Julie Dawn (originally Juliana Rosalba Maria Theresa Mostosi; 2 August 1920 – 18 May 2000) was an English singer, singing with leading dance bands in the 1940s and 1950s, and making recordings and radio broadcasts. In later years she presented radio programmes.

Life

She was born in England in 1920. Her parents were Italian immigrants; her father was the head waiter at 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 ...

in London. From age 13 to 15 she took a piano and music course at the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

. In 1939, after singing at a party given by the Quaglino brothers, she was engaged by them to sing at their restaurant. She changed her name on the advice of the showbusiness journalist

Collie Knox Columb 'Collie' Thomas Knox (1899–1977) was a British writer and journalist active during World War II and the 1950s. After a varied military career, he joined the Daily Express before switching to the Daily Mail, which promoted him as a st ...

, and in late 1939 as Julie Dawn she made her first radio broadcast."Julie Dawn". Obituary in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 29 May 2000."Julie Dawn". Obituary in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 8 June 2000. After Italy entered the Second World War, her parents were interned until 1945. Julie Dawn joined

Harry Roy Harry Roy (12 January 1900 – 1 February 1971) was a British dance band leader and clarinet player from the 1920s to the 1960s. He performed several songs with suggestive lyrics, including " My Girl's Pussy" (1931), and "She Had to Go and Lose I ...

's band in 1940 and toured with them; he left them in 1941 and joined the

Eric Winstone Eric Winstone (born 1 January 1913 in London, died 2 May 1974 in Pagham, Sussex) was an English big band leader, conductor and composer. Biography and career Playing piano in his spare time from a job as Westminster Gas and Coke Company led him ...

Quartet. She made recordings with him after he formed a band, and also with Harry Leader and Billy Thorburn. In 1944 she worked with

Carroll Gibbons Carroll Richard Gibbons (January 4, 1903 – May 10, 1954) was an American-born pianist, bandleader and popular composer who made his career primarily in England during the British dance band era. Image of Gibbons from the W.D. & H.O. Wills ...

and 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 ...

. For three weeks she toured France, Belgium and Holland with Geraldo to entertain troops, and towards the end of the war she performed in Germany with Eric Winstone. After the war she sang with Art Thompson at the Embassy Club, and then with the

Lew Stone Louis Stone known professionally as Lew Stone (28 June 1898 – 13 February 1969) was a British bandleader and arranger of the British dance band era, and was well known in Britain during the 1930s. He was known as a skillful, innovative an ...

band. For two years she broadcast three times a week with the BBC Showband led by

Cyril Stapleton Cyril Stapleton (31 December 1914 – 25 February 1974) was an English violinist and jazz bandleader. Biography Born Horace Cyril Stapleton in Mapperley, Nottingham, England, Stapleton began playing violin at the age of seven, and played on lo ...

. She later became a programme presenter on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

, where a twice-weekly programme ran for five years. From 1977 on Radio 2 she presented "Julie Dawn's Penfriend Programme", which was very successful, running for 10 years. It was broadcast three times a week: people who lived alone were put in touch with others in similar circumstances. Julie Dawn was married twice; her second husband David died in 1992.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawn, Julie 1920 births 2000 deaths English broadcasters English people of Italian descent 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers