Brian Lawrance
Australian musician (1909–1983)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brian Vinrace Lawrance (13 August 1909 – 11 September 1983)[1][2][3] was an Australian singer and violinist who led his own British dance band in the 1930s.[4][5][6] Known for regular broadcasts with Fred Hartley and his Quintet, Lawrance was considered one of the leading dance band vocalists, and drew a large radio audience.[7] Lawrance arrived in Britain in 1927, and returned to Australia in 1940, where he continued his career.[8]
13 August 1909
- British dance band
- jazz
- Singer
- bandleader
- musician
Brian Lawrance | |
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| Born | Brian Vinrace Lawrance 13 August 1909 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Died | 11 September 1983 (aged 74) |
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Early life
Brian Vinrace Lawrance was born on 13 August 1909 to English parents Frederick Ebenezer Lawrance and Kathleen Lilian Lawrance (née Collier) in Adelaide, Australia.[1][9][10] Aged seven, Brian Lawrance's performing career began when he sang "Australia Will Be There" at St Peter's Town Hall in Adelaide.[8] Whilst still a young boy, he appeared in The Woman Suffers, a 1918 melodrama film.[11] Lawrance toured the country as a singer with Pat Hanna's Diggers, and subsequently in musical comedy and variety, appearing in the shows Maytime and Hullo Everybody.[12] He also studied the violin in Sydney under Mowat Carter. After three and a half years working in revue, Lawrance's mother took him to England in 1927, when he was 17.[8][9]
Career
After arriving in England, Lawrance performed in variety, singing and playing the violin.[9] However, he also had a long period of unemployment, resulting in him investing money in a garage and working as a mechanic for 16 months.[8]
Lawrance's first recording with a British dance band was "My Girl Don't Love Me Anymore", a duet with Jack Lorimer for Ray Noble and his New Mayfair Orchestra in March 1932, with Lawrance and Lorimer billed as "Eddie and Rex".[13] In 1933, Lawrance joined Maurice Winnick's band as a violinist, and subsequently sang with Bertini's band in Blackpool.[7] Lawrance contributed vocals to records by both bands, and it was with Bertini that he recorded his first solo vocal refrain with a British dance band in May 1933, singing "The Old Spinning Wheel" (released on the budget Eclipse label).[13]
The entrepreneur T. L. Ahearn suggested that Lawrance form a dance band and audition for Clifford Whitley. Lawrance was advised by Whitley that there was a band at a Jermyn Street restaurant which he felt would suit him. Lawrance played with this band on a Thames showboat for three weeks. In 1934, he moved to Quaglino's restaurant, where he stayed for two and a half years.[8]
At a party given at the Embassy Club by bandleader Ambrose, Lawrance sang, and was invited to make recordings.[8] It was in March 1934 that he began recording with his own band, Quaglino's Quartet, at a session for Decca which featured himself on violin and vocals, with the first recording being "Dixie Lee". He largely provided his own vocals for the sessions he led as a bandleader.[13]
His recordings led to radio appearances with Fred Hartley and his Sextet.[8] Lawrance's band was resident at the Four Hundred Club, before moving to Lansdowne House in 1935.[7] During this period, he appeared in five films: Marry Me (1932), She Shall Have Music (1935), in which he was the juvenile lead, Fame (1936), Variety Hour (1937) and Sing as You Swing (1937).[14][15][16]
He also took part in a Jack Hylton show at the London Palladium.[8] Lawrance featured on a 1936 set of Lambert & Butler cigarette cards profiling 25 dance band leaders.[17][18]
Lawrance broadcast and recorded as a singer with bands led by Fred Hartley, Jack Hylton, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Lew Stone, George Scott-Wood, Jay Wilbur, Debroy Somers, Arthur Young, Harry Hudson, Harry Leader, and Carroll Gibbons, the latter with the Savoy Hotel Orpheans.[13] Lawrance also made a number of solo recordings on the Rex label.[7]
In January 1940, Lawrance cut his last recordings as a bandleader in Britain, with his own vocals on all four titles: "Where or When", "Good Morning", "Are You Havin' Any Fun?" and "You Never Miss the Old Faces".[13]
That year, he returned to Australia to lead the band at Romano's nightclub in Sydney, which he did for seven years.[19][20] He visited Britain for six months in 1950 to appear with Hartley on BBC Radio. By 1954, Lawrance was singing with Hartley on twice-weekly ABC radio broadcasts. With his wife, Lawrance also ran a dress design company.[12]
Personal life and death
During the 1930s, Lawrance was living in Kilburn, north west London,[21] before moving to nearby Maida Vale in west London.[1]
In 1940, he married Jill Clayton, a dancer.[8] Lawrance had three sons and two daughters, and was latterly married to Bernadette.[3] In his later years, he was resident in Kensington, Sydney.[22] He died on 11 September 1983, aged 74.[3]