Louis Jacob Preager (12 January 1906 – 14 November 1978), known as Lou Preager, was an English pianist, dance band leader,

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

and businessman. He was active from the 1930s to the 1950s; with his band he made many recordings. They also appeared on radio and television.

Early career

Louis Jacob Preager was born in Poplar, London, in 1906, and came from a Jewish background. He was the son of Louis Preager, a tailor, and his wife Rebecca (née Cohen De Murcia). While at school, the younger Louis he played the piano in dance bands, and from age 19 he was a full-time musician. He played in fashionable London clubs and restaurants; in 1931 he joined "Eugene Pini and his Tango Orchestra" at the Monseigneur, and later joined the Billy Reid Accordion Band. In 1933, Preager led an 11-piece band, playing at Ciro's and later at Romano's in the

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

. His first recordings were released in 1935. Retrieved 26 August 2018.Lou Preager
Masters of Melody. Retrieved 26 August 2018.

Second World War and later

Preager joined the Intelligence Corps in 1941. His right arm was seriously injured in a motor accident, and he received hospital treatment for eight months. He was invalided out of the army in 1942, and he formed a 14-piece orchestra to play at the

Hammersmith Palais The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first ''palais de danse'' to be built ...

in London; it was the resident band there for 18 years. It made frequent radio broadcasts, including, from 1942, 96 editions of '' Music While You Work''. The band later appeared on television. A number of vocalists sang with the band, including

Paul Rich Paul Rich (20 August 1921 – 23 February 2000) was a singer and guitarist, recording many songs with Lou Preager's band. He later became a music publisher. Life Rich was born in London in 1921, son of immigrants from Russia. He studied guitar w ...

, Edna Kaye, Rita Williams and

Elisabeth Welch Elisabeth Margaret Welch (February 27, 1904July 15, 2003) was an American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. Her best-known songs were " Stormy Weather", " Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". She was ...

. Preager's radio broadcasts, ''Write a Tune for £1000'', a songwriting contest broadcast in 1945, 1947 and 1950, were very popular, and produced the hit song " Cruising Down the River". During the 1950s, Preager presented '' Housewives' Choice'' on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

and, at the time was a well-known

. In 1959, his orchestra moved to the Lyceum Ballroom, where he was often seen in the TV programme ''

Come Dancing ''Come Dancing'' is a British ballroom dancing competition show made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which aired on BBC One at various intervals from 1950 to 1998. Unlike its subsequent follow-up show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'', ...

''.

Awards, recordings and other interests

During his career he made recordings for

Regal Zonophone Records Regal Zonophone Records was a British record label formed in 1932, through a merger of the Regal and Zonophone labels. This followed the merger of those labels' respective parent companies – the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramopho ...

and the

Columbia Graphophone Company Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned company in 1922 in a managem ...

. He won three Carl Alan Awards for the best Palais Band. Preager had several business interests. He was owner of a book publishing company, founder of a record company, and also had interests in film and television.

Personal life and death

In 1958, Preager married Rose Sharp in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, where the couple lived.

London Metropolitan Archives The London Archives (previously known as the Greater London Record Office 1965–1997, and London Metropolitan Archives 1997–2024) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London ...

; London, England; ''Electoral Registers'' From the 1960s, Preager suffered from persistent ill health and retired from music, aged 56, in 1962. He moved to

Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...

and bought the Carlton Ballroom in the town; it was sold after he suffered a heart attack in 1967. He died on 14 November 1978 in

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, aged 72.

References

External links

*
Lou Preager – 78RPM – discography
at 45worlds.com
Lou Preager and His Orchestra
at BBC {{DEFAULTSORT:Preager, Lou 1906 births 1978 deaths English bandleaders Dance band bandleaders People from Maida Vale People from Poplar, London Jewish English musicians Musicians from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets People from Marylebone Musicians from the City of Westminster