Bob Wallis
Encyclopedia
Robert 'Bob' Wallis was a British
jazz
musician
, who had a handful of chart
success in the early 1960s, during the UK
traditional jazz boom.
, East Yorkshire
, where his father became harbour master. At an early age Wallis joined the local Salvation Army
band
with his friend, Keith Avison, who was to play trombone
with Wallis for a number of years. By the age of twenty, Wallis discovered jazz and set up his own band in Bridlington, which also played in Hull
. His influence as a trumpet
er was Henry Red Allen. Wallis played predominately with the Storyville Jazzmen, although earlier and later in his career he played with other bands.
He went to Denmark
for a short spell, and recorded
a couple of records
there as the vocalist with the 'Washboard Beaters'. Once relocated to the UK, he went to London
and played for a short time with Ken Colyer
's Omega Brass, as well as joining Acker Bilk. These bands were recording mainly for the specialist 77 Records
label
.
Wallis joined up with Hugh Rainey's All Stars (Ginger Baker
was their drummer at the time) and shortly afterwards the band changed its name to The Storyville Jazzmen, fronted by Wallis. In 1959 the band recorded an album
for Top Rank Records, Everybody Loves Saturday Night. It peaked at #20 in the UK Albums Chart
in June 1960. A single
followed, and then the band moved to Pye Records
, where they made three albums and a number of singles. Those singles included "I'm Shy Mary Ellen, I'm Shy" (1961) and "Come Along Please" (1962), which made #44 and #33 respecively in the UK Singles Chart
. Wallis' Band also appeared in two films, It's Trad Dad! and Two Left Feet. At this time the band was made up of Wallis on trumpet, Keith 'Avo' Avison (trombone), Doug Richford (clarinet), Pete Gresham (piano), Hugh Rainey (banjo and later guitar), Brian 'Drag' Kirby (bass) and Kenny Buckner (drums).
For the third album, The Wallis Collection, Al Gay replaced Richford and, following an illness, Buckner left to be replaced by Alan Poston.
In 1963, Wallis and his band who had been television
regulars, as well as having a summer season at the London Palladium
, broke up. Wallis played with one or two other bands before moving to the Continent where he spent most of his remaining years, still playing with reconstituted versions of the Storyville Jazzmen. Occasionally these bands included former colleagues, such as Avison and Gresham. Poston was still playing with the band when it made its final recordings in the mid 1980s. Clarinettist Forrie Cairns was also with the band for much of this time.
In January 1963, the British
music magazine, NME
reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain
had taken place at Alexandra Palace
. The event included George Melly
, Diz Disley
, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber
, Kenny Ball
, Ken Colyer
, Monty Sunshine
, Alex Welsh
, Bruce Turner
, Mick Mulligan
and Wallis.
Ultimately Wallis settled in Zurich
with a residency at the Casa Bar. He continued to make records for European record label
s Storyville Records
, WAM and Pebe.
In 1990 Wallis returned to England with his wife, Joyce, where he died in hospital in 1991, at the age of 56.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, who had a handful of 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....
success in the early 1960s, during the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
traditional jazz boom.
Biography
Wallis was born in BridlingtonBridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
, East Yorkshire
East Yorkshire
East Yorkshire could be:*East Yorkshire Motor Services*An alternative name for the East Riding of Yorkshire*East Yorkshire , a former district of Humberside*East Yorkshire...
, where his father became harbour master. At an early age Wallis joined the local Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
band
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...
with his friend, Keith Avison, who was to play trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
with Wallis for a number of years. By the age of twenty, Wallis discovered jazz and set up his own band in Bridlington, which also played in Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. His influence as a trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er was Henry Red Allen. Wallis played predominately with the Storyville Jazzmen, although earlier and later in his career he played with other bands.
He went to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
for a short spell, and recorded
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...
a couple of records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
there as the vocalist with the 'Washboard Beaters'. Once relocated to the UK, he went 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...
and played for a short time with Ken Colyer
Ken Colyer
Kenneth Colyer was a British jazz trumpeter and cornetist, devoted totally to New Orleans jazz. His band was also known for skiffle interludes.-Biography:...
's Omega Brass, as well as joining Acker Bilk. These bands were recording mainly for the specialist 77 Records
77 Records
77 Records was a British record label set up in 1957 by Doug Dobell, the proprietor of Dobell's Jazz Record Shop at 77 Charing Cross Road, London...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
Wallis joined up with Hugh Rainey's All Stars (Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
was their drummer at the time) and shortly afterwards the band changed its name to The Storyville Jazzmen, fronted by Wallis. In 1959 the band recorded an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
for Top Rank Records, Everybody Loves Saturday Night. It peaked at #20 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
in June 1960. A single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
followed, and then the band moved to 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...
, where they made three albums and a number of singles. Those singles included "I'm Shy Mary Ellen, I'm Shy" (1961) and "Come Along Please" (1962), which made #44 and #33 respecively in the UK Singles Chart
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 ...
. Wallis' Band also appeared in two films, It's Trad Dad! and Two Left Feet. At this time the band was made up of Wallis on trumpet, Keith 'Avo' Avison (trombone), Doug Richford (clarinet), Pete Gresham (piano), Hugh Rainey (banjo and later guitar), Brian 'Drag' Kirby (bass) and Kenny Buckner (drums).
For the third album, The Wallis Collection, Al Gay replaced Richford and, following an illness, Buckner left to be replaced by Alan Poston.
In 1963, Wallis and his band who had been television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
regulars, as well as having a summer season at the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
, broke up. Wallis played with one or two other bands before moving to the Continent where he spent most of his remaining years, still playing with reconstituted versions of the Storyville Jazzmen. Occasionally these bands included former colleagues, such as Avison and Gresham. Poston was still playing with the band when it made its final recordings in the mid 1980s. Clarinettist Forrie Cairns was also with the band for much of this time.
In January 1963, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music magazine, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reported that the biggest trad jazz event to be staged in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
had taken place at Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
. The event included George Melly
George Melly
Alan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer and lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.-Early life and career:He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe...
, Diz Disley
Diz Disley
Diz Disley was an Anglo-Canadian jazz guitarist and graphic designer. He is best known for his jazz guitar playing, strongly influenced by Django Reinhardt, and for his collaborations with the violinist Stéphane Grappelli....
, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber
Chris Barber
Donald Christopher 'Chris' Barber is best known as a jazz trombonist. As well as scoring a UK top twenty trad jazz hit he helped the careers of many musicians, notably the blues singer Ottilie Patterson, who was at one time his wife, and vocalist/banjoist Lonnie Donegan, whose appearances with...
, Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball is an English jazz musician, best known as the lead trumpet player in Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen.-Career:...
, Ken Colyer
Ken Colyer
Kenneth Colyer was a British jazz trumpeter and cornetist, devoted totally to New Orleans jazz. His band was also known for skiffle interludes.-Biography:...
, Monty Sunshine
Monty Sunshine
Monty Sunshine was an English jazz clarinetist, whose main claim to fame was his clarinet solo on the track "Petite Fleur", a million seller for the Chris Barber Jazz Band in 1959...
, Alex Welsh
Alex Welsh
Alex Welsh was a Scottish jazz musician, who played the cornet, trumpet and sang.-Biography:Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Welsh started playing in the teenage 'Leith Silver Band' and gigged with Archie Semple's 'Capital Jazz Band'. After moving to London in the early 1950s, Welsh formed his own band...
, Bruce Turner
Bruce Turner
Bruce Turner was an English saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader.Born Malcolm Bruce Turner in Saltburn, he learned to play the clarinet as a schoolboy and began playing alto sax while serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II...
, Mick Mulligan
Mick Mulligan
Peter Sidney "Mick" Mulligan was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his presence on the trad jazz scene....
and Wallis.
Ultimately Wallis settled in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
with a residency at the Casa Bar. He continued to make records for European record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s Storyville Records
Storyville Records
Storyville Records is a large international record label based in Copenhagen, Denmark, specializing in jazz and blues music. Besides its original material, Storyville Records has licensed and reissued many vintage jazz recordings that previously appeared on such labels as Paramount Records,...
, WAM and Pebe.
In 1990 Wallis returned to England with his wife, Joyce, where he died in hospital in 1991, at the age of 56.