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Victor Silvester

 
Artist: Victor Silvester
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Charles Williams, Ray Noble, Jack Hylton, Bert Ambrose, Jack Payne, Jack Jackson
  • Active: '30s, '40s, '50s
  • Genres: Jazz
  • Instrument: Director, Conductor
  • Representative Albums: "Roll Back the Carpet", "Slow Slow Quick Quick Slow", "You're Dancing on My Heart

Biography

"The basic essentials of true dance music are melody, simplicity, and consistent rhythm. Join these three entities together and you have music that is nice to dance to and pleasing to listen to," observed Victor Silvester -- he did precisely that and sold 75 million records over a recording career lasting 50 years. Today he is but a fading memory on a musical landscape that he scarcely would have recognized, but for 50 years, from the '30s through the early '80s, Victor Silvester was England's top dance-band leader -- and from the '30s through the '60s, that designation meant musical stardom. The second son of a vicar in North London, Silvester played the piano as a boy and studied music at Trinity College of music and the London College of Music. For reasons best known to himself, he interrupted his musical studies to enlist in the army in 1915, when he was just 15 years old, and was sent to the front, where he saw action -- including service on a firing squad executing deserters. Discharged when his true age was discovered, he waited until he was 17 and re-enlisted legally to return to combat. After World War I, he considered a permanent career in the army, but his interests turned instead to dancing. He won the World Dancing Championship in 1922, in partnership with Phyllis Clarke, and later opened his dancing academy in London, which eventually became a chain of dance studios. By the early '30s, he was the most renowned dance teacher in England, with a clientele that included the top celebrities of the day, and a reputation that quickly spread throughout the British Empire and the rest of Europe, and as far away as Japan. It was the lack of what he felt were proper dance records that drove Silvester into a recording career. Forming his own orchestra, he recorded "You're Dancing on My Heart" (written by Al Bryan and George M. Meyer) in 1935, which became his signature tune. It was the beginning of a career that would last a half-century and vault the era of swing, trad jazz, skiffle, rock & roll, British beat, psychedelia, disco, and power pop. By the end of the '30s, he was not only selling huge numbers of records in England, but also in Australia, continental Europe, South Africa, and India.

By 1937, Silvester had his own dance music program on the BBC, for which he eventually made 6,500 broadcasts -- he was among the first music artists to appear on television as well, on the BBC's pre-World War II experimental television broadcasts. During the late '30s, he also wrote a book, Modern Ballroom Dancing, which ultimately went to 50 printings and sales of over a million copies, and translations into German and Japanese, among a dozen other languages. For most of his career, Silvester specialized in strict-tempo ballroom dancing. During World War II, however, he recognized that he had a special audience among his listeners, in the form of burgeoning numbers of American servicemen stationed in England. He began aiming his program and his records specifically at them, releasing a large body of swing-oriented dance recordings.

After the war, he returned to the traditional ballroom dance music that he preferred. Silvester wrote some 90 dance tunes in collaboration with his pianist, Ernest Wilson, but was well-known for his interpretations of the work of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, and had a marked preference for the musical standards of the 1930s, which he kept recording well into the 1970s and beyond. Apart from his one concession to swing music in the early '40s, as a sort of wartime sacrifice, he was oblivious to most of the changes in music that took place around him as the decades wore on, never even acknowledging rock & roll; such was the musical environment of the times, that he was one of EMI's prized artistic possessions during the 1950s. Silvester was awarded the Order of the British Empire, a royal honor, in 1961, and continued making records for another 15 years, finally embracing '60s and '70s melodies on albums such as Up Up and Away. He recorded so many hundreds of albums, that they became impossible even for the bandleader to keep track of, and EMI later issued his work on CD in the 1980s and 1990s, most recently Victor Silvester and His Silver Strings. As Silvester grew older, his son Victor Silvester Jr. frequently deputized for him leading the orchestra, and upon the older Silvester's death during a vacation in France in 1978, his son took over the orchestra. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Victor Silvester
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Note: Victor Silvester is the correct spelling.
Victor Silvester conducting his Ballroom Orchestra in 1938. Oscar Grasso is at left on violin.

Victor Marlborough Silvester OBE (25 February 1900[1] – 14 August 1978) was a English dancer, author, musician and dance band leader whose records sold 75 million copies from the 1930s through to the 1980s, and a significant figure in the development of ballroom dance during the first half of the 20th century.[2][3] Victor married Dorothy Newton in 1922, a few days after winning the World Ballroom Dancing Championship with Phyllis Clark.[4]

Contents

Early life

Silvester was born the second son of a vicar in Wembley, Middlesex. He was educated at Ardingly College, St. John's School, Leatherhead and John Lyon School, Harrow from all of which he absconded. In September 1916 he enlisted in the British Army during the First World War. He was only 15 years old and had to lie about his age in order to get in. He took part in five execution squads, where deserters, some no doubt suffering from shell-shock, were shot.[5] Once his age was discovered, he signed up with the First Aid Service and served in France until June 1917. At the age of 18, he re-joined the Army though it does not appear that he served overseas. In his autobiography, written later in life, he made claims to have been in Italy and at the mutiny at Etaples. This may have been a fiction on his part: though this episode was later allegedly incorporated into the BBC series the Monocled Mutineer.[6]

After the war he studied at Worcester College, Oxford for a year, but ultimately decided to resume a military career when he was offered a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, but quickly decided it was not for him. He also studied music at Trinity College, London, having already had private piano lessons as a child.

Career in dance

His interests had meanwhile turned to dancing. He was one of the first post-war English dancers to feature the full natural turn in the Slow Waltz, an innovation which was a factor in his winning the first World Ballroom Dancing Championship in 1922 with Phyllis Clarke as his partner. He competed again in 1924, coming second to Maxwell Stewart – the inventor of the double reverse spin in the waltz – and Barbara Miles. He was a founder member of the Ballroom Committee of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing which codified the theory and practice of Ballroom Dance – now known as the International Style – and published the first book embodying the new standards in 1928: Modern Ballroom Dancing, which was an immediate bestseller and has remained in print through many editions, the last issued in 2005.

He went on to open a dancing academy in London, which eventually developed into a chain of 23 dance studios. By the early 1930s his teaching had become famous and he had taught some of the top celebrities of the day, among whom was Estelle Thompson, better known as Merle Oberon.[4]

Career in music

The lack of what he felt were adequate records for dancing led Silvester in 1935 to form his own five-piece band, later enlarged and named Victor Silvester and his Ballroom Orchestra, whose first record, You're Dancing on My Heart (by Al Bryan and George M. Meyer), sold 17,000 copies and was to become his signature tune. He insisted his recordings conform precisely to the beats per minute recommended by the ISTD for ballroom dances, a concept termed "strict tempo". In British eyes he became indelibly associated with the catch-phrase "slow, slow, quick-quick-slow" – a rhythm of the slow foxtrot.

The Silvester band always had a distinctive sound, achieved by an unusual line-up including, as well as the usual rhythm section, alto saxophone (initially Charlie Spinelli and later, for 26 years, Edward Owen "Poggy" Pogson, who had previously played in Jack Payne's and Jack Hylton's bands), a lead solo violin (for many years usually Oscar Grasso), and not one but two pianos, one taking turn in solos and the other maintaining an improvised tinkling continuo in the background throughout every piece, which Silvester called his "lemonade".

He notes in his autobiography that his first two pianists in 1935 were Gerry Moore for the melody and Felix King for the "lemonade". Later pianists included, at different times, Monia Liter, Charlie Pude, Jack Phillips, Billy Munn, Victor Parker (also accordion), Ernest "Slim" Wilson (who was also Silvester's main arranger, and with whom he co-wrote several pieces), Eddie Macauley and Ronnie Taylor. Silvester's drummer for over four decades was Ben Edwards, crucial for supplying the strict tempo. Sometimes there might be four saxophones altogether, two alto and two tenor, including in latter years Tony Mozr, Percy Waterhouse and Phil Kirby in addition to Pogson, all doubling on clarinet as required. On some recordings, the Ballroom Orchestra was augmented with 15 strings and woodwind, when it became "The Silver Strings". During the war, when Oscar Grasso was in the forces, the classical violinist Alfredo Campoli took his place, using the name "Alfred Campbell" for contractual reasons.[4]

These were first-class players, some of whom (like Liter, Grasso and Pogson) were already noted in jazz or danceband circles before they joined Silvester's band. Unlike most British dance bands of the era, there were no vocals. Silvester did not play but stood in front of his orchestra in white tie and tails, conducting with a flourish. Though popular with dancers, the orchestra was often criticised by those whose interests lay in the music. The dance band discographer Brian Rust said:

"Victor Silvester... there was nothing whatever in the thin treatment of the melody... to appeal to those who looked beyond the simple requirements of a steady dance tempo... [the records he made] are of purely utilitarian appeal and nothing more" [7]

He would continue to make music for half a century, mostly covering the popular music standards and show tunes, sometimes (but rarely) swing, trad jazz, and in latter years, especially from 1971 when the orchestra continued under his son Victor Silvester Jr, rock and roll, disco and pop. These later attempts to stay "with it", involved the introduction of an electric guitar, which was not always convincing. It is mostly the more melodic recordings of the 1940s and 1950s that are now reissued on CD and still sold widely.

Competition

Silvester's record sales were so huge that competition was inevitable. Other dancers were attracted to the idea, and set up their own strict-tempo bands. Henry Jacques, Maxwell Stewart, Josephine Bradley and Wally Fryer were all top-flight dancers who set up in competition to Silvester. There were other bands led by musicians who were capable of recording in strict time. The best for ballroom competitions was probably Joe Loss, who had an even longer musical career than Silvester. Other bands which catered to ballroom dancing were Oscar Rabin and Jack Harris, whose band played in clubs and restaurants through the 1930s, and Jack Parnell.[7] For the post-war period of Latin dances to (mostly) Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, Edmundo Ros was in a class of his own.

Later life

By 1958, when he published his autobiography, he was the most successful dance band leader in British musical history, and a major star on British radio and television. His BBC Television show Dancing Club lasted 17 years. He also presented a weekly request programme on the BBC Overseas Service (later World Service) which ran from 1948 to 1975. His obituary in The Times noted, "Turn on a radio in Famagusta, Cape Town or Peking and one would be likely to hear his music issuing from the speakers".

Victor Silvester was appointed to the OBE in 1961. He died while on holiday in the south of France at the age of 78. The orchestra remained in existence under his son's direction until the 1990s. Victor, his wife and son are memorialised at Golders Green Crematorium, London.

References

  1. ^ The date of the relief of Mafeking, and the probable reason for his first name. (autobiog.)
  2. ^ Scott, Derek B. 2004. Silvester, Victor Marlborough (1900–1978), in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press.
  3. ^ Silvester, Victor Marlborough (1900-1978) in Who Was Who, A&C Black, London, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c Victor Silvester 1958. Dancing is my life: the autobiography of Victor Silvester. Heinemann, London.
  5. ^ Children of the Great War
  6. ^ Todman D. The Great War: myth and memory, Hambledon and London. London. p205
  7. ^ a b Rust, Brian 1972. The dance bands. Allan, London. p118
  • Allmusic: Victor Silvester [1] (includes some inaccuracies)
  • George Macintyre, "Doomed Youth: How the Tragedy of 250,000 Boy Soldiers in the Trenches Was Covered Up", The Journal, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, June 14 2004 [2]
  • "Victor Silvester's BBC Dancing Club", WW2 People's War, BBC website [3]
  • "Mr Victor Silvester: Doyen of ballroom dancing" (obituary), The Times, London, 15 August 1978, p14
  • "When Youth and Pleasure Meet: Dance Hall Boom Points Moral in Cinemas' Decline", The Times, London, 13 January 1958, p6

Bibliography

  • Victor Silvester Modern Ballroom dancing, Herbert Jekins, London 1928, many editions. Ebury, London. 2005 edition, revised and augmented by Bryn Allen: ISBN 0091905095
  • Victor Silvester Theory and technique of Ballroom dancing. Herbert Jenkins, London 1932, 2nd ed 1933 and other editions.
  • Victor Silvester (with Philip J.S. Richardson) The Art of the Ballroom. Herbert Jenkins, London. 1936
  • Victor Silvester Old Time dancing. Jenkins, London. 1941 and later editions.
  • Victor Silvester Dancing for the millions: a concise guide to modern ballroom dancing. Odhams Press, London. 1949
  • Victor Silvester Sequence dancing. Jenkins, London. 1950 and later editions.
  • Victor Silvester More Old Time dances. Jenkins, London. 1951
  • Victor Silvester Modern dancers' handbook. Jenkins, London. 1954
  • Victor Silvester c.1955. Victor Silvester's album.
  • Victor Silvester Dancing is my life: the autobiography of Victor Silvester. Heinemann, London. 1958
  • Walter Whitman and Victor Silvester The complete old time dancer. Jenkins, London. 1967
  • Victor Silvester Modern Ballroom dancing: history and practice. Barrie and Jenkins, London. 1977
  • Victor Silvester Old Time and sequence dancing. Barrie and Jenkins, London. 1980

Also published were sheet music arrangements.

External links


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