Allah's Holiday by Night Club Kings

(Rudolf Friml / Otto Harbach)

Night Club Kings

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From The Gramophone, January 1931:

 Ray Noble gets hot. Night Club Kings. Allah's Holiday (v). Whispering (v). (H.M.V. B5913. First Jan.) This is another of Ray Noble's house recording combinations. The personnel in this case is : Laurie Payne (1st alto and baritone saxophone); Harry Hines (2nd alto and clarinet); Norman Payne of Claridges Hotel dance band (trumpet) ; Jock Flemming of Jack Harris' Grosvenor House band (trombone); Alan Ferguson of Bill Mason's band at the Cafe de Paris (guitar) ; " Spike " Hughes (string bass) ; Bill Harty (drums}, and Billy Thorburn (piano). Ray Noble himself plays the Celeste.

These records are modern hot affairs and the band is given the name Night Club Kings, presumably because it is not desired to get the name " New Mayfair Dance Band" identified with performances of this kind. I think I am not going too far if I say that Ray Noble has made as big a success here as with his more commercial performances. He has chosen musicians who are recognised as being amongst the best we can boast at this sort of thing. I am particularly interested in the work of young Norman Payne. His style is totally different from that of Max Goldberg, who does such good work in the New Mayfair combinations, and I am forced to admit that, while Max may be very neat and rhythmical, Norman has ideas which are very much more advanced. Some of his phrases show not merely a strong sense of rhythm, but a really brilliant imagination. He is a budding Bix Beiderbecke. Billy Thorburn, on the other hand, lacks imagination and all round is rather inconspicuous. Still, it hasn't mattered because the rest of the rhythm section is so excellent. Spike Hughes is as good a hot bass player as anyone could find, Bill Harty is known as the most solidly rhythmical drummer we have, and Alan Ferguson is by no means a passenger when it comes to rhythm.

 I am sorry Ray Noble chose Jack Plant for the vocalist. Plant of course has a voice of lovely quality, and can sing well; but he ought to stick to ballads and operas he has little idea of rhythm or style and sounds very out of place, the more so because I've just been listening to AI Bowlly on Ray Noble's aforementioned records (see page413..and so one can go on criticising.

 But whatever good or bad can be said, it still remains that of their kind these performances are about as good as anything that has yet been turned out in this country. Everything is very neat, clean and musicianly, more so than in many American performances of this kind, and if these fail anywhere by comparison with them it is that they lack slightly that all-compelling punch which the Americans get into their performances by playing with greater confidence and more abandon.