Cyril Stapleton was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist and jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 bandleader

Bandleader

A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....

.

Born in Mapperley

Mapperley

Mapperley is a residential and commercial area of north-eastern Nottingham, England. The area is bounded by Sherwood to the north-west, Thorneywood to the south and Gedling to the east.-History:...

, Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

, Stapleton began playing violin at age 7, and played on local radio

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 at the age of 12. He performed on the BBC Radio

BBC Radio

BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...

 often in his teenage

Adolescence

Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...

 years, and played in film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

s accompanying silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

s. He attended Trinity College of Music

Trinity College of Music

Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, and played in a dance band there led by Henry Hall

Henry Hall

Henry Hall may refer to:In politics and government:* Henry Hall, 4th Viscount Gage , British peer* Henry C. Hall , attorney and member of the Interstate Commerce Commission appointed by President Wilson...

. This ensemble

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

 also played on the BBC and made several recordings

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 for EMI

EMI Records

EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...

. After losing his position in the band, he went back to Nottingham and formed his own.

In the 1930s, Stapleton toured South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 with the Jack Payne

Jack Payne

Jack Payne was a British dance music bandleader.-Career:John Wesley Vivian Payne was born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, the only son of a music warehouse manager...

 Orchestra. Later in the decade Stapleton and his band relocated to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

; they won their own spot performing on the BBC in 1939. World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 interrupted Stapleton's musical career, as he joined the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 late in 1939. While enlisted, he played in the RAF Symphony Orchestra.

Following the war, Stapleton played with the London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...

, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Philharmonia Orchestra

Philharmonia Orchestra

The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...

. In 1947, he recreated his band, and quickly won back slots on the BBC; among the singers

Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

 he accompanied were Dick James

Dick James

Dick James , born Reginald Leon Isaac Vapnick, was a music publisher and the founder of the DJM record label and recording studios, as well as The Beatles' publisher Northern Songs.-Early life:...

 and Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

. As leader of the BBC Show Band, Stapleton became a fixture on the English musical scene, broadcast across the nation throughout the mid 1950s. Players in the ensemble who went on to fame in their own right are Bill McGuffie

Bill McGuffie

Bill McGuffie was a highly experienced pianist who went on to become a film composer and conductor. He also made several television appearances before this, most notably in Softly, Softly as a pub pianist....

, Tommy Whittle

Tommy Whittle

Tommy Whittle is a British jazz saxophonist.Whittle was born in Grangemouth, Scotland and started playing clarinet at age 12 before taking up the tenor saxophone at 13. He moved to Chatham, Kent at 16 and in 1943 started playing in the dance hall band of Claude Giddins in nearby Gillingham...

, and Matt Monro

Matt Monro

Matt Monro was an English singer who became one of the most popular entertainers on the international music scene during the 1960s...

.

In 1957, the BBC disbanded the Show Band, and Stapleton immediately reassembled his own group. He even managed two chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 hits

Hit record

A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 with the instrumental

Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 "The Italian Theme" (#25, 1956) and "The Children's Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Whack)" (#13, 1959). Stapleton continued to tour and record into the 1970s; in 1965 he also became head of A&R

A&R

Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...

 for Pye Records

Pye Records

Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...

.

Stapleton died in 1974, at the age of 59.

Selected discography

• "Elephant Tango" (1955) - UK
  UK Singles Chart
  The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
  
   Number 19
• "Blue Star (The Medic Theme)" (1955) - UK Number 2 φ
• "The Italian Theme" (1956) - UK Number 18
• "The Happy Whistler" (1956) - UK Number 22 β
• "Forgotten Dreams" (1957) - UK Number 27

φ Cyril Stapleton Orchestra featuring Julie Dawn

β Cyril Stapleton Orchestra featuring Desmond Lane, penny whistle

External links

• [ Biography at Allmusic.com]