Talk:Al Bowlly
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Supergeo 03:14, 6 March 2007 (UTC)
It is worth listening to some of the records Bowlly made during his US visit when Ray Noble was conducting a largely American (because of the labour laws) band.
Two that stand out for me are: 'There's Something in the Air' and 'You Were There'. Ray Noble was a great composer of songs and orchestrator, but one wonders how much further Al might have taken his career with American support and American bands - and American recording technology.
Anybody who has never listened to Bowlly should be warned that his personal charm and style are infectious, and that most of the songs he sings are memorable and catchy. There was the TV play about him: Moonlight on the Highway, but never a proper movie. Dennis Norden recalls a US movie mogul contemplating such a film but ultimately rejecting it on the grounds that it was a story of 'a loser'.
What one does notice is the prevelance of Bowlly recordings used as background in thirties dramas and documentaries on TV and, of course, the predominance of Bowlly songs in Potter's 'Pennies From Heaven'. I believe all of Dennis Potter's plays have titles associated with Bowlly recordings: 'Rain on the Roof', 'Dark Eyes' etc.
It was amusing to hear the background music in the empty ballroom scenes in 'The Shining' set in the 1920s with a deranged Jack Nicholson terrifying the remaining occupants of the hotel. 'Midnight, the Stars and You' was recorded by Bowlly in about 1934!
It is not false nostalgia to say that the 1930s were a time of great songs which were usually optimistic and happy, and designed for home gramophones and devotees of the foxtrot. Bowlly must count surely as Britain's leading exponent of the songs of that era which await rediscovery by future generations.
[edit] WikiProject: Biography Assessment Notes:
This page is a very good start, however, it's unreferenced, and there's no Biography infobox. That, plus some expansion will move it up to "B" Class. Thanks! Belril 14:11, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
