Harry Roy
| Harry Roy | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Harry Lipman |
| Born |
12 January 1900 Stamford Hill, London, England |
| Died | 1 February 1971 (aged 71) London, England |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Instruments | Clarinet |
| Associated acts | Syd Roy, Eddie Carroll, Joe Daniels, Nat Temple, Ray Ellington, Stanley Black |
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 It at the Astor" (1939).
Roy was born Harry Lipman in Stamford Hill, London, England, and began to study clarinet and alto saxophone at the age of 16. He and his brother Sidney formed a band which they called the Darnswells, with Harry on saxophone and clarinet and Sidney on piano. During the 1920s they performed in several prestige venues such as the Alhambra and the London Coliseum, under names such as the Original Lyrical Five and the Original Crichton Lyricals. They spent three years at the Café de Paris, and toured South Africa, Australia and Germany.
By the early 1930s, Harry Roy was fronting the band under his own name, and broadcasting from the Café Anglais and the Mayfair Hotel. In 1931 he wrote along with Anthony Fanzo and sang "My Girl's Pussy", which has since been the subject of many cover versions and remakes. In 1935 he married Elizabeth Brooke, daughter of the white Rajah of Sarawak, with whom he appeared in two musical films, Rhythm Racketeer (1937) and Everything Is Rhythm (1940).
During the Second World War, Roy toured with his band, Harry Roy's Tiger Ragamuffins. He was at the Embassy Club in 1942, and a little later, toured the Middle East, entertaining troops. In 1948, Roy travelled to the United States but was refused a work permit. Returning to Britain, he reformed his band and scored a hit with his recording of "Leicester Square Rag".
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