Bowlly was born in Lourenço Marques in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique. His parents were Greek and Lebanese. They met en route to Australia and moved to South Africa.
Bowlly was brought up in Johannesburg. After a series of odd jobs across South Africa in his youth, including being a barber and a jockey, he sang in a dance band led by Edgar Adeler on a tour of South Africa, Rhodesia, India and Indonesia during the mid-1920s.[citation needed] He was fired from the band in Surabaya, Indonesia.
Jimmy Liquime hired him to sing with the band in India and Singapore. In 1927 Bowlly made his first record, a cover version of "Blue Skies" by Irving Berlin that was recorded with Adeler in Berlin, Germany. During the next year, he worked in London, England, with the orchestra of Fred Elizalde.
The onset of the Great Depression in 1929 resulted in Bowlly being made redundant and returning to several months of busking to survive. In the 1930s, he signed two contracts—one in May 1931 with Roy Fox, singing in his live band for the Monseigneur Restaurant in London, the other a record contract with bandleader Ray Noble in November 1930.
During the next four years, he recorded over 500 songs. By 1933 Lew Stone had ousted Fox as bandleader, and Bowlly was singing Stone's arrangements with Stone's band. After much radio exposure and a successful British tour with Stone, Bowlly was inundated with demands for appearances and gigs—including undertaking a solo British tour—but continued to make most of his recordings with Noble. There was considerable competition between Noble and Stone for Bowlly's time. For much of the year, Bowlly spent all day in the recording studio with Noble's band rehearsing and recording, then the evening with Stone's band at the Monseigneur. Many of these recordings with Noble were issued in the United States by Victor, which meant that by the time Noble and Bowlly came to America, their reputation had preceded them.
He performed in England with his band, the Radio City Rhythm Makers. But by 1937 the band broke up when vocal problems were traced to a wart in his throat, which briefly caused him to lose his voice. Separated from his wife and with his band dissolved, he borrowed money from friends and traveled to New York City for surgery.
His absence from the UK in the early 1930s damaged his popularity with British audiences, despite his association with pianist Monia Liter as his accompanist. His career began to suffer as a result of problems with his voice, which affected the frequency of his recordings. He played a few small parts in films but never professed to be an actor. The parts he did play were often cut, and scenes that were shown were brief. Noble was offered a role in Hollywood, although the offer did not include Bowlly, as a singer had already been hired. Bowlly moved back to London with his wife Marjie in January 1937.
With diminished success in Britain, he toured regional theatres and recorded as often as possible to make a living, moving from orchestra to orchestra, working with Sydney Lipton, Gerald Bright and Ken "Snakehips" Johnson. In 1940 there was a revival of interest in his career when he worked in a duo with Jimmy Messene in Radio Stars with Two Guitars on the London stage. It was his last venture before his death in April 1941. The partnership was uneasy. Messene had a drinking problem. When he showed up for work, he was occasionally unable to perform. Bowlly recorded his last song two weeks before his death. It was a duet with Messene on Irving Berlin's satirical song about Hitler, "When That Man is Dead and Gone".
In December 1931, Bowlly married Constance Freda Roberts (died 1967) in St Martin's District, London; the couple separated after a fortnight, and sought a rapid divorce. He remarried in December 1934, to Marjie Fairless; this marriage lasted until his death.
On 16 April 1941, Bowlly and Messene had just given a performance at the Rex Cinema in Oxford Street, High Wycombe, now demolished. Both were offered the opportunity of an overnight stay in the town, but Bowlly opted to take the last train home to his flat at 32 Duke Street, Duke's Court, St James, London. His decision proved to be fateful. He was killed by a Luftwaffe parachute mine that detonated outside his flat at ten past three in the morning.
His body appeared unmarked: although the massive explosion had not disfigured him, it had blown his bedroom door off its hinges and the impact against his head proved fatal. He was buried with other bombing victims in a mass grave at what is today known as Hanwell Cemetery, Uxbridge Road, Hanwell, where his name is given as Albert Alex Bowlly.
Bowlly is sometimes credited with inventing crooning or "The Modern Singing Style", releasing a book of the same name. He experimented with new methods of amplification, not least with his Melody Maker advert, showing him endorsing a portable vocal megaphone. With the advent of the microphone in 1931, he adapted his singing style, moving away from the Jazz singing style of the 20s, into the softer, more expressive crooning singing style used in popular music of the 1930s and 1940s.
A Blue Plaque commemorating Bowlly was installed, in November 2013, by English Heritage at Charing Cross Mansion, 26 Charing Cross Road, described as "his home at the pinnacle of his career".
In the late 1980's, the BBC used his song 'Sweet and Lovely' as the theme tune to 'First of the Summer Wine' - the prequel to long-running comedy 'Last of the Summer Wine'. 'First of the Summer Wine' ran for two seasons of six episodes plus a pilot and, like the main series, was written by Roy Clarke.
The song "Guilty" was used by the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 2000, playing over the end credits instead of the programme's usual title music to signify the final appearance of character Ethel Skinner (Gretchen Franklin) who had persuaded her friend Dot Cotton (June Brown) to help her die.
When You Wish Upon A Star
Al Bowlly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They possess a gift or two
One of them is this
They have the power to make a wish come true
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing
Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true
The lyrics of “When You Wish Upon a Star” by Al Bowlly are imbued with a sense of hope, aspiration, and optimism. The song suggests that every person on this planet has a chance to make their dreams come true, no matter who they are or what their station in life is. The reference to the birth of a star suggests that we are all unique and possess a special gift that can help us achieve our goals. The song implies that the power to make a wish come true is deeply embedded in our nature, and when we tune in to this inner voice, we can make our heart’s desires come true.
The charm and appeal of “When You Wish Upon a Star” is not just limited to its positive message, but also to its beautiful melody and soulful feel. The lyrics of this song have echoed throughout popular culture ever since it was released in the 1940s. The song has been featured in countless movies, TV shows, advertisements, and video games, and it has become a cultural touchstone that has inspired generations of dreamers and wishers.
Overall, the lyrics of “When You Wish Upon a Star” are a testament to the enduring power of hope and optimism, and they remind us that no matter how challenging life may seem at times, we should never stop dreaming and wishing. The song encourages us to have faith that our dreams will come true if we believe in ourselves and our ability to make them happen.
Line by Line Meaning
When a star is born
When a star is created
They possess a gift or two
They have unique and special qualities
One of them is this
One of these qualities includes
They have the power to make a wish come true
The ability to fulfill desires
When you wish upon a star
When you hope and dream
Makes no difference who you are
It doesn't matter who you are
Anything your heart desires will come to you
Everything you want will come true
If your heart is in your dream
If you truly desire it
No request is too extreme
No desire or want is too much
When you wish upon a star
When you have a dream
As dreamers do
Like all those who dream
Fate is kind
Destiny is benevolent
She brings to those who love
She grants those who have passion
The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing
Their hidden desire is realized
Like a bolt out of the blue
Suddenly and unexpectedly
Fate steps in and sees you through
Destiny intervenes and helps you succeed
When you wish upon a star
When you have a hope or dream
Your dreams come true
Your desires become reality
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Leigh Harline, Ned Washington
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@valentuss
My dear Fellow warholsoup100 - so great you posted these marvelous lyrics! Thank you again with all my heart!
It so so pity that so warm voice and heart man All Bowlly died so early! He was only 43 at 1941 17th April...
@richardgornalle4536
Love this classic song. Love this clip. Thanks.
@valentuss
warholsoup100 - Thank you so much! This song warms my heart!
@anonuser7157
You have made my day !!! Thank you 🥰
@postscript67
Al Bowlly's voice is actually quite similar to that of Cliff Edwards. Both have a distinct quality - I think the technical term may be timbre - which is quite rare. The only other famous singer I can think of off-hand with a similar type of voice is Burl Ives.
@earthangelpuppy
Amazing!
@earthangelpuppy
Awesome!
@earthangelpuppy
Cool!
@TopHatJack4970discord
2:00-2:05 is my favourite part.
@earthangelpuppy
This Is Exquisitely Epic!