Syd Lawrence (26 June 1923 – 5 May 1998) was a British

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...

, who became famous in the UK for his orchestra's

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

sound, which drew on the 1940s style of music of Glenn Miller and

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and th ...

amongst others.

Career

Born in

Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census. History Toponymy Wilmslow derives its name from O ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

, England, in 1923,Gifford D. Obituary: Syd Lawrence
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' (7 May 1998) (accessed 20 April 2010) Lawrence was a talented

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

player during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He wrote and arranged music. He was based in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

during the war years, playing and arranging for the RAF service bands. After he left the armed forces, he played with some of the leading British dance bands of the 1940s, finally being invited to join the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra in 1953. He stayed with this band for sixteen years playing alongside fellow trumpet player Stan Hibbert. In 1967, Lawrence teamed up with several of his colleagues at the Northern Dance Orchestra to play the music that he was most enthusiastic about, that of Glenn Miller. Early concerts at the Mersey Hotel in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

were a success, and larger venues were found to play in as the reputation of his band grew. Yorkshire Television gave the Syd Lawrence Orchestra a regular spot on the comedy show '' Sez Les''. As the music became more popular, Lawrence and his band started touring around the UK, which they did with great success for many years. In 1969 he signed with Philips Records and the band's first release was on the Contour label, selling at 10/6d. The Orchestra went on to record about fifteen long playing albums, usually at the Strawberry Recording Studios in Manchester along with radio and television appearances on variety shows. He appeared with his band on '' 3-2-1'' and also occasionally was a vocalist. Lawrence retired from touring in 1994 and died of an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus ...

in 1998. Following his death, the Syd Lawrence Band continued on and still tours. The orchestra was led by Bryan Pendleton, and is currently led by Chris Dean. In 2011 it was voted the Best Big Band in the Land for the 11th consecutive year.

References

External links

Syd Lawrence: The Man who brought back the Big Bands to usThe Fabulous Syd Lawrence Orchestra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Syd 1923 births 1998 deaths People from Chester People from Wilmslow British bandleaders Deaths from aneurysm 20th-century British musicians Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force musicians Military personnel from Chester