 Gersholm Parkington.
Gersholm Parkington was the cellist of the quintet which bore his name and was very popular
in the 1930s. He came to broadcasting in about 1926 and his quintet became one of the most popular combinations
on the air. Before working for the BBC, he spent eight years as director of music at Bridlington. As a young man
he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, and he went on to work with Sir Thomas Beecham at Covent
Garden. In his spare time he collected antiques, especially clocks. |
 Jack Payne.
Jack Payne's first experience as in a dance band was while he was a pilot during the first
world war, stationed in Lincolnshire. He played piano in the officer's mess. Jack's first real break came when he
was signed to organise the dance music at the Hotel Cecil. (He signed the contract on Friday the 13th, but all
seemed to go well.) In 1928 he was made Director of the BBC's official dance band. During his stay, dance music
became one of the most popular items of the programmes. Once he left the BBC, his band toured widely and had
considerable recording success.
Hear Jack Payne:
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 Ann Penn.
Miss Penn achieved fame in the USA before "making it" in Britain, and that led to the
popular misconception that she was American. Actually, she was born near Liverpool in 1905. She was introduced
to listeners in 1927, just before her first English stage show "C.O.D." She was an actress, singer, and not
least an impersonator. |
 Harry S. Pepper.
Harry S. Pepper was a composer, pianist, and BBC producer. He entered the theatrical
profession by way of his father's concert party, Will C. Pepper's White Coons. (Nothing racist intended in those
days!) Later he became assistant to Jimmy Glover, the Drury Lane musical director, and then joined the
"Co-Optimists". His first broadcast was as a pianist in one of Charlot's Hours, and then he went into partnership
with Doris Arnold on two pianos. |
 Gillie Potter.
Described as "that sham Harrovian who bears upon his blazer the broad arrows of a blameful
life", Gillie Potter was the comedian who nearly put Hogsnorton on the map. His broadcasts from that imaginary
county town became known all over the world. He started broadcasting in 1931, but already had a long career as a
front-rank music-hall comedian. The private side of Gillie Potter was a quiet man with a love of books. |
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