Chapter 1

The Heyday Years of Music in London

Many circumstances influenced this resurgence and interest in music and entertainment. It was an era where world events (2 World Wars) would contribute to an influx of military personnel in and around the city and Soldiers and Airmen looking for an entertainment outlet would become regular patrons at popular dance facilities. (Both World Wars had an influence on this attendance picture.)

There wasn't the distraction of television as yet and people flocked to various local venues to enjoy what was being offered. It was an opportunity to momentarily forget the horrors of war and somehow ease the stresses of everyday living brought on by these troublesome events. This "heyday" era prevailed through the years approximately from the late 1930's to the mid 80's. It started to take root before this period and came into full blown fruition in these "Golden" years.

Back then, there were numerous Dance Halls, Night Clubs, Supper Clubs, Hotels and Theatres in the area offering entertainment programs. International artists frequently appeared at these locales. There was something for everyone and all of these happenings were thriving at the same time.

It was a time that offered many opportunities to enjoy good music and entertainment on a grand scale. This would include Dance Bands, Concert Bands (Wind Ensembles) a Symphony Orchestra, Chamber groups and numerous Jazz groups and Vocal ensembles.

Musicians represented both the Pop genre and the Classical idiom in a variety of settings. All of these musical opportunities mentioned were on the scene and accessible to an ever expanding audience.
London's Radio Licence (1920's CFPL) gave it an opportunity to include new musical presentations along with its usual fare. (1950) As the radio station expanded its profile it eventually employed its own "staff" musicians and orchestra; something rather unique for the size of the city it represented at the time.

The War Years gave a tremendous boost to this interest from the military presence in and around the city. Several bases in the area complimented London’s Wolseley Barracks at the Oxford Street Base e.g. Centralia Air Force Base, Wingham Air Force Base and the Commonwealth Training Base at St Thomas.

Beach resorts on Lake Erie and Lake Huron also offered opportunities to enjoy good dance bands at their summer pavilions. At that time it seemed there was something to do every night in the week. Music and entertainment was everywhere.

Parks (Band Shells) Victoria Park and Springbank Park featured concerts on weekends (during the summer months) and in some cases these concerts would be broadcast on the local radio station. Eventually these programs were transmitted across Canada and to the bordering States.

Not only was there a great variety of music to be enjoyed but for its time, the quality of professional musicianship was significant. In retrospect, this vibrant music scene was truly impressive.

Unfortunately there isn't a great deal of recordings that survive to document all of these "different" happenings. For various reasons, recording these presentations wasn't considered to be important for later historical interest. The dance bands got air play and were recorded occasionally. Regrettably the Concert Bands were excluded from such documentation.

Some of these famous venues: 401 Plaza, Catholic Culture Centre, London Arena, Iroquois Hotel, Red Lion, Campbells, Hunt Club and others have since been demolished to make room for urban expansion.

Sadly some buildings (Wonderland Gardens Ball Room (London).. Stork Club in Port Stanley) were destroyed by fire. However, photographs do exist in archival libraries showing the dance bands that performed there on a regular basis , along with lists of their personnel.