Billy Cotton ranked among the leading British dance band conductors of his era, with “Somebody Stole My Gal” serving as his signature tune. Skilled on drums and as a vocalist alike, he could direct an orchestra from the podium or reinforce it from the drum kit. His ensemble earned notice both for its dance arrangements and for its carefully produced comedy sketches.
He entered music at fifteen as a drummer with the Royal Fusiliers and, three years later, obtained a commission in the Royal Flying Corps. Daytime military duties left evenings free for performances with assorted camp groups. After the war his rhythmic activities were initially confined to spare time while he earned wages first as a bus conductor, then as a butcher’s roundsman, and later as a millwright’s assistant. Scattered engagements appeared nonetheless, among them a slot with Gilbert Coombes & His Fifth Avenue Orchestra in Kilburn.
During the early 1920s such trio work paid barely ten dollars, offering scant prospects. Cotton therefore resolved to form his own band and recruited his cousin Laurie Johnson, whose abilities extended to both violin and promotion. By 1925 Billy Cotton & His London Savannah Band had secured extended residencies at venues such as the Southport Palais, where Sid Lipton played violin and Joe Ferrie played trombone. Over the two-year duration of that engagement the presentation evolved from straightforward dance accompaniment into a fuller visual stage production.
While the group moved between bookings, Cotton began recording for the Metropole, Regal Zonaphone, Piccadilly, and Decca labels, yet its reputation rested chiefly on live appearances. As vaudeville audiences declined he moved without difficulty into broadcasting. The Billy Cotton Band Show found wide audiences on radio and television throughout the 1950s and 1960s and became identified with the catchphrase “Wakey, wakey!,” an exclamation capable of provoking strong reactions when delivered to the wrong drowsy listener. Outside music his interests drew further notice: a keen racer, he was reported to have driven the celebrated Blue Bird at speeds exceeding 120 miles per hour, and he also held a pilot’s license.
