Harry Roy

Harry Roy
Big band leader and clarinet player Harry Roy.
Background information
Birth name	Harry Lipman
Born	January 12, 1900
Origin	London, United Kingdom
Died	February 1, 1971
Genres	Jazz
Instruments	Clarinet
Associated acts	Syd Roy, Eddie Carroll, Joe Daniels, Nat Temple, Ray Ellington, Stanley Black

Harry Roy, born Harry Lipman (January 12, 1900, Stamford Hill, London – February 1, 1971, London) was a British dance band leader and clarinetist from the 1920s until the 1960s.

Harry began to study clarinet and alto at the age of 16. He and his brother Syd formed a band which they called The Darnswells. When the Original Dixieland Jazz Band left the Hammersmith Palais, they were replaced by the Roy Brothers Original Lyrical Five. They again changed name, becoming the Original Crichton Lyricals. At times, the band recorded as "The Lyricals", "Sid Roy's Crichton Lyricals", and "The Crichton Lyricals". Harry Roy later said that his idol was the clarinetist for the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Larry Shields. Roy's band was very popular in London where they played all the better spots including the Alhambra; the London Coliseum; Rector's Club; Oddenino's; and the Cavour Restaurant.

In February 1927, they were booked into the Café de Paris. During 1928, they went on tour to South Africa and to Australia. In 1930 they made some recordings in Germany. In 1931, Harry Roy left to form his own band, with Syd becoming manager of the Harry Roy band. In 1932, the Harry Roy band was at the London Pavilion; in January 1933 they were at the Café Anglais, where they began remote BBC broadcasts. From July 1933 through June 1936, the band was resident in the May Fair Hotel, which was not far from the Anglais. In 1935, Roy received publicity when he married H. H. Dayang Elizabet of Sarawak, the second daughter of Charles Vyner Brooke, the then Rajah of Sarawak. In 1935, the band appeared in the film Everything Is Rhythm and again in the 1936 film Rhythm Racketeer.

In 1938, Roy took his band on a three-month tour of South America. On October 16, 1939, the band was booked into the Café Anglais for a month, but the engagement was terminated when the restaurant suffered bomb damage. They then continued touring and theatre performances, going into the Embassy Club in October 1940. During the war years, Harry toured around. He was at the Embassy Club in 1942, and a little later, toured the Middle East, entertaining troops. In 1948 Harry went to the U.S., but was unable to get a work permit. Returning to England, he formed a new band for the Café Anglais in 1949 and scored a big hit with his recording of Leicester Square Rag.

By the early 1950s the big band era had come to an end. The band split up, but Roy still drifted in and out of the music scene. In the '50s, he was running his own restaurant. In the '60s, he became a host at a Bond Street club. In 1969, he returned to music, leading a quartet in the London Lyric Theatre's show Oh Clarence. However, he was 69 years of age then and in failing health, which prevented him from fulfilling his future plans. He died in London in February 1971.

In 1931 he wrote and sang "My Girl's Pussy".^[1] It has been the subject of many covers and remakes along with being featured in Hollywood films, radio programs and blogs.

References

• British Big Band Database

External links

• Information regarding his wedding to Princess Elizabeth of Sarawak, with photograph
• Harry Roy at Find a Grave
• Harry Roy's music has found its way to the public domain, some of it downloadable.
• Fundación Joaquín Díaz: Collection of recordings on 78s (Spanish)