Debroy Somers (born William Henry Somers; 11 April 1890,1939 England and Wales Register in Dublin – 27 May 1952, in London) was a British twentieth-century

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

. He had trained as a musician at the

Duke of York's Royal Military School The Duke of York's Royal Military School, more commonly called the Duke of York's, is a co-educational academy (for students aged 11 to 18) with military traditions in Guston, Kent. Since becoming an academy in 2010, the school is now sponsor ...

in Chelsea, and continued his studies in Dublin under Signor

Michele Esposito Michele Esposito (29 September 1855 – 19 November 1929) was an Italian composer, conductor and pianist who spent most of his professional life in Dublin, Ireland. Training Esposito was born at Castellamare di Stabia, near Sorrento. As a boy ...

at The

Royal Irish Academy of Music The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution which ...

in 1904. At the age of 15 he joined the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment as a boy bandsman before retiring in 1913. He rejoined his old regiment in 1916 retiring as a sergeant musician in 1918; being demobilised in Wiltshire.British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920 His period of celebrity stretched from the 1920s to the 1940s. He appeared in numerous films, including ''

Second Choice ''Second Choice'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code black-and-white film released by Warner Bros. and starring Dolores Costello and Chester Morris. The film is notable as being the first (and only film) in which Dolores Costello sang. It is a lost fil ...

'', ''Stars on Parade'' and ''Aunt Sally'', and founded the 11-piece dance band The

Savoy Orpheans The Savoy Orpheans is a British dance band currently led by Alex Mendham. They were resident at the Savoy Hotel, London. The band was formed by Debroy Somers, an ex-army bandmaster, in 1923. Both the Orpheans and the Savoy Havana Band were und ...

. On 15 June 1925, Somers conducted the first British performance of

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's ''

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered i ...

'' from the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...

with the Orpheans, alongside the

Savoy Havana Band The Savoy Havana Band was a British dance band of the 1920s. It was resident at the Savoy Hotel, London, between 1921 and 1927. History The band was formed by the American saxophonist Bert Ralton (''aka'' Bert Louis Ralton; ''né'' Albert Lewis R ...

and Gershwin himself on piano. The performance was broadcast live by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. His ensemble, the Debroy Somers Band, was also known as the Midnight Minstrels. In 1930, they covered "

Amy, Wonderful Amy "Amy, Wonderful Amy" is a 1930 popular song, written by Joseph G. Gilbert and composed by Lawrence Wright (composer), Lawrence Wright (some sources credit him under his pseudonym Horatio Nicholls) about British aviator Amy Johnson. It was recorded ...

", a song about

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records duri ...

. Before the war Somers was a regular broadcaster on

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

, acting as musical director for several regular shows, including the children's show ''

Ovaltineys Ovaltineys or League of Ovaltineys was a children's club developed in the 1930s to promote the sale of Ovaltine brand drink in the United Kingdom. Original Ovaltineys The club, founded in 1935, had its own radio show, '' Ovaltiney's Concert Pa ...

'' and ''Shipmates Ashore'' for the Merchant Navy. In 1943 he returned to London's West End to direct the hit show '' The Lisbon Story'' at the

Hippodrome The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used i ...

. He was also director for

Tom Arnold Tom Arnold may refer to: * Tom Arnold (actor) (born 1959), American actor * Tom Arnold (economist) (born 1948), Irish CEO of Concern Worldwide * Tom Arnold (footballer) (1878–?), English footballer * Tom Arnold (literary scholar) (1823–1900), ...

and Robert Nesbitt's production of ''Latin Quarter'' at the

London Casino The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. History The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Ma ...

in 1949. His last production was as musical director for

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961) was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he s ...

's ''

Zip Goes a Million ''Zip Goes a Million'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by George Posford, based on the 1902 novel '' Brewster's Millions''. It premiered in London in 1951, starring George Formby, and ran for 544 performances. Sy ...

'' at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

in 1951, but he collapsed and died during the run of the show in May 1952, aged 62. Somers married a widow Doddy Payne (nee Watts) on 9 September 1912 in Fulham, London;England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 she already had three children from her previous marriage. The family home remained in Twickenham, Surrey for many years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somers, Debroy 1890 births 1952 deaths British male musicians Big band bandleaders Dance band bandleaders Place of birth missing 20th-century male musicians

Further reading

References