Harry Bidgood

Henry Bidgood (1898 – 1957), known as "Harry", was an English composer, dance band leader and musical director for for numerous films, including several starring George Formby. Born in London, he was taught the piano at an early age by his father who was a composer. As soon as he left school he went on to the Variety stage as a solo pianist, and also played at cinemas in the 'silent' days. He was an Army drummer during World War One, after which he was pianist at the Old Vic, until he formed the dance-band combination with which he spent three-and-a-half years at the Piccadilly Hotel. During the mid to late 1920s Harry Bidgood led the in-house studio band for Vocalion Records in England (its former parent, the American Vocalion label, was acquired by Brunswick in 1925). In 1927 Vocalion decided to discontinue its namesake label, replacing it with the new Broadcast label. Broadcast records were eight inch (later on, nine inch) records which, through the use of slightly narrower grooves, offered the same playing time as standard sized 10 inch records. 
Because of the label name, Bidgood called his band Harry Bidgood's Broadcasters. He also recorded under a number of pseudonyms including The New York Nightbirds, Ciro’s Club Band, The Manhattan Melody Makers, Al Benny’s Broadway Boys, Nat Lewis and his Dance Band and Primo Scala and his Accordion Band. Beginning in the 1930s, he also broadcast frequently on BBC radio, and in 1933 led a quartet in a series of pioneering BBC television transmissions "By The Baird Process", according to BBC Genome's Radio Times listings. As director of Primo Scala's Accordion Band he broadcast regularly on the BBC's 'Music While You Work', from 1941 until just before his death in November 1957.
== Links to Peel ==
Many records by groups led by Harry Bidgood, under various names, were played in the Pig's Big 78 feature of Peel's shows of the 2000s.
== Other Shows Played ==
*thumb|330x330px19 September 2000: Bidgood's Good Boys: Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone ("The return of The Voice!")
*26 September 2000: Bidgood's Good Boys: Ali Baba's Camel
*07 December 2000: Bidgood's Symphonic Dance Band: The Wedding Of The Painted Doll
*05 April 2001: Primo Scala's Accordion Band: Little Valley In The Mountains
*11 October 2001: Bidgood’s Symphonic Dance Band: The Wedding Of The Painted Doll
*04 March 2003: Primo Scala's Accordeon Band: Me And The Old Folks At Home
*04 June 2003: Primo Scala's Accordeon Band: Isle Of Capri (Rex)
*19 June 2003: Primo Scala’s Accordeon Band: Somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains (Rex Records)
*02 July 2003: Harry Bidgood and His Broadcasters: Rag Doll (Broadcast)
*03 July 2003: Billy Desmond with Bidgood's Broadcasters: I Kiss Your Hand, Madame (Broadcast)
*09 July 2003: Bidgood’s Broadcasters: Jericho (Syncopation) (Chappell)
*15 July 2003: Primo Scala’s Accordeon Band: The Man on the Flying Trapeze (Rex)
*14 October 2003: The Broadcast Talkie Boys: Kings Of Jazz (Broadcast)
*18 December 2003: Bidgood’s Dance Band: Misery Farm (Unison Records)
*21 January 2004: Harry Bidgood And His Broadcasters: Music And Moonlight (Single) Broadcast
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*78rpm Community article; Harry Bidgood - From Vocalion To Primo Scala 
Category:Artists