Kate & Andrew’s Glamorous 1920s-30s Style Wedding

Greg Poppleton & Bakelite Jazz – we get to play for all the best people. Every wedding we play at is warm and wonderful. Kate & Andrew’s 1930s themed wedding at Lillianfels was no exception. What a joy! Kate wrote…

“You were fantastic!!!! Before we entered the room we could hear you from outside. I said to my new husband “listen to them, our wedding is awesome!!!!” You made the party! Thank you so much for coming”

Thank you, Kate & Andrew. Below are some happy snaps of the band taken at Kate & Andrew’s wedding. Please visit our website. We look forward to adding glamorous vintage sparkle to your wedding, too!

Greg Poppleton, Sydney's only authentic 1920s & 30s singer in dinner suit. Kate & Andrew's wedding theme was 1920s

Bakelite Jazz at Kate & Andrew's Wedding

Greg Poppleton singing with Bakelite Jazz at Kate & Andrew's Wedding, Lillianfels

Monique Lysiak on piano. You may know her from the all women Sirens Big Band

Al Davey, trumpet. Like Monique he plays in lots of bands, because he's very, very good

Mark Harris on double bass. Where have you seen Mark before? Lah-Lahs, Monsieur Camembert and top name bands like the Bakelites - because he, too, is very, very good

Laurie Bennett - one of Sydney's top drummers. He's played in all the big theatre and TV bands, backed too many jazz greats to list here and has even played in the big bands of Cliff Richards, Harry Secombe and Liza Minelli

St Louis Blues – Greg Poppleton Bakelite Jazz

Happy New Year, Bakeliters!

Greg Poppleton & Bakelite Jazz had a great time playing 1920s – 1930s Hot Jazz and Swing for you in 2011. Thank you for enjoying our music live and on the YouTube clips you’ll find posted throughout this blog. In fact, just for you, there’s a New Year’s present of music we hope you’ll click on and enjoy a few pars down…

In 2011, the band played at such historic 1920s – 1930s occasions as the First Sydney Artists’ Ball and opening night of Art & About at the Art Gallery of NSW, connected with the ‘Mad Square’ exhibition of German Expressionist Art. We supported Mary Schneider in a big concert at the Sutherland Entertainment Centre and spent Melbourne Cup Day by the Harbour in the beautifully art deco Manly Pavilion

Great Gatsby theme parties became vogue in 2011 and will grow in popularity in 2012. Needless, to say, as Sydney’s only authentic 1920s singer, why would you book any other band than Greg Poppleton & Bakelite Jazz for your Great Gatsby party? Sydney’s only 1920s and 1930s singer with duo to sextet of world-touring musicians played some big ones in 2011, here’s a clip from the biggest

In 2012, the full band including Paul Furniss on saxes and clarinet and Al Davey on trumpet and trombone have been invited to perform at the Glen Street Theatre on 20 March as part of Glen Street’s ‘Music in The Glen’ series. We play the VE Day Ball at Elizabeth Bay House on 4 May. As well, you’re booking Greg Poppleton & Bakelite Jazz for your weddings and Great Gatsby theme corporate and private events. We thank you

And throughout 2011 and 2012 we’ll continue to be regulars at Penrith RSL. We’re tipped to be back this April. Keep an eye on the band’s News Page. And check out this clip from our last show there on 17 Dec 2011…

During the show above, drummer Bob Gillespie told me that these Bakelite Jazz YouTube clips posted throughout this blog brought him a ‘blast from the past’ ‘out of the blue’ ‘from the other side of the world’

Bob was the drummer in Maynard Ferguson’s English Band. And the bass player from that band rang Bob after 40 years, tipped off by the bass player’s son who saw Bob playing in Bakelite Jazz on YouTube. How’s that!

Old Style Photo Booth At 1920s Themed Party

Did you ever use one of those old photo booths tucked away in a railway station or shopping centre where you’d pull aside a curtain, crowd into the tiny booth with a pile of friends, perch on a tiny stool, and for a dollar get a rectangle of four black and white snaps? If my description doesn’t ring a bell for you quite yet, this is what one of these photo booths look like…

Model17 Photo Booth

Well, Greg Poppleton & the Bakelite Broadcasters were playing a 1920s themed party recently, and the party organisers hired one of these booths for their guests to take photos of themselves. What a hit!

First, just to paint the scene of this 1920s party, here are two photos and a video of the band snapped on stage at the Great Gatsby 1920s event…and, incidentally, Greg Poppleton now also leads the 11-piece authentic 1920s Dance Orchestra, The Lounge Bar Lotharios, with musical director Geoff Power & Sydney’s Top Ten Sydney vintage jazz musicians

Greg Poppleton singing with Bakelite Jazz at a 1920s themed Great Gatsby Party

Greg Poppleton, Sydney's only 1920s and 1930s Hot Jazz & Swing Singer with Geoff Power on Trombone

Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters’ latest CD, ‘Doin The Charleston‘

‘Doin’ The Charleston’ by Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters. Available on Bandcamp

Now, to the photo booth: ‘The Original Photo Company‘ is the only business in Australia still operating these black and white photo booths with the original technology, using their own special black and white photographic formula. And they hire them out for corporate events, weddings, birthdays, parties and celebrations of all kinds

Here’s your truly’s Photo Booth mug shots. You can find out more about having these photo booths at your party by visiting www.originalphotoboothhire.com.au.

PS: And you can find out more about Greg Poppleton & Bakelite Jazz for your 1920s, 1930s, Underbelly Razor and Great Gatsby Party at www.bakelitejazz.com

Greg Poppleton - Original Photo Booth Mug Shots Taken At A 1920s Themed Event

Rat Up A Drainpipe

I’ve heard it said that in the city a rat is never more than 10 metres away from you. Well, for people walking on this footpath in Holt Street, Newtown, there’s a rat lurking less than 10 centimetres underfoot…

Is this a black rat or a brown rat? I can’t tell. Black rats have a tail longer than their body, bigger eyes, bigger ears, a slenderer body and more pointed snout than a brown rat. Black rats aren’t always black, either. They can be brown. There was even a green tinted variety bred in England in the 1920s. However, I couldn’t get this rat to pose in full profile to show off its body/tail proportions. And are the eyes and ears of our rat ‘bigger’, it’s body ‘slenderer’ or its snout ‘pointier’? Maybe you can identify it. It’s colour is grey and brown. And brown rats can be grey. Do leave a comment

It’s unusual to see a black rat in a street drain like this in broad daylight. They are usually nocturnal animals. But then, brown rats tend to be nocturnal, too

Over in the Sydney suburbs of Mosman and Manly and down south in Jervis Bay, black rats have been culled and native Bogul Rats reintroduced to keep the black rat population low. Black rats are notorious vectors for a number of incurable diseases in humans. They also climb trees and reduce bird populations. Bogul rats don’t carry black rat diseases like lung worm, Justinian plague or bubonic plague, don’t climb trees and tend not to invade houses

Film Clip Music: ‘Exactly Like You’ sung by Greg Poppleton with his Bakelite Jazz Trio – More clips at www.bakelitejazz.com

Falling In Love Again – Greg Poppleton & Bakelite Jazz

Enjoy this short film clip of Greg Poppleton & Bakelite Jazz performing the song, ‘Falling In Love Again’, which Marlene Dietrich sang in ‘The Blue Angel’. The band was filmed at a 1920s Great Gatsby themed party for a major corporate in Sydney’s Intercontinental Hotel…

Greg Poppleton & Bakelite Jazz are Sydney’s 1920s and 1930s jazz and swing specialists

We play at clubs, weddings, corporate functions, events, 1920s, 1930s, Underbelly Razor and Great Gatsby theme parties

You can have the band at your occasion, too. Visit the band’s official website, www.bakelitejazz.com, or email me at greg@bakelitejazz.com

“We booked the Greg Poppleton Bakelite Jazz band for our Melbourne Cup Day Luncheon, to help create the feeling of an authentic 1930’s jazz vibe for our 250 patrons.
They turned up in traditional 1930’s suits and helped to make the day an absolute success.
Couldn’t have been more perfect – we will definitely have them back in the future and have had guests already book them for their private functions!“
Alex Robertson
Marketing and Business Development Manager
Manly Pavilion Dining Room & Bar

Amazing Trampolining from 1950 TV

Tuesday comes around so quickly. It’s time for another Phantom Dancer – swing and jazz from live 1920s – 60s radio & TV, presented by yours truly since 1985. You can also hear The Phantom Dancer on Saturday nights

Back in 1985, Swing was a dirty word. Around that time I gave a talk on Swing as part of a Musicology class at the University of NSW. When, after playing a driving Count Basie rhythm section broadcasting live on the wireless from 1937, I made a connection between swing, youth and sex. The entire room burst out laughing. Sex was then firmly connected with drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. They’d been constantly told so by big record company flunkies via radio and TV. There was even a mantra concocted by corporate music that every teen and twenty-something would recite ad nausium, much like ‘four legs good, two legs bad’. It was, ‘sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll’. Ho-hum. Now, of course, swing is associated with eroticism, class and burlesque. So enjoy this week’s show and amazingly bouncy Video of the Week

Check out this week’s play list, time and station details after the Vid of the Week – from a 1950 Cavalcade of Stars Show over the DuMont TV Network

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney
Tuesday 22 November 2011 12 noon – 1:30pm (+11 hours GMT) Live stream on 2ser.com
Saturday 26 November 2011 12 noon – 1:30pm (+11 hours GMT) Live stream on 2ser.com
The Wireless	Lobby Lud	www.myspace. com/lobbylud
Set 1
Open + You Can’t Take That Away From Me	Werner Jansen Orchestra	‘Chase & Sanborn Hour’ WEAF NBC Redl NY 16 May 1937
Deep Down In My Heart	Ray Eberle Orchestra (voc) Toby Dee	Click WFIL ABC Philadelphia 18 Jul 1947
Mangoes	Freddy Martin Orchestra	Cocoanut Grove Wiltshire Centre KHJ Mutual LA 1958
Once In A While + Close	Dinah Shore (voc) Gordon Jenkins Orchestra	‘MUM Show’ KECA Blue LA 1944
Set 2
When You Put On That Old Blue Suit Again	Barbara James (voc) National Dance Orchestra	Sydney early 1945
Ad + The Whistler	Bob Crosby Orchestra (voc) The Modernaires	‘Club 15′ KFI NBC LA 17 Nov 1947
What Is This Thing Called Love? + Nightmare (theme)	Artie Shaw Orchestra	Blue Room Hotel Lincoln WEAF NBC Red NY 29 Nov 1938
Open + Blue Skies	Lee Castle Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Ice Terrace Room Newark NJ AFRS Re-broadcast 30 Aug 1944
Set 3
Moonlight Serenade + In A Sentimental Mood	Glenn Miller Orchestra	‘Sunset Serenade’ Cafe Rouge Hotel Pennsylvania WJZ NBC Blue NY 22 Nov 1941
Theme (Daydreams Come True At Night) + But Not For Me	Dick Jurgens Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Garden Room Hotel Claremont Berkerley Ca AFRS Re-broadcast 15 May 1946
I Love You + Close	Jo Stafford	‘Sound Off’ AFRS Hollywood 1944
Set 4
Flashback From The Future	Duke Ellington	Aircheck 24 Oct 1965
What Can I Say Dear After I Say You’re Sorry?	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra	Meadowbrook Ballroom Cedar Grove NJ WABC CBS NY 9 Apr 1940
She Didn’t Say Yes	Woody Herman Orchestra (voc) Alan Jones	‘Woody Herman Show’ ABC Oct 1944
It Must Be Jelly	Harry James Orchestra	Palladium Ballroon KNX CBS LA 1945
Set 5
Frequency Marker + Frankie & Johnny	Frank Crumit	Station D.E.B.U.N.K Nazi Shortwave Propaganda Station 29 Apr 1942
Take Me In Your Arms	Charlie Spivak Orchestra (voc) Irene Day	‘One Night Stand’ Century Room Hotel Commodore New York AFRS re-broadcast 25 Feb 1945
Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me	Benny Goodman Orchestra (voc) Martha Tilton	‘Camel Caravan’ WABC CBS NY 11 Apr 1939
Body & Soul	Teddy Wilson Orchestra	‘America Dances’ WABC CBS NY and BBC London 1939
Set 6
Good For Stompin’	Hot Lips Page Band	Comm Rec Savoy Records New York 12 Sep 1944
Intro + Blue ‘n’ Boogie	Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie	‘Symphony Sid Show’ Birdland WJZ ABC NY 31 Mar 1951
These Foolish Things	Lee Konitz Quartet	Storyville Club Copley Square Hotel WHDH Boston 5 Jan 1954

Victoria Room-Bakelite Jazz September 28

Very excited! Just got the pics from the most recent appearance by Greg Poppleton & Bakelite Jazz at the swank Victoria Room, Level 1, 235 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst

Sunday night is Carnival Night in the Victoria Room – music, acrobats, magicians and burlesque – all from 7 – 10pm

“What is this magical place?” I hear you ask. Well, I’ll quote from their website for you: “The Victoria Room restaurant and bar in Sydney’s Darlinghurst is an ultra smooth dining establishment. Richly decorated in British-Raj style, this exotic dining room and award-winning cocktail bar exude bon-vivant chic.”

Now see for yourself. Check out the band pics at te Victoria Room by Rick Monk…

Greg Poppleton and Bakelite Jazz played two sets for Carnival diners. First, as a duo, with Greg crooning the songs of the 1920s and 1930s backed by Grahame Conlon on guitar…

Then, later in the evening, Stan Valacos, joined in on double bass,

And just like the band’s July appearance in the Victoria Room – it was full house. That doesn’t mean crowded and uncomfortable, either. In the Victoria Room, a full house is buzzy and alive. It’s that kind of space. You feel good

You can feel good and have Greg Poppleton and Bakelite Jazz at your place, too. Or have us at your wedding, corporate function, Great Gatsby and Underbelly Razor party. You can have the band as small as a duo and as big as a sextet – and everything in between. We can even play without electricity! Simply call or email me (Greg) at the band’s official website to discuss your requirements

We look forward to enhancing the magic of your evening soon

Spike Jones Flight of The Bumble-Bee

Jim Davidson from Sydney in 1933, Jam Session No. 4 from Paris in 1946 and the Trio Lescano from Rome in 1940 – they’re just some of the great commercially released swing and jazz – plus all the live 1920s-1960s radio swing and jazz you hear every week, on the this Tuesday’s and Saturday’s Phantom Dancer

For time, date, complete play list and station, consult the full program guide after this week’s Phantom Dancer Video of the Week. Amazing trombone from a 1950s Spike Jones TV Show. Happy Listening!

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney
Tuesday 8 November 2011 12 noon – 1:30pm (+11 hours GMT) Live stream on 2ser.com
Saturday 12 November 2011 6 – 7:30pm (+11 hours GMT) Live stream on 2ser.com
The Wireless	Lobby Lud	www.myspace. com/lobbylud
Set 1
Minor Swing	Jam Session No. 4	Comm Rec Swing Records Paris 19 Nov 1946
Deep Purple	Larry Clinton Orchestra (voc) Helen Leigh	Meadowbrook Ballroom Cedar Grove NJ WCBS CBS NY 18 Dec 1948
Golden Earrings	Charlie Spivak Orchestra (voc) Irene Day	Hollywood Palladiun KNX CBS LA 1948
My Wonderful One	Kitty Kallen (voc) AFRS Swing Band	‘Swingtime’ AFRS Hollywood 1944
Set 2
Il Pinguino Innamorato	Silvana Fioresi & Trio Lescano (voc)	Comm Rec Rome 1940
Open + Wolverine Blues	Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra	Radio Transcription Hollywood 1950s
Open + Song of the Wanderer	Buddy Morrow Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Roseland Ballroom New York AFRS Re-broadcast 1 Mar 1946
Ads + Heart Of My Heart + Close	Tennessee Ernie Ford & Helen O’Connell (voc) Billy Liebert Group	Radio Ozark Los Angeles 1960
Set 3
Open + Hold Me + Idolising + Cuban Love Song + Close	Larry Taylor (voc) Al Goodman Orchestra	Radio Transcription New York 1936
Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man + Motherless Child + Close	Ethel Waters (voc) Fletcher Henderson (p)	‘Guest Star’ New York 16 Jul 1950
Set 4
Swamp Fire	Dick Jurgens Orchestra	Radio Transcription New York 1938
I’m Livin’ In a Great Big Way	Ray Noble Orchestra	‘Coty Hour’ WEAF NBC Red NY 24 Apr 1935
Open + Baby Don’t Tell On Me	Ozzie Nelson Orchestra	Blackhawk Restaurant WGN Mutual Chicago 30 Mar 1940
Avenue C + Close	Count Basie Orchestra	Blue Room Hotel Lincoln WABC CBS NY 31 Jan 1945
Set 5
Sittin’ In The Dark	Jim Davidson & his New Palais Royal Orchestra (voc) Rhythm Boys: Jim Davidson, Jim Gussey, Dudley & Pete Cantrell	Comm Rec Sydney 28 Jun 1933
Marie	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (voc) Frank Sinatra	Meadowbrook Ballroom Cedar Grove NJ WABC CBS NY 9 Mar 1940
I’m Beginning To See The Light	Duke Ellington Orchestra	‘Date With The Duke’ Radio City WJZ ABC NY 7 Jul 1945
Gin Mill Blues + Close	Bob Crosby Orchestra	‘Swing Concert’ Congress Hotel WMAQ NBC Red Chicago 18 May 1937
Set 6
Twilight In Teheran	Buck Ram All-Stars	Comm Rec Savoy Records New York 18 Sep 1944
Ko-Ko	Charlie Parker and Miles Davis	‘Symphony Sid Show’ Royal Roost WMCA New York 4 Sep 1948
Deedle	Charlie Parker Sextet (voc) Dave Lambert and Buddy Stewart	‘Symphony Sid Show’ Royal Roost WMCA New York 26 Feb 1949

Greg Poppleton, Phantom Dancer presenter, is Sydney’s only authentic 1920s and 1930s swing and jazz singer. Operatically trained, check out his band website and links to 30 YouTube clips at www.bakelitejazz.com

Art & About 2011 Opening Night – Art Gallery of NSW

It was the opening night for Art and About 2011. Greg Poppleton’s Bakelite Jazz played 1920s and 1930s jazz and swing for the first night crowd at the Art Gallery of NSW. Here’s a short clip from the night. Had the camera been pointed the other way, instead of towards the Enquiry Desk, you’d see hundreds of people gathered to see the band (you can hear them at the end of this short taster…)

One of the Gallery’s current exhibitions is Mad Square, Modernity in German Art 1910 – 1937. The Gallery has put out a CD of 1920s and 1930s music as part of the exhibition. So I chose songs from that CD to include in the Bakelite Jazz set, including ‘Falling In Love Again’, which I sang for the very first time, performing the song made iconic by Marlene Dietrich in both German and English.

Greg Poppleton singing 'Falling In Love Again'. Bob Barnard plays trumpet

Greg Poppleton and Bakelite Jazz attracted a huge crowd who loved the show. In fact, I’ve been stopped in the street a few times by people who said how much they enjoyed the show. We look forward to playing for you soon. Visit the band website to see where you can see the band next or to enquire about the band for your occasion

Greg Poppleton singing into a 1920s megaphone with Bakelite Jazz at Art and About 2011, Art Gallery of NSW

Cab Calloway Reefer Man via 1932 “Television”

Hello Phantom Dancers,

I just realised that this year marks the 120th anniversary of broadcasting. Sending scheduled ‘radio’ programs including children’s shows, political talks, news, religious program, ads and live music over the telephone began in Budapest in 1891. The last such service closed in London in 1929

So, to celebrate, one set on this week’s Phantom Dancer goes pre-jazz and pre-radio as we know it with toons from the Music Hall

Another set goes all exotic with Yma Sumac, Martin Denny, Les Liebler and Enric Madriguera

And of course there’s lots of live 1920s – 60s radio swing & jazz

See this week’s play list after the Video of the Week, Can Calloway and Band with Reefer Man – revealed through the miracle of “Television” circa 1932

Play List – The Phantom Dancer 107.3 2SER-FM Sydney
Tuesday 13 September 2011 12noon – 1:30pm (+10 hours GMT)
Saturday 17 September 2011 6 – 7:30pm (repeat) Live stream on 2ser.com
The Wireless	Lobby Lud	www.myspace. com/lobbylud
Set 1
It Never Entered My Mind	Benny Goodman Orchestra (voc) Helen Forrest	Comm Rec Chicago 1 Mar 1940
Open + On The Sunny Side Of The Street	Jan Savitt Orchestra	‘One Night Stand’ Mural Room Hotel St Francis San Francisco AFRS Re-broadcast 27 Jul 1944
Make Yourself Comfortable	Count Basie Orchestra (voc) Sarah Vaughan	Birdland WRCA NBC NY 16 Dec 1954
Hawaiian War Chant	Art Mooney Orchestra (voc) Band	‘One Night Stand’ AFRS Re-broadcast 1946
Set 2
I Wish It Was Sunday Night	Billy Williams	Comm Rec London March 1912
Any Old Iron	Harry Champion	Comm Rec London 17 Oct 1911
I’m Henry The Eighth I Am (Harry Champion)	Dan Agar	Comm Rec Sydney 1945
Rosetta	Billy Williams	Comm Rec London April 1911
Set 3
Taita Inty	Yma Sumac (voc) Les Baxter Orchestra	Comm Rec Los Angeles Feb 1950
Pagan Love Song	Martin Denny Group	London House WBBM CBS Chicago 1959
Crazy Rhythm	Les Lieber (fife)	‘Saturday Night Swing Club’ WABC CBS NY 12 Jun 1937
Black Flowers	Enric Madriguera Orchestra (voc) Eddie Gomez	‘One Night Stand’ Copacabana New York AFRS Re-broadcast 5 Jul 1945
Set 4
Knee Drops (Lil Hardin)	Louis Armstrong with Carroll Dickerson’s Savoyages	Comm Rec New York 5 Jul 1928
Just A Gigolo	Graeme Bell All Stars (voc) Bob Barnard	Oasis Lounge Chevron Hotel Sydney 3 Jun 1964
Theme + Mr Ghost Goes to Town	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra	WEAF NBC Red Studios Radio City NY 31 Jan 1937
Head Over Heels In Love	Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (voc) Edythe Wright	WEAF NBC Red Studios Radio City NY 31 Jan 1937
Set 5
I Get Along Without You Very Well	Chuck Foster Orchestra	Radio Transcription Los Angeles 1938
Just A’Sittin’ And A’Rockin’	Stan Kenton Orchestra (voc) June Christy	Palladium Ballroom KNX CBS LA 27 Nov 1945
Gulf Coast Blues	Charlie Barnet Orchestra	‘Downbeat’ AFRS Hollywood Feb 1944
Blues	Eddie Condon Jazz Band with Charlie Barnet and Charlie Shavers	‘Eddie Condon Floorshow’ WNBC NBC TV New York 13 Dec 1948
Set 6
The Yam	Benny Goodman Orchestra	‘Camel Caravan’ WABC CBS NY 30 Aug 1938
Open + Jeep Rhythm	Fletcher Henderson Orchestra	‘Jubilee’ AFRS Hollywood 1944
High On An Open Mike	Fats Navarro (tp) Bill Harris (tb) Allen Eager, Charlie Ventura (ts) Ralph Burns (p) Al Valente (g) Chubby Jackson (b) Buddy Rich (d)	‘Saturday Night Swing Session’ WNEW New York 12 Apr 1947

Greg Poppleton is Sydney’s only 1920s and 1930s swing singer and leads his band of world-touring musicians Bakelite Jazz for events, weddings, corporate functions and parties. Please visit the band’s official website