Jack Hylton Orch - Our Jack's Back (with 1931 Hylton Calendar)

Описание: "Our Jack's Back" was written - and sung here - by Leslie Sarony as an anthem for Jack Hylton, Britain's ambassador of dance music during the 1920s and 1930s. Hylton conducted many European tours with his band and quickly became as popular on the Continent as at home, packing out concert halls wherever he went. The French in particular took Hylton to their hearts and in 1932 he was decorated by the French government, receiving the Légion d'honneur, the highest French order of merit.

The slogan "Our Jack's Back" was a clever bit of marketing by the Hylton organisation to promote the idea that no matter how long Jack Hylton was away touring other lands, when he was back he was "Our Jack". Posters, sheet music and other advertising material would show a photo of Jack conducting, taken from behind to show his back, often with "Our Jack's Back" written next to it (or sometimes pinned on it!). Associated merchandise included objects such as badges and tie pins, two examples of which are shown in a photo I have taken for the video.

The rest of the video features the 12 months of a rare Jack Hylton calendar issued by the Melody Maker. I have Hylton calendars for the period 1930-1933; I don't know if there are Hylton calendars for other years. Although "Our Jack's Back" was recorded in 1930, I have chosen the 1931 calendar as its theme is Jack and the band's travels at home and abroad. The excellent drawings are by the Danish cartoonist Jorgen Myller (1910-1995), who later became a noted animator.

As if to emphasise the point that Jack was often on tour, the HMV recording of "Our Jack's Back" was made in a Glasgow venue that Jack and the band were visiting at the time, with HMV engineers installing portable recording equipment in the hall.

JACK HYLTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Jack Hylton directing: Jack Raine - 1st trumpet / Philippe Brun - 2nd trumpet / Lew Davis - trombone / Paul Fenoulhet - trombone, 3rd trumpet / E. 0. "Poggy" Pogson - alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet / Noel "Chappie" d'Amato - alto sax, guitar / Billy Ternent - alto sax, arranger / Johnny Raitz - tenor sax, clarinet / Johnny Rosen, Stan Andrews and Geoff Howard - violins / Billy Munn - piano / Sonny Farrar - banjo / Clem Lawton - brass bass / Basil Wiltshire - drums / Harry Robbins - tympani, vibraphone, xylophone / Leslie Sarony - vocals

Glasgow, July 17, 1930

BR- 2850-2 Our Jack's Back HMV 5887

The band is on top form here, with the brass and sax sections belting out Billy Ternent's arrangement for all they are worth. The band may lack the sophistication of the Ambrose Orchestra, but they make up for it in drive, precision section work and shear gusto. Clem Lawton's brass bass solo is another outstanding feature of this side.

Hylton's ultimate goal was to tour the USA but these plans were dashed by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), who barred the Hylton orchestra from playing concerts at any venue across the States (a proposed 1929 tour was cancelled at the last minute due to rising tensions with the AFM). This led to retaliation by the British Musicians Union (MU), who lobbied the Department of Labour to clamp down on issuing visas to foreign musicians (except those from "the colonies"). Ultimately, the conflict between the AFM and the MU led to an all-out ban - by both the USA and the UK - on visiting musicians and dance bands playing in hotels, restaurants and dance halls. This situation lasted from 1935 until 1955. Hylton did, however, tour the USA in 1936, though the band was composed entirely of American musicians except for the vocalists; his right hand man Billy Ternent also travelled to the USA with him, but did not play in the band during the tour.