The Savoy Orpheans is a British dance band currently led by

Alex Mendham Alex Mendham (born 13 September 1989 in Essex, England) is an English singer, saxophonist, and bandleader. He is best known as the founder and leader of Alex Mendham & His Orchestra. Founding his orchestra in 2010, Mendham, who has been descri ...

. They were resident at the Savoy Hotel, London. The band was formed by

Debroy Somers Debroy Somers (born William Henry Somers; 11 April 1890,1939 England and Wales Register in Dublin – 27 May 1952, in London) was a British twentieth-century big band bandleader. He had trained as a musician at the Duke of York's Royal Military S ...

, an ex-army bandmaster, in 1923. Both the Orpheans and 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. History The band was formed by the American saxophonist Bert Ralton (''aka'' Bert Louis Ralton; ''né'' Albert Lewis R ...

were under the management of William de Mornys. The Orpheans were later led by the violinist Cyril Ramon Newton, and by the pianist Carroll Gibbons.Rust, Brian, "The Savoy Orpheans at the Savoy Hotel, London": sleeve notes to disc 1 of World Record Club LP set SH165/6, issued 1971 On 15 June 1925, Somers conducted the Orpheans in 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 popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's '' Rhapsody in Blue'', alongside the Savoy Havana Band and Gershwin himself on piano. The performance was broadcast live by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. When de Morny's contractual arrangement with the Savoy Hotel company ended on 31 December 1927, the Orpheans disbanded. In early December 1927 there were newspaper reports of the Hotel management denying the rumour that the Savoy Orpheans, Savoy Havana Band and the Sylvians were to leave. Reg Batten, of the SHB, stayed on at the Hotel and led a band with the clumsy name "Savoy Orpheans (1928)". This would indicate legal tussles over the rights to the original name. It was not until 1931 that pianist Carroll Gibbons returned from working at MGM in Hollywood and, with saxophonist Howard Jacobs, formed a new ensemble "the Savoy Hotel Orpheans" for the hotel. The music writer Brian Rust wrote of this group, "it was a purely straight, typically smooth supper-club band." The owner of the Savoy Hotel,

Rupert D'Oyly Rupert may refer to: People * Rupert (name), various people known by the given name or surname "Rupert" Places Canada *Rupert, Quebec, a village *Rupert Bay, a large bay located on the south-east shore of James Bay *Rupert River, Quebec *Rupert' ...

, called the original Orpheans and their colleagues, "probably the best-known bands in Europe."''The Times'', 29 March 1924, p. 20. Among their popular songs was "

Let's All Go to Mary's House ''Let's All Go to Mary's House'' is a 1925 popular song written by Con Conrad & Leo Wood which was recorded in the UK by the Savoy Orpheans and by Jay Whidden and His New Midnight Follies Orchestra. It's a jazz dance song which exhibits the sta ...

" from 1925. D'Oyly Carte's judgment was echoed by Rust, who wrote in 1971 of the original Orpheans: "their very name personifies the Dancing Twenties … and their broad versatility … made this imprint in a way that no band had done before and few have achieved since". The Savoy Orpheans name was revived by the Savoy Hotel in April 2022, and

was appointed bandleader and musical director of th
reformed group
The New Savoy Orpheans

References

External links

Dance bands {{UK-band-stub