Billy Cotton London Savannah Band - First record from July 1928

Billy Cotton (1899-1969) was one of the most successful and popular band leaders in the UK. He ran a dance band continuously from 1924 to the end of his life, and from 1928 his band regularly recorded, releasing hundreds of record in an unbroken period from 1928 to about 1960. Over this long period of time the style of music played by the band evolved continuously with Billy Cotton's aim to always provide the public with the style and type of music that they wanted to hear. Billy's first recording contract near the end of the jazz age was with Metropole, a short lived label that only lasted just over 3 years from 1928-1932. His records on this label were not big sellers and are very difficult to find today, but in 1930 when he switched from Metropole to Regal, record sales increased, so records from the 1930's are generally still quite easy to source although there are of course some rarities. For his first recording we have "I'm a broken hearted black bird", backed with "Bohemia", described on the label as as a Charleston-Fox trot. I'll be uploading some more Billy Cotton material over the next week or so to reflect the changing styles of music over the years when the band was active:
TECHNICAL NOTE: I have only ever found one copy of this rare recording, and side 1 is rather worn with some audible distortion in places. This quickly settles down and I hope you won't find it obtrusive. "Bohemia" is in generally better condition than side 1.

[@alexmckenna1171]

Quite a rarity! A gap in my Metropole finds over the years.