Biography
Inspired by the fresh jazz sound emerging from North America, brothers Syd Lipman and Harry assembled a five-piece ensemble called the Original Crichton Lyrical Orchestra—also known as the Crichton Lyricals or simply the Lyricals—in 1921. For their first appearance at the Palais de Danse in Hammersmith they performed under the adopted surname Roy. The group delivered spirited dance music alongside comedic routines at venues across London and Paris. In 1927 the Roys secured a deal with Vocalion and cut two dozen sides that appeared on various imprint labels. Their itinerary grew to encompass South Africa in 1928, Sydney the following year, and Berlin in 1930, at which point the unit disbanded. Syd formed a larger orchestra in 1931 for the newly launched RKO Theatre in Leicester Square; initially billed as Syd Roy & His RKOleans, the outfit soon featured Harry as its frontman. Beyond a few sessions issued under his own name on the Eclipse label in 1933, Syd devoted the ensuing two decades to managing the Harry Roy Orchestra, mounted a brief return as leader in 1946, and survived his brother by sixteen years until his own death in London on 20 November 1987 at age 86.