There’s a set of swing and bop small groups from the 1940s & 50s, a set of dance music from the late 20s and early 30s, a set of swing from the 1940s and lots, lots more

And for your Video of the Week, Alistair Cooke talks to Les Paul and Mary Ford on the CBS TV show ‘Omnibus’, 23 Oct 1953, about their music and multitracking. Les & Mary demonstrate. Enjoy!

(Hear it in on Bandcamp)

To go into the draw:

1. Add the flyer below for the 23 May Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters Django Bar show onto your Facebook page
2. Invite your friends to come along
3. Put your name on the 23 May Django Bar events page
4. Be at the Greg Poppleton show for the draw in the Django Bar of the Camelot Lounge, 23 May at 10pm to WIN!!!

Put this flyer onto your Facebook page and be at the 23 May Django Bar show to win the new CD by Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters

Good Luck! And see you at the Django Bar for Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters 1920s Speakeasy Trio

Django Bar in the Camelot Lounge | 8pm Thursday 23 May | cnr Marrickville Rd and Railway Pde Marrickville | Opp. Sydenham Train Station | $10 door sales only

On this week’s show, you’ll hear a rare radio broadcast from Shep Fields’ New Music (including early electric guitar) and a broadcast excerpt from Glen Island Casino by Bob Strong. There’s also a couple of sets of jazz and dance from 1920s-30s radio for your listening and dancing pleasure. Full play list below.

And for your Phantom Dancer Video of the Week, from 1929, rap from the High Hatted Tragedian of Jazz, Ted Lewis.

What is Ozwac? Ozwac, the Australian Women and Children’s Research Foundation, is a charity that raises and grants money for research in western Sydney. It works within the University of Sydney Clinical School at Nepean. The research is essential to improve clinical care for mothers and babies. In general, such research is poorly funded in Australia.

In Greg Poppleton and the Broadcasters for the 1920s gala where Greg Poppleton 1920s singer, Geoff Power trumpet and sousaphone, Chuck Morgan banjo and ukeleles, and Adam Barnard drums. Film and TV personalities Roy Billing and Tara Dennis were also at the Ball, sharing their tremendous talents for the cause.

$42 000 was raised.

One of the organisers of the successful 1920s themed Fundraising Ball (which was held in the Evans Theatre of Penrith Panthers) took some happy snaps of Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters on stage for you. We hope you enjoy them. (Thank you, Kane)

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters at the Ozwac 1920s Gala Ball, Penrith Panthers

Now, if you’re looking for a real 1920s trio to sextet or even orchestra for your event, lead by Sydney’s only authentic 1920s singer (classically trained) and filled with world-touring vintage jazz and swing specialists, check out the band’s official website and get in touch via the contact page

The Phantom Dancer playlist for Tuesday 7 May 2013 is posted for you below. You can hear the show on 2SER 107.3 and online (see the online address at the top of the play list). Tune in for live 1930s – 60s swing and jazz radio by Duke Ellington, Pee Wee Erwin, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Anita O’Day and more. Enjoy!

And now for your Phantom Dancer Video of the Week, two Phantom Dancer regulars in a soundie of CBS’ Saturday Night Swing Club. Together on the sound stage, the house swing band lead by Leith Stevens and Eddie Condon’s Dixieland group. But who is the singer? Is it Kay Thompson, Bea Wain…?

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters in the Django Bar

The Django Bar is on the corner of Marrickville Road and Railway Parade opposite Sydenham Station

The very first 2 hour Phantom Dancer (and Program 50 for national listeners) starts this week.

I started The Phantom Dancer on 107.3 2SER Sydney way back in December 1985.

I had already been doing a 15 minute segment of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV within another program called Cityscope since Dec 1984. The segment was called, Hot House, after the song.

Then in December 1985 I was asked to fill in for a vacated time slot. The previous show had been called Jazz Direction Out and I unhappily inherited the name.

However, the show hit the right note with listeners. I even had a few live shows, bring musicians into the studio like James Morrison, John Morrison, Ian Date, Andrew Speight, Ted Heath Goes Latin (the band) and an outside recording of Mic Conway and his Hiccups Orchestra.

And the first request came in, handwritten in blue biro, posted from a motel in Blakehurst on a scrap of pad paper.

The next name for the show after a schedule reshuffle was even worse than Jazz Direction Out. I didn’t choose it. My proposed title, ‘Hot Shit!’, was not accepted (and was at that time illegal). Because the show was in a late lunchtime slot, it got called ‘Swing Sandwich’. Cringe.

In 1989 there was yet another radio schedule reshuffle and the show was moved to 11:30pm – 1am Sunday night – Monday mornings. I called it ‘Round About Midnight’, after the song. Listenership bloomed. And I did a few ‘wacky’ things like a ‘Honeysuckle Rose-a-thon’ and a live mix of women in jazz with excerpts from an episode of Lost In Space. Like, far out, daddy-o!’.

Sunday nights used to start at 6pm for me at 2SER, because that’s when I’d also record, then dub edit, a weekly half-hour quiz show that had a 2 year run on 2SER called, ‘Wordsports’, a word game devised by performance poet Komninos and which I also ran at the Harold Park Hotel.

I also won the first of two BASF Hi Fi Certificates Of Merit for a soundscape called ‘Registered Clubs Of NSW A Musical Legacy,’ and began working in radio professionally.

In 1991 The Phantom Dancer won a BASF Hi Fi Certficate Of Merit for its special, ’42 Years Of TV’, demonstrating that TV had been around much longer than the 25 years the Australian commercial networks had been crowing about that year.

Another reshuffle saw the show put back to a weekday afternoon at 1pm. This, too, was considered a dead spot like late Sunday night, but contrary to expectations, listenership grew some more. In this ‘carnation, I called the show ‘The One O’Clock Jump’.

Another reshuffle shunted the show in 1994 to another then graveyard slot of 10:30am Tuesday morning. But the show did well. And I changed the name to The Phantom Dancer.

Introduced in 1994, The Phantom Dancer was the first 2SER show with a digitally edited theme – and that’s the show theme that’s still in use.

On 8 May 1995, The Phantom Dancer, was the first 2SER show (and possibly one of the first Sydney radio shows) to be wholly digitally produced and edited. The one hour special commemorated the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe. And it went to air on CD. The hard-to-get CD blank cost me around $30.

In 1997, The Phantom Dancer almost went off-air due to a ‘music producer’ who nevertheless still thought enough of the show to claim in a prestigious jazz dictionary (without telling me) that he ‘produced’ the show. He went on to an academic career.

The Phantom Dancer did have its one only ever producer in 1999. Jo White helped refocus the show and as a result, the show became even more popular in the 2000s and 2010s.

In April 2007, a story on The Phantom Dancer, was the feature article in a Sydney Morning Herald Metro lift out.

In November 2007, The Phantom Dancer, won Best Music Show in the annual national CBAA Radio Awards.

In 2008, the show began to be repeated 6am Sunday mornings.

Then in 2010, the repeat program was moved to 6pm Saturday evenings.

In 2011 I was very honoured to receive a much coveted 2SER volunteers award.

In 2012, The Phantom Dancer, went national. It’s now heard on over 30 radio stations of the Community Radio Network across Australia. It has a particularly strong listenership on the popular ArtsoundFM in Canberra.

And now, as of 30 April 2013, The Phantom Dancer has grown to be two hours long! And I still work professionally in radio – as a voice over artist with RGM Voices (here’s my voicereel) – as well as volunteer.

I suppose that makes me one of the many radio professionals 2SER has created over the years.

Many people have supported and nurtured the Phantom Dancer since 1985 when hair was long, black pants, black coats and black pointy shoes were de rigueur, and swing was a dirty word. The list of names is too long to print here. Most important are the many 2SER Phantom Dancer subscribers who keep Australia’s only live 1920s-60s radio swing & jazz show, and 2SER, on air with their subscriptions and donations. 2SER is a community supported station. Thank you.

Hence, this week’s Phantom Dancer Video of the Week. It’s a mix of 2SER 1st Birthday Idents by Sydney commercial radio personalities for the very first subscriber drive in 1980. Long time 2SER listeners, is that the voice of John Cochrane giving George Donikian some feedback after his first ID read? Enjoy…

There are big changes afoot.

Firstly, this Saturday’s show will be the last.

After six years of being heard twice a week on 2SER, the show will now be heard just once weekly – every Tuesday at the same time since the late 1990s – 12 noon.

But, instead of being a 90 minute show on Tuesday, it’ll be 2 hours from next week, 12 noon – 2pm

And, sometime this year, and I don’t know when as yet, you’ll be able to hear The Phantom dancer any time you want on the 2SER website

And now for this week’s Phantom Dancer Video of the Week, Vitaphone’s latest news on Hollywood from 1934. Enjoy!

Greg Poppleton is Sydney’s only authentic 1920s – 1930s singer. Website: www.bakelitejazz.com . Latest CD on Bandcamp: http://gregpoppletonandhisbakelitebroadcasters.bandcamp.com/

The Hudson-AMC Car Club of Australia is dedicated to the preservation of cars built by the Hudson, Nash and American Motors Corporation.

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters are Sydney’s 1920s Speakeasy and 1930s Swing Trio – Sextet. We feature Sydney’s only authentic 1920s – 1930s singer, Greg Poppleton, and world-touring vintage swing jazz musicians.

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters are in demand for weddings, corporate functions, parties and historical occasions

The Hudson-AMC Car Club and Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters were at the annual Fairfield Museum Fair. Thank you, Tony, for the pictures…

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters around the 1929 Essex Roadster. In the Bakelite Broadcasters, singer Greg Poppleton seated with megaphone, Geoff Power big silver sousaphone and trumpet, Paul Baker banjo, Adam Barnard drums and washboard

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters – Sydney’s 1920s Speakeasy Trio – Sextet

The 1929 Essex Roadster belonging to the Hudson-AMC Club of Australia

Here are a couple of pictures of a special Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters line-up put together for last night’s Sunday Carnival in the Victoria Room, Darlinghurst.

Greg Poppleton, 1920s-30s singer with The Bakelite Broadcasters for Sunday carnival in the Victoria Room, Darlinghurst

On piano was Monique Lysiak from the Siren’s Big Band. On the drums, Damon Poppleton, who is now ten. And that’s me, Greg Poppleton, singing in my fancy new duds and spurning the use of the microphone. (I’ve a big voice, anyway.) Photos are by Jimmy Vargas and, since I didn’t ask whether he wanted his name in this blog, the photo with Damon was kindly snapped by a long-time Phantom Dancer listener.

Damon Poppleton, drums, Monique Lysiak, piano, Greg Poppleton, vocals on St Louis Blues

And look, you can see in a sign on top of the piano in the background. I says, ‘CDs $20′. That’s how much the latest Greg Poppleton and his Bakelite Broadcasters CD is on Bandcamp ($10 digital download, $1 a track), with Paul Furniss, Geoff Power, Al Davey, Grahame Conlon, Rod Herbert and Lawrie Thompson. Aren’t I cheeky?

It’s amazing the people you meet in the Victoria Room, including an early rock-n-roller (and his wonderful partner) who had drummed for Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Annette Funicello amongst others and is now part of the jazz scene in Sydney.

We hope to be back in the Victoria Room in the Spring.

Some good news today is that the 1920s Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters (Trio), with Geoff Power on sousaphone and trumpet, is booked into the new Django Bar in the Camelot Lounge on Thursday evening, 23rd May.

More details closer to the date.

Abby Dobson from Baby et Lulu will be singing in the Camelot Lounge that night.

Camelot Lounge, 19 Marrickville Rd Marrickville

We hope to see you in the Django Bar, opposite Sydenham Station, on Thursday 23 May!

Django Bar in the Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Rd & Railway St opposite Sydenham Station