The Bands That Mattered - Episode 3

Brian Matthew celebrates the golden age of British dance bands, when some of the biggest and most glamorous stars on the pop scene were bandleaders. Third in our series comes the great Jack Hylton, who started out as a humble clog dancer in Lancashire and ended up as one of the West End's most powerful impresarios. On the way he led the finest show band in the country, one that toured Europe throughout the 30s and carried an unrivalled roster of talent and entertainment with it. Writer Tony Staveacre has scoured the BBC's sound archive and interviewed many musicians and friends to assemble this vivid portrait of an era Robert Graves called "The Long Garden Party". The series includes contributions from Ambrose and Roy Fox; band members; experts like Russell Davies, as well as Brian Matthew himself, who personally knew many of the figures in this remarkable story. We also hear the music created by these men and the "bands that mattered". Music to which a whole generation danced in the great houses and palaces, prestigious hotels, swanky night-clubs, ballrooms and - by listening live nightly on the BBC - in private homes.