Clifford Blandford Townshend (28 January 1916 – 29 June 1986) was an English jazz musician who played saxophone in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Dance Orchestra, popularly known as

The Squadronaires The Squadronaires is a Royal Air Force band which began and performed in Britain during and after World War II. The official title of the band was 'The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra', but it was always known by the more popular title "The S ...

. He also played

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

in the band. His eldest son,

Pete Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

, gained renown as guitarist and principal composer for the band

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

Biography

Cliff Townshend was born to Dorothy (née Blandford) and Horace Townshend on 28 January 1916. The couple married in 1910 in

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and were both musicians who played in Concert Party shows for the troops during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Townshend showed an early interest in music and was in a band by 1932 while attending

Latymer Upper School (Slowly Therefore Surely) , established = , closed = , sister_school = Godolphin and Latymer School , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , head_label = H ...

in Hammersmith, London. He was expelled from school for playing in his teens at "Bottle Parties", adult parties which involved smoking and drinking as well as innovative popular music. He played at such venues as the

Stork Club Stork Club was a nightclub in Manhattan, New York City. During its existence from 1929 to 1965, it was one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. A symbol of café society, the wealthy elite, including movie stars, celebrities, showgirls, ...

and with the Billy Wiltshire Band. In 1940 Townshend enlisted in the

. Before ending up with The Squadronaires, he played in a number of small bands as part of his duties, as the RAF high command recognized the morale value of popular music. During the early days of the war, he met Betty Dennis, who enlisted in 1941 when she was sixteen. She drove a truck and sang with RAF bands. They married 16 April 1944 in

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...

, South Wales, where they were stationed. By this time, Townshend had achieved the rank of Lance Corporal. Their first son,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, was born 19 May 1945 (the same month Germany surrendered) in West London in Nazareth House, an annex of Middlesex Hospital. They moved into a war-damaged house in Acton, and Betty Townshend ended her singing career but continued to assist with office work and management for The Squadronaires. The enforced separation caused by the band's continued tours caused stresses in the marriage; however, the couple sometimes took their son and went together on the band's tours. In 1952 the Squadronaires began a regular summer engagement at the Palace Ballroom in Douglas,

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

which continued for about ten years. In 1956, Cliff Townshend released a solo recording of "

Unchained Melody "Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film '' Unchained'' (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.Robert Rodri ...

" which made him something of a pop star, and royalties from the record were welcome. Cliff and Betty Townshend's second son, Paul Townshend, was born in 1957, and the family moved to a larger flat in Ealing Common. In the same year, Townshend took his son Pete to see the film ''

Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was record ...

'' with

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

, and then to a live Bill Haley concert at the Regal Cinema at Marble Arch. Townshend thought the music "had some swing." The couple's third son,

Simon Townshend Simon Townshend (; born 10 October 1960) is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the younger brother of the Who's guitarist Pete Townshend, and is most associated with The Who and the various side projects of its original members ...

, was born 10 October 1960. Pete Townshend dedicated his 1987 album ''

Another Scoop ''Another Scoop'' is a compilation album by Pete Townshend, and essentially a sequel to ''Scoop''. History Like ''Scoop'' released in 1983, ''Another Scoop'' features a multitude of demos, outtakes and unreleased material, many of which are son ...

'' to the memory of his father.

References

External links

The Squadronaires
{{DEFAULTSORT:Townshend, Cliff 1916 births 1986 deaths English jazz saxophonists British male saxophonists Pete Townshend Royal Air Force personnel of World War II 20th-century English musicians 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century British male musicians British male jazz musicians The Squadronaires members