 January 2019 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1930s, Song of the Week

It’s surprising that, in light of their long and successful career together, the all-singing all-dancing Peters Sisters from Santa Monica, California, are not better known today. The earliest recordings I know of date from 1936, as does the clip below, […]

Song of the Week: Raymond Scott Quintette, Twighlight in Turkey (1937)

Posted 27 January 201928 January 2019 Radio Days2 CommentsPosted in 1930s, Jazz, Song of the Week

This week’s Song of the Week, Twilight in Turkey, comes in the context of the work I’ve been doing over the past month or so in putting together a programme of songs, stories, film, and ephemera for ‘The New Orientalism’ […]

Song of the Week: Lily Morris, Why am I Always the Bridesmaid?

Posted 1 January 20196 January 2019 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1930s, Song of the Week

Although there have survived some very short silent film clips of music-hall stars from the turn of the last century, we sadly (though pretty obviously) have no audiovisual records of performances from the era. We do, thankfully, have on film […]

Song of the Week: Harry Roy, Rhythm Racketeer and Girl in the Poster (1937)

Posted 11 December 2018 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1930s, Song of the Week

I’ve always been a big fan of Harry Roy, but had not seen either of his two films until serendipitously finding this clip. Enjoy the slightly surreal spectacular!

Song of the Week: A Proper Cup of Coffee

Posted 17 October 201817 October 2018 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1920s, 1930s, Song of the Week

A song from the pens of the brilliant and prolific songwriting team of R.P. Weston (lyrics) and Bert Lee (music) (who else could ever rhyme “Persia” with “curse ya”?), A Proper Cup of Coffee was, to my knowledge, first performed […]

Song of the Week: Yip Harburg’s Lydia the Tattooed Lady

Posted 19 July 201810 October 2018 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1930s, Song of the Week

I imagine that Yip Harburg is unlikely to be the first name to spring to your lips if asked to name a famous American songwriter from the Thirties. So you’ll probably be surprised to discover that you know many of […]

French Dance Competition 1931

Posted 28 June 201511 December 2017 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1930s, Song of the Week

We love this clip! Filmed on 7th March 1931, this Fox Movietone News Story shows scenes from a French amateur dance competition (“championat de France de danse moderne amateur”). We especially love the guys dancing solo from minute 4:00 onwards–I […]

Song of the Week: Champagne Charlie

Posted 4 May 20154 June 2015 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1860s, 1930s, 1940s, Recordings, Song of the Week

I’m always fascinated at the way that songs can seem to take on a life of their own, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse, as they pass from generation to generation. P.J. Proby’s 1964 recording of Hold […]

Song of the Week: Bert Ambrose, Limehouse Blues

Posted 23 January 201515 September 2017 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1930s, Song of the Week

Many orchestras recorded Limehouse Blues but none, in our opinion, ever matched that of Bert Ambrose.

Song of the Week: “Any Rags”

Posted 1 January 201515 September 2017 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1900s, 1930s, Song of the Week

I guess the place we have to start this week is with a 1932 cartoon. I’ve been an ardent fan of Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons since I discovered them as a schoolboy in the 1960s (there’d been a Popeye […]

Song of the Week: Greta Keller, ‘Mad About The Boy’

Posted 18 December 201411 December 2017 Radio DaysLeave a commentPosted in 1930s, Song of the Week

First recorded in October 1932 by Jack Hylton and his Orchestra with Phyllis Robins on vocals (though first performed in the theatre in August 1932 revue Words and Music by Joyce Barbour, Steffi Duna, Norah Howard and Doris Hare), Mad […]