Al - the giant

AL BOWLLY Biography
1899 7th January, Born Albert Alick Bowlly in Lourenco Marques, Portugese East Africa (modern Maputo in Mozambique)1903 Family move to South Africa, Al grows up in Johannesburg1913 Al leaves school at 14, becomes a barber in Johannesburg, starts to gig around on banjo and uke1923-24 Joins band of Edgar Adler on tour of Rhodesia, East Africa, India, Malaya, and Java, where he splits with Adeler after an on stage punch-up1925 Al gigs around and exercises race horses in Calcutta to earn a living1926 With the Jimmy Lequime Orchestra in Calcutta and Singapore1927 Arrives in Berlin to play with Edgar Adler Band and others. Makes first vocal recording in July with Arthur Briggs Savoy Syncopators - "Song of the Wanderer". Makes first solo recording "Blue Skies" on 18th August1928 July - Arrives in London to join Fred Elizalde1929 Elizalde disbands - Al reduced to busking1930 June - comences solo recordings - in Afrikaans! First recording with Ray Noble's New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, "I'm Telling The World She's Mine", 20th November1931 January - commences regular recording and then night-club work with Roy Fox and his Band. 18th December, Al marries Freda Roberts, they break up two weeks later1932 24th October - Al Bowlly, and all but one of the Roy Fox Band, defect to form Lew Stone's new band1934 August - leaves with Ray Noble and drummer Bill Harty to form Noble's new orchestra in New York. He marries long time girlfriend Margaret "Marjie" Fairless in New Jersey 18th December1937 Al and Marjie return from the States. Al forms the short lived "Radio City Rhythm Makers", but splits up when he has to return to the States for major throat surgery1938-39 Al gigs around with bands such as Lew Stone, Geraldo, Maurice Winnick, until the outbreak of war curtails most band work1940 January - Al forms a duo, "The Radio Stars with Two Guitars", with ex-Nat Gonella singer/guitarist Jimmy Mesene1941 8th March, bandleader Ken "Snakehips" Johnson, whom Al has been sitting in with, killed by a direct hit on the Cafe de Paris. 2nd April, Al and Jimmy record their last ever record together "When That Man Is Dead and Gone". In the early hours of Thursday 17th April 1941, Al Bowlly died in the London Blitz
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e-mail: I.Rogers@btinternet.com

P.S. Apparently he had a dread of confined spaces - don't we all . Strange but true like Oksie in many ways.

Gordon