Charles Murray Winstanley Shadwell (26 March 1898 – 28 July 1979) was a British conductor and bandleader.

Biography

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, he saw military service in the Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment before studying at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. He started his professional career playing piano to accompany

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

s, before working as a musical director at theatres in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, and

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

. From 1932, he conducted the Coventry Hippodrome Orchestra in regular weekly concerts on

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

, and in 1936 he was appointed as conductor of the BBC Variety Orchestra in succession to Kneale Kelly.Philip L. Scowcroft, "A Twenty-Third Garland of British Light Music Composers", ''Music Web International''
Retrieved 25 March 2021 The BBC Variety Orchestra performed in countless radio broadcasts under Shadwell's control between 1936 and 1946. As well as programmes such as ''Music Hall'', which featured his music and ended with his theme tune, "Down with the Curtain", his own composition, he actively participated in the tradition, started in Britain by variety stars

Bebe Daniels Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such ...

and

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...

, of

banter Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focu ...

between the comedians and their shows' bandleader. Charlie Shadwell became a well-known public figure through this, which peaked with the interchanges between Shadwell and

Tommy Handley Thomas Reginald Handley (17 January 1892 – 9 January 1949) was an English comedian, best known for the BBC radio programme ''It's That Man Again'' ("''ITMA''") which ran between 1939 and 1949. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Handley went o ...

on ''

ITMA ''It's That Man Again'' (commonly contracted to ''ITMA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran for twelve series from 1939 to 1949. The shows featured Tommy Handley in the central role, a fast-talking figure, around whom the other cha ...

'', when Shadwell "virtually became one of the cast of characters" and was jokingly insulted on a regular basis by Handley.

Denis Gifford Denis Gifford (26 December 1927 – 18 May 2000)Holland, Steve, Obituaries: Denis Gifford', ''The Guardian'', 26 May 2000. was a British writer, broadcaster, journalist, comic artist and historian of film, comics, television and radio. In h ...

, ''The Golden Age of Radio'', B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1985, , pp.258-260 Shadwell also came up with the idea for the wartime radio variety series ''Garrison Theatre'', based on his experiences as an entertainments officer in the First World War. In 1948 Shadwell formed his own orchestra, which played in theatres and in BBC broadcasts. During the 1950s he appeared with the orchestra regularly during the summer season at

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. He subsequently became landlord of the Green Man, Trumpington and President of the Cambridge Concert Orchestra. He died in

Pershore Pershore is a market town in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. The town is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency. At the 2011 census, the population was 7,125. The town is ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, in 1979, aged 81.

References

External links

"Pathe visits radio star Charlie Shadwell at his home"
''British Pathe'', 1945 {{DEFAULTSORT:Shadwell, Charles 1898 births 1979 deaths People from Pershore Musicians from Surrey English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century English musicians 20th-century British male musicians