Talk:Al Bowlly

Oh jesus
This article reads just like the one on Rudy Vallee, and actually has some of the same spurious claims (unless they both invented crooning and were both the first true pop star). Someone who isn't a devout fan needs to find some sources and clean both of them up. 75.49.251.170 (talk) 23:06, 7 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Egf 79.186.239.46 (talk) 21:24, 16 February 2024 (UTC)

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.


 * This might interest you then:
 * Al Bowlly – Britain’s First Pop Star BBC Radio 2 documentary on Al Bowlly including interview with Bowlly fan Hugh Heffner - streaming audio (use the Listen again button)


 * It includes a reference by Heffner to Potter's use of Bowlly's songs in his work such as Pennies from Heaven. Ian Dunster (talk) 19:13, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

I think crooning in Britian was popularized by Al like it was in the US by Bing Crosby. Zack the man who is a person (talk) 04:16, 14 April 2020 (UTC)

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)

Article clean up.
I have started a major edit on this article and I will continue when I have more time. Article needs a thorough reworking, including a few more images. It also needs some decent references as the ones it has got are not that good. Cassianto (talk) 00:34, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

Two suggestions:

med term 4 "wart in the throat" is laryngeal papillomatosis

Midnight with the stars and you, there were actually two recordings, the first at new year's 1934 and the one listed herein. The reason for the 2nd recording was that he said "your eyes" when it should have been "your arms" or vice-versa. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.51.122.68 (talk) 04:42, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

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British background
Born in Mozambique to Greek and Lebanese parents, raised in South Africa, how is he British? He has a KBE. There is a lot missing from the article. More info from anyone? MartinezMD (talk) 14:15, 31 May 2020 (UTC)

Suspected copyright violation
I have listed this article as a suspected copyright violation because Earwig's Copyvio Detector identifies a high probability of violation for three websites, however it is unclear whether any of the sites are the source of the text. I have listed the current version & have not gone through the history to see which editor or editors added the suspect text. Find bruce (talk) 21:28, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

Birth Year
Al Bowlly's birth year has been disputed and speculated at in various biographies. Here are some of the speculations (none of them dispute the month or day of his birth):

"Albert Alick Bowlly was born on 7th January 1899 in Maputo, Mozambique which then was Laurenco Marques in Portuguese East Africa."
 * Excerpt from "They Called Him Al: The Musical Life of Al Bowlly" 2010 (Pallett)
 * https://books.google.com/books?id=PqxQSAAACAAJ&q=1899#v=snippet&q=1899&f=false

"It is certain that he was born in Lourenco Marques, on the East Coast of Africa. The date of his birth, however, is variously given as 1890, 1898, 1901--even 1906. On his death certificate, the date of birth is recorded as 7 January 1898: but then it appears that in middle age he was inclined to knock a few years off (who wants to know a crooner when he's fifty?). The weight of evidence seems to point to 1890, which is the date given in a printed concert programme for the Elizade Orchestra, at the Shepherds Bush Empire in 1929. According to Lew Stone, who had to fill in a work-permit form for Al in 1932, he was then secretly admitting to forty-two. His contemporaries from those days remember teasing him as 'the Daddy of the Band'; while they--Nat Gonella, Tiny Winters, Joe Crossman, Monia Liter--are now in their early seventies, Al Bowlly, if he were still alive, would be nearly ninety."
 * Excerpt from "Al Bowlly" 1979 (Colin/Staveacre, 1)

"Al always maintained that his birthday was 7th January 1898, a date confirmed as correct by his family. However, it is believed by some that 1890 was nearer his true year of birth, ln the “Melody Maker” of 25th April 1941, the columnist who wrote the tribute after Al’s death said he was older than anyone thought. Lew Stone, with whom Al worked for many years, said that Al was 42 in 1932, and in 1938, in a conversation with a friend, Al claimed he was then 46. Al always managed to look younger than he was since he was very keen on physical culture and therefore hid his age well. Since his birth appears not to have been registered, we will probably never know Al Bowlly’s true birthday."
 * Excerpt from "The Al Bowlly Story" 1975 (Pallett, 6)
 * https://albowlly.blog/2020/08/22/your-48-page-pictorial-story-souvenir-of-al-bowlly-ray-pallett-april-1975-2/

--Falseinfinity (talk) 23:39, 3 April 2021 (UTC)

Reliable sources
There is a citation for "The Al Bowlly Story". Memorylane.org.uk. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012. Seriously?! The article it cites has absolutely zero citations of its own and no proof whatsoever of being any kind of authoritative source. Does anyone else agree? Please ping me when you respond. MagnoliaSouth (talk) 15:11, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

The Caretaker
There seems to be a lot of content about a minor figure in the online music scene known as 'The Caretaker' who has sampled some Bowlly recordings. Is this simple selfpromotion that needs to be severely pruned or entirely removed? 125.239.45.52 (talk) 07:48, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

The Caretaker is quite a notable figure in his field; his albums are certainly critically acclaimed. I can imagine the fanbase are largely otherwise unfamiliar with Bowlly, hence there being a little too much content here. I think some should be pruned - I'll give it a go. Humbledaisy (talk) 19:09, 9 September 2023 (UTC)