Bert Ambrose, who was to be the leader of one of the most acclaimed English dance bands of the 1930s was born in London and crossed the Atlantic with his auntie to settle down for a few decades on American soil. He was first employed as a violinist at Emil Coleman’s New York restaurant Reisenweber. The Palais Royal was his next job. He was already directing musical entertainments at New York City’s Club de Vingt by 1917 and continued there until 1920. He led Clover Gardens’ band in 1924. However, Ambrose maintained an active professional presence in London in the 1920s. He regularly led bands at the Embassy Club (1920-1926) and the Mayfair Hotel (1927-1933). After making a few phonograph recordings for Columbia, Ambrose started to draw attention later with titles such as “Take Your Finger Out of Your Mouth”, recorded for the English Brunswick label, 1927. “Singapore Sorrows” was recorded for His Master’s Voice in April 1928. The act became almost always referred to as Bert Ambrose from that point forward.
