Albert Allick Bowlly (7 January 1898 – 17 April 1941) was a Mozambican-born South African–British vocalist and jazz guitarist, who was popular during the 1930s in Britain. He recorded more than 1,000 songs.
His most popular songs include "Midnight, the Stars and You", "Goodnight, Sweetheart", "Close Your Eyes", "The Very Thought of You", "Guilty", “Heartaches" and "Love Is the Sweetest Thing". He also recorded the only English version of "Dark Eyes" by Adalgiso Ferraris, as "Black Eyes", with the words of Albert Mellor.
Bowlly was born in Lourenço Marques (today Maputo) in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique. His parents were Greek and Lebanese. They met en route to Australia and moved to South Africa. Bowlly was brought up in Johannesburg.
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Links to Peel[]
Al Bowlly has been called the first British pop star (despite his South African upbringing) and is the best-remembered singer of the era of British Dance Bands. Peel would have heard his recordings on radio shows such as Alan Dell's Dance Band Days and, as a collector of old 78s, may have acquired some in junk shops or second-hand record shops. Like some later pop stars, an early death (in his case as a victim of a German bombing raid on London in 1941) contributed to Bowlly's mystique, and Richard Thompson alluded to this in his 1986 tribute to the singer, "Al Bowlly's In Heaven"
In the later years of his radio career, Peel played some of Al Bowlly's records on his programmes, including a number of tracks recorded with the Ray Noble orchestra (the singer also recorded with bands led by Roy Fox and Lew Stone) , and included them in both the Peelenium and Pig's Big 78 features of his later shows.
Shows Played[]
- 27 July 1999: Goodnight Sweetheart (Peelenium 1931)
- 24 August 1999: When That Man Is Dead And Gone (Peelenium 1941)
- 2000
- 15 March 2000: Must It End Like This? (1932)
- 2001
- 12 April 2001: Blow Blow Thou Winter Wind (Pig's Big 78)
- 2003
- 16 January 2003: On A Steamer Coming Over (LP - HMV Sessions Volume 7, 1930-1933)
- 2004
- 19 May 2004: I Can't Write The Words (Pig's Big 78)
- 09 December 2004: The Longer That You Linger in Virginia (Pig's Big 78)