British dance band is a genre of popular jazz and dance music that developed in British dance halls and hotel ballrooms during the 1920s and 1930s, often called a Golden Age of British music prior to World War II.
Thousands of miles away from the true origins of jazz in the United States, British dance bands of this era typically played melodic, good-time music that had jazz and big band influences but also maintained a peculiarly British sense of rhythm and style which came from the music hall tradition. Often comedians of the day or music hall personalities would sing novelty recordings backed by well-known British dance band leaders. Some of the British dance band leaders and musicians went on to fame in the United States in the swing era.
Read more about British Dance Band: Notable Band Leaders and Musicians, Notable Vocalists, British Service Dance Bands, Notable British Dance Band Venues, In Popular Culture
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—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“The city is all right. To live in one
Is to be civilized, stay up and read
Or sing and dance all night and see sunrise
By waiting up instead of getting up.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“There was a young lady called Gloria
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And the band of the Waldorf-Astoria.”
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