Few popular singers have won the admiration and affection of the public to the extent that Al Bowlly did . It was a tribute not only to the uniqueness of his voice and style but also his personality – gay spontaneous ,sincere – that shone through his singing .
A South African of Greek descent Al Bowlly joined Fred Elizalde’s band at the Savoy hotel in 1928 . His companion on the trip to Britain was Monia Liter , with whose band he had been singing at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.
From 1929 Al Bowlly worked with Roy Fox’s orchestra until Lew Stone took the band over in 1933. It was while he was with Lew Stone that the titles on this record were made . Monia Liter , who had joined the Lew Stone band plays the piano accompaniment.
In 1935 Ray Noble and Al Bowlly visited the United States , where their tour with a band of American Musicians was a great success. When Al returned to England he started on his own as a singer , later teaming up with Jimmy Mesene in a double act . But the war came , and during an air raid on London in April 1941, al Bowlly was killed.
The Al Bowlly Archive 