St Bernard Waltz - Doug Swallow & his Band - 1937

DOUG SWALLOW AND HIS BAND from the Locarno, Streatham play St. Bernard Waltz Recorded in London on Tuesday 2nd March 1937 Doug Swallow only made one record and this is the B side of that disc. Doug had a nine-year association with the Mecca dance hall circuit in the 1930s, playing in various towns and cities around the UK. His band also broadcast on the BBC and details I have of a 1936 programme relayed on the National and Regional Programmes from the Locarno Dance Hall in Glasgow show that the band were up-to-date in their choice of material; including such numbers as “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter”, “A Little Bit Independent”, and “I Feel Like A Feather In The Breeze”. However for their one recording session, two “old tyme” type dances were committed to wax. The “St. Bernard Waltz” is credited as a Doug Swallow composition, and the dance was promoted on the Mecca circuit. Its popularity was more widespread and has been passed down through the years. It is not the most entertaining recording to listen to as it is clearly designed for dancers, however it is a rare chance to hear a ballroom dance band of the 1930s that otherwise would have been lost to us. This 10” record, made for Decca in 1937, is long out-of-copyright, and this unique transfer from an original disc may only be copied or offered for sale with the permission of Peter Wallace.