Cyril Stapleton

Cyril Stapleton was a ubiquitous figure in English pop music across three decades, initially by way of the BBC and later as an independent bandleader. Born on the last day of the year 1914 in Mapperley, Nottingham, he took to music easily and early in life, taking up the violin at age seven, and he made his first local radio appearance at age 12. He made regular appearances on the BBC as a boy, from their Birmingham studios. In his early teens -- which coincided with the tail-end of the silent movie era -- he frequently played in movie theater orchestras, playing accompaniment to silent films. He later attended Trinity College of Music in London on a scholarship, and during this time he auditioned for and won a spot in a new dance band being formed by leader Henry Hall under the auspices of the BBC. In addition to broadcasts, Stapleton played on several of Hall's recordings for EMI's Columbia label. Stapleton eventually lost the spot, however, owing to his youth, and returned to Nottingham. He then had ambitions as a bandleader himself, however, and formed his own group, which got work locally in theaters. He subsequently toured South Africa with Jack Payne's orchestra, and played on records by Payne's group. In the second half of the '30s, Stapleton's band moved to London, and by March of 1939 they'd made their BBC debut. He still occasionally worked in other bands, including the Jack Hylton Orchestra, however, and the outbreak of the Second World War late in 1939 forced Stapleton to abandon his career -- he served in the Royal Air Force for the duration. Although he was initially an air gunner, he was eventually able to put his musical abilities to work organizing entertainment, and by the end of the war he'd become a member of the RAF Symphony Orchestra. Stapleton...