The Squadronaires

The Squadronaires
Origin	England
Genres	Big band, jazz
Years active	1939–present
Labels	Various

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 Squadronaires".

In 1939 the Royal Air Force implemented a plan to raise morale and entertain the troops during wartime, and The Squadronaires was one of the bands organized as a result. The band drew from some of the best musicians of the day. It became a popular jazz band and likely the best known of the British military dance bands of the time, with hits like "There's Something in the Air" and "South Rampart Street Parade." The Squadronaires played at dances and concerts for service personnel and also broadcast on the BBC and recorded on the Decca label. The orchestra's first broadcast took place in January 1941.

After D-Day, the Squadronaires went on to entertain service personnel engaged in the Northwest European campaign but had to return to Britain because of military operations. After demobilization, the members formed a civilian band of the same name. Ronnie Aldrich had been the arranger and co-piano player, but in 1950 he took over as bandleader, and the band was then billed as Ronnie Aldrich and The Squadronaires. The touring season of 1951 was the busiest period of activity the band had ever experienced. In 1952, The Squadronaires began a regular summer engagement at The Palace Ballroom in Douglas, Isle of Man which continued until 1963. They played in the Ballroom every night except Sundays when they played concerts in the Palace Theatre. A cut-down version of the band (The Squadronetes) led by vocalist Peter Morton appeared every afternoon in the Palace Gardens. The Squadronaires continued to work together under Ronnie Aldrich until 1964.

Many of the members formerly played as side men in Bert Ambrose’s band. During the war the members were:

After the war, Jimmy Watson replaced Clinton "Froggy" French on trumpet, and Monty Levy replaced Harry Lewis on alto sax.

In 1985 a new big band orchestra was organized under the title "The Royal Air Force Squadronaires." Many original members of the band were contacted and several were present at the official launch of the new band at Headquarters Music Services, RAF Uxbridge, on 8 January 1987. Original band leader Jimmy Miller conducted the band’s theme tune, "There’s Something in the Air."

...
Wikipedia