Dr. Crock and His Crackpots were a British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

band popular between the 1940s and 1960s. They were led by saxophone and clarinet player Harry Hines. Henry Albert "Harry" Hines (born Henrick James Albert Rudolph Hinz; 9 June 1903 – 14 May 1971) was a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician, born in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

, London.Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, , p.36 He learned clarinet when in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, later learned the saxophone, and became a professional musician in 1933. In the 1930s and early 1940s, he played in various

dance bands (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by ...

, including those of

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...

Ray Noble Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...

Teddy Brown Teddy is an English language given name, usually a hypocorism of Edward or Theodore. It may refer to: People Nickname * Teddy Atlas (born 1956), boxing trainer and fight commentator * Teddy Bourne (born 1948), British Olympic epee fencer * Ted ...

, and

Maurice Winnick Maurice Winnick (28 March 1902 – 26 May 1962) was an English musician and dance band leader of the British dance band era. Born in Manchester, Winnick studied violin at the Manchester College of Music, where he proved to be a "child prodigy". ...

, and wrote

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

s. In 1947, Winnick persuaded Hines to take over the musical interludes in the popular radio programme ''Ignorance Is Bliss'', after

Sid Millward and His Nitwits Sidney Millward (9 December 1909 – 22 February 1972) was a British musician who led the comedy band Sid Millward and His Nitwits, performing burlesques of classical music from the 1930s until the 1970s. Biography Millward was born in London ...

left the show. Though Hines, as a serious musician, was initially reluctant, he formed a band, which was given the name Dr Crock and His Crackpots by Winnick. They typically played classical themes at breakneck speed, interspersed with noises such as cowbells and hooters; writer

Richard Anthony Baker Richard Anthony Baker (9 February 1946 – 12 November 2016) was a British radio producer, presenter and author. He was born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. His father was a London-born music hall performer who used the stage name Will Keogh; and hi ...

described them as sounding "like a cross between a small symphony orchestra and a Dixieland jazz band".Richard Anthony Baker, ''Old Time Variety: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2011, , pp.115-116 Soon afterwards, when Hines wanted to leave the radio show, he took a successful legal action against Winnick, who claimed he had the legal right to use the band name. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Dr Crock and His Crackpots, with a line-up comprising both musicians and comedians, toured successfully, often topping the bill at

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

s and performing in a style similar to

Spike Jones and His City Slickers Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gun ...

.Michael Kilgarriff, ''Grace, Beauty and Banjos: Peculiar Lives and Strange Times of Music Hall and Variety Artistes'', Oberon Books, 1998, , pp.83-84 Harry Hines died in London in 1971, aged 67. "Harry Hines", ''Crescendo'', June 1971, p.3
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References

External links

* English comedy musicians Parody musicians British parodists {{UK-comedian-stub