Debroy Somers (born William Henry Somers; 11 April 1890,1939 England and Wales Register – 27 May 1952) was a

British dance band British dance band is a genre of popular jazz and dance music that developed in British dance halls and hotel ballrooms during the 1920s and 1930s, often called a Golden Age of British music, prior to the Second World War. Thousands of miles awa ...

leader. Somers was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland. He had trained as a musician at the

Duke of York's Royal Military School The Duke of York's Royal Military School, in Guston, Kent, commonly known as the Duke of York's, is a co-educational academy with military tradition for students aged 11 to 18. In 2010, the school became an academy under the Ministry of Defe ...

in Chelsea, 1900-1905 where he was entered by his mother Clara (a nurse) after the death of his father William, Sergeant Drummer Gloucestershire Regiment, on St. Helena after 25 years service. He made the rank of colour corporal. He continued his studies in Dublin under Signor Michele Esposito at The

Royal Irish Academy of Music Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roy ...

in 1904. At the age of 15 he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment as a boy bandsman before retiring in 1913. He rejoined his old regiment in 1916 retiring as a sergeant musician in 1918; being demobilised in Wiltshire.British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920 His period of celebrity stretched from the 1920s to the 1940s. He appeared in numerous films, including '' Second Choice'', ''Stars on Parade'' and ''Aunt Sally'', and founded the 11-piece dance band The

Savoy Orpheans The Savoy Orpheans is a British dance band currently led by Alex Mendham. They were resident at the Savoy Hotel, London. The band was formed by Debroy Somers, an ex-army bandmaster, in 1923. Both the Orpheans and the Savoy Havana Band were under ...

. On 15 June 1925, Somers conducted the first British performance of

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

's ''

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band by George Gershwin. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects and premiered in a concer ...

'' from the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 1 ...

with the Orpheans, alongside the

Savoy Havana Band The Savoy Havana Band was a British dance band of the 1920s. It was resident at the Savoy Hotel, London, between 1921 and 1927. The band made their first live outside broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation from the Savoy Hotel on 3 Octob ...

and Gershwin himself on piano. The performance was broadcast live by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. His ensemble, the Debroy Somers Band, was also known as the Midnight Minstrels. In 1930, they covered " Amy, Wonderful Amy", a song about

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records dur ...

. Before the war Somers was a regular broadcaster on

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

, acting as musical director for several regular shows, including the children's show '' Ovaltineys'' and ''Shipmates Ashore'' for the Merchant Navy. In 1943, he returned to London's West End to direct the hit show '' The Lisbon Story'' at the

Hippodrome Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the Hippodrome which opened in London in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances". The term hippodroming refers to fr ...

. He was also director for Tom Arnold and Robert Nesbitt's production of ''Latin Quarter'' at the London Casino in 1949. His last production was as musical director for

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

's '' Zip Goes a Million'' at the Palace Theatre in 1951, but he collapsed and died in London during the run of the show in May 1952, aged 62. Somers married a widow, Doddy Payne (nee Watts) on 9 September 1912 in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, London;England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 she already had three children from her previous marriage. The family home remained in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, for many years.

External links

Detailed biography at ''Allmusic''

Duke of York's Royal Military School
Debroy Somers And His Orchestra in the 1937 revue film ''Shooting Stars''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somers, Debroy 1890 births 1952 deaths British male musicians British big band bandleaders British jazz bandleaders Dance band bandleaders Place of birth missing 20th-century British male musicians