Clifford Blandford Townshend (28 January 1916 – 29 June 1986) was an English jazz musician who played saxophone in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Dance Orchestra, popularly known as The Squadronaires. He also played

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

in the band. His eldest son,

Pete Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a characte ...

, gained renown as guitarist and principal composer for the band

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

Biography

Cliff Townshend was born to Dorothy and Horace Townshend on 28 January 1916. The couple married in 1910 in

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

and were both musicians who played in Concert Party shows for the troops during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Townshend showed an early interest in music and was in a band by 1932 while attending

Latymer Upper School Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London. He was expelled from school for playing in his teens at "Bottle Parties", adult parties that involved smoking and drinking as well as innovative popular music. He played at such venues as the

Stork Club Stork Club was a nightclub in Manhattan, New York City. During its existence from 1929 to 1965, it became one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A symbol of café society, the wealthy elite, including movie stars, celebrities, showgi ...

and with the Billy Wiltshire Band. He made some of his first recordings with the band of drummer Joe Daniels at

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...

. In the 1930s, Townshend became a

Blackshirt The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980), was a British aristocrat and politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when he, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, turned to fascism. ...

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, f ...

. In 1940, Townshend enlisted in the

. Before ending up with The Squadronaires, he played in a number of small bands as part of his duties, as the RAF high command recognized the morale value of popular music. During the early days of the war, he met Betty Dennis, who enlisted in 1941 when she was sixteen. She drove a truck and sang with RAF bands. They married 16 April 1944 in

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

, South Wales, where they were stationed. By this time, Townshend had achieved the rank of Lance Corporal. Their first son,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, was born 19 May 1945 (the same month Germany surrendered) in West London in Nazareth House, an annex of Middlesex Hospital. The family moved into a war-damaged house in Acton, and Betty Townshend ended her singing career but continued to assist with office work and management for The Squadronaires. The enforced separation caused by the band's continued tours caused stresses in the marriage; however, the couple sometimes took their son and went together on the band's tours. In 1952, the Squadronaires began a regular summer engagement at the Palace Ballroom in

Douglas, Isle of Man Douglas (, ) is the Capital (political), capital city and largest settlement of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021) and an area of . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, Isle of Man, River Douglas, and on a sweepi ...

, which continued for about ten years. In 1956, Cliff Townshend released a solo recording of "

Unchained Melody "Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film '' Unchained'' (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.Robert ...

" which made him something of a pop star, and royalties from the record were welcome. Cliff and Betty Townshend's second son, Paul Townshend, was born in 1957, and the family moved to a larger flat in

Ealing Common Ealing Common is a large open space (approx ) in Ealing, West London. Boundaries The Ealing Common Area is bounded by Ealing, Ealing Town Centre to the west, North Ealing and Hanger Hill to the north, Acton, London, Acton to the east and So ...

. In the same year, Townshend took his son Pete to see the film ''

Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...

'' with

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

, and then to a live Bill Haley concert at the Regal Cinema at

Marble Arch The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today th ...

. Townshend thought the music "had some swing". The couple's third son,

Simon Townshend Simon Townshend (; born 10 October 1960) is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the younger brother of the Who's guitarist Pete Townshend, and is most associated with The Who and the various side projects of its original members ...

, was born on 10 October 1960. Pete Townshend dedicated his 1987 album '' Another Scoop'' to the memory of his father.

References

External links

The Squadronaires
*Ron Simmonds

''Jazz Professional''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Townshend, Cliff 1916 births 1986 deaths 20th-century English male musicians 20th-century English saxophonists English jazz saxophonists English male jazz musicians English male saxophonists People educated at Latymer Upper School Pete Townshend Royal Air Force personnel of World War II The Squadronaires members