Musical artist
Henry Robert Hall
,
CBE
(2 May 1898 ? 28 October 1989)
[1]
was an English
bandleader
who performed regularly on
BBC Radio
during the
British dance band
era of the 1920s and 1930s, through to the 1960s.
[2]
Early life and career
[
edit
]
Henry Hall was born in
Peckham
,
South London
, England.
[1]
He won a scholarship to
Trinity College of Music
where he studied trumpet, piano, harmony and
counterpoint
.
[1]
His first job was as a copyist at the head office of the
Salvation Army
for which he wrote several marches.
[1]
During
World War I
, Hall served with the
Royal Field Artillery
,
[1]
and played trumpet and piano in the regimental band.
Hall's musical career was slow to start but eventually he was engaged by the
London Midland and Scottish Railway
to take charge of music throughout their then large chain of hotels, including
Gleneagles Hotel
, where he had previously led the band.
[2]
Hall describes in his autobiography,
Here's to the Next Time
, that in October 1923 he met a young woman, Margery Harker, while travelling by rail to
Dartmoor
. Hall mentions that he and Margery were about the same age and had much in common, after discussing the
C. B. Cochran
production of the musical
Little Nellie Kelly
and Paul Whiteman's take on "Till My Luck comes Rolling Along", a number from the show. The following day, Henry invited Margery to a dance and proposed to her at the end of the evening. Two days after meeting, the two were engaged and were married in January 1924, at
St. George's, Hanover Square
, London.
[3]
[4]
Henry and Margery had two children during their marriage, Mike and Betty.
In June 1924, on the opening night of the Gleneagles Hotel, Hall persuaded the
BBC
to broadcast the event on radio,
[1]
which began his long association with BBC radio.
[2]
The 1930s: broadcasting star
[
edit
]
It was from Gleneagles that the BBC took him in 1932 to succeed
Jack Payne
as band leader of the
BBC Dance Orchestra
.
[5]
At 5.15pm each weekday, Hall's radio programme from
Broadcasting House
gathered a huge following across the nation.
[6]
His signature tune was "It's Just the Time for Dancing", and he usually concluded with his own composition "Here's to the Next Time".
[1]
[7]
In 1932 he recorded the songs "
Hush, Hush, Hush, Here Comes the Bogeyman
" and "
Teddy Bears' Picnic
" with his BBC Orchestra, featuring singer
Val Rosing
on vocals.
[7]
The latter song gained enormous popularity and sold over a million copies. In 1934 his popularity was confirmed when his orchestra topped the bill at the
London Palladium
.
[2]
He featured in the documentary
BBC The Voice of Britain
(1935), the source of the "This is Henry Hall speaking" clip much used in documentaries on this period.
In 1936, Henry Hall made his first feature film and in the same year he was guest conductor of the ship's orchestra on the
Queen Mary
'
s maiden voyage, where he wrote the song "Somewhere at Sea".
[1]
[8]
In 1937, the BBC Dance Orchestra played at the opening of the
Gaumont State Cinema
in
Kilburn, London
.
[1]
Hall's last broadcast with the B.B.C. Dance Orchestra was on 25 September 1937, the band embarking on a variety tour before disbanding in 1939.
[7]
[1]
He generated controversy by dropping songs by Jewish composers while playing in
Berlin
in February 1938.
[9]
Later years
[
edit
]
During the
Second World War
, Hall played for the troops, and gave concerts and shows in factories all over Britain. Many of these concerts came in the form of "Guest Night" broadcasts. From June to November, 1943, "Guest Night" was replaced by "Henry Hall's Rhythm Entertainment" intended to provide radio entertainment for troops overseas.
After the war he developed his show business interests, becoming something of an agent and producer.
[1]
His BBC work again blossomed as he hosted
Henry Hall's Guest Night
on the radio and later on television. Hall was also involved in the launch of the television programme
Face the Music
.
[1]
Hall had a son, Michael, who served in the
Royal Navy
, and later became one of the resident chairmen at the
Players Theatre
in London, founded by actor
Leonard Sachs
, and there was a daughter, Betty.
In 1955, Hall published his autobiography
Here's to the Next Time
. He dedicated it to his wife, Margery.
He ceased regular broadcasting in 1964 and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire,
CBE
, in 1970.
[1]
He died in
Eastbourne
, Sussex, in October 28, 1989.
[1]
A green memorial plaque on the site of his former home at 8 Randolph Mews,
Little Venice
, was unveiled on 2 May 1996.
[10]
A
blue plaque
commemorates Hall at 38 Harman Drive in
Cricklewood
, London, where he lived between 1932 and 1959.
[11]
Popular culture
[
edit
]
Hall unknowingly lent his name to a work shift at
Frickley Colliery
in
South Yorkshire
. Miners at the colliery who worked the unpopular night shift referred to the shift as Henry Hall's shift or simply Henry's, as the shift began at 6pm, the same time as Hall started his show on the radio. When he died, the local football club
Frickley Athletic
, who had close ties with the colliery, marked the occasion in their matchday programme with a page, dedicated to Hall, entitled "No More Henry's".
[
citation needed
]
Hall's song "
Hush, Hush, Hush, Here Comes the Bogeyman
" was played in the 2010
video game
,
BioShock 2
.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
Colin Larkin
, ed. (1992).
The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music
(First ed.).
Guinness Publishing
. p. 1059.
ISBN
0-85112-939-0
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Ades, David; Bickerdyke, Percy; Holmes, Eric (1999).
This England's Book of British Dance Bands
. Cheltenham: This England Books.
ISBN
0-906324-25-4
.
- ^
Hall, Henry (1955).
Here's to the Next Time
. Long Acre, London: Odhams Press Limited. pp. 56?57.
- ^
"Hall, Henry R, & Harker Margery" in
Register of Marriages for St. George's Hanover Square Registration District
, vol. 1a (1924), p. 648
- ^
Gilliam, Laurence D.
(11 March 1932).
"The Man Behind the New BBC Dance Band"
.
Radio Times
. No. 441. BBC.
- ^
"Heather To Betty - 1936"
.
Spanglefish.com
.
- ^
a
b
c
Rust, Brian (1972).
It's Five Fifteen and Time For Henry Hall and the B.B.C. Dance Orchestra
(Sleeve notes). EMI. SH172.
- ^
"Somewhere At Sea | Heritage Quay"
. 22 January 2020
. Retrieved
16 April
2024
.
- ^
McCarthy, Albert (1974).
The Dance Band Era
. The Hamyln Publishing Group Ltd.
- ^
City of Westminster green plaques
"Westminster City Council - Green Plaques Scheme"
. Archived from
the original
on 16 July 2012
. Retrieved
7 July
2011
.
- ^
"HALL, HENRY (1898?1989)"
. English Heritage
. Retrieved
5 August
2012
.
External links
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