Ambrose with Sam Browne...Looks like Love...1931

A tune from the golden period of the band,1930/31.The band at that time was very smooth,but had a jauntiness to the ensemble playing.l think this is because the banjo was still used,rather than guitar,which made the music seem bright and breezy.Lew stone was still arranging for Ambrose at this time. l particularly like Sam Browne's vocal on this catchy number.Ambrose and Sam were such avid gamblers that one summer season playing in the south of France.Ambrose gambled so much that he and the band ran out of money..completely (in spite of being paid a huge sum to play in France)He actually got Sam to take the overnight train from Monaco to Paris and than London,in order for Sam to hastily bring back more cash,which he did in a briefcase.However, Ambrose, in spite of losing money left right and centre was very generous to his band.He paid good wages and all expenses were paid by him,right down to having a cup of tea.Ambrose,though not good looking did command a certain attention from the ladies due to his prestigious status.He asked the blond bombshell,Evelyn Dall to marry him a couple of times.His persistent gambling put her off.Later in the 1950s/60s he managed Kathy Kirby's music career.She was very young and attractive and he an old man,yet it seems there was a relationship.Ambrose died in 1971 quite broke as he gambled all his vast earnings over the years.Sam Browne spent time in jail due to unpaid debts incurred by (you guessed it) gambling.He lived in a tiny flat until his death in 1974.It seems that British dance band musicians and managers were a bit like premiership footballers.In spite of earning vast sums of money and becoming famous,they could never change their spots and still exposed their rougher, original personality traits.Ambrose went from being a son of a rag and bone man to a millionaire and fame to having zilch.Sam Browne also earned and spent vast sums of money.He made a lot of money not just as a dance band vocalist,but as a double act with Elsie touring the country.These two were certainly characters,but what a great legacy they have left us with their records....

Category:

Music

Tags:

• british
• dance
• bands/1930s
• music/nostalgia/sam
• browne/ambrose