About Alyn Ainsworth
Hometown
Bolton, Lancashire, England
Born
August 24, 1924
Genre
R&B/Soul
b. 24 August 1924, Bolton, Lancashire, England, d. 4 October 1990, London, England. A highly respected musical director and arranger for records, television and the West End stage, Ainsworth studied guitar from the age of seven, left school at 14 to join Herman Darewski’s Orchestra as a boy soprano, and sang at the London Palladium. When his voice broke, he returned to Bolton and became an assistant golf professional, playing guitar in his own band, the Falcons, while also studying musical arranging. In the late 40s he worked as a staff arranger for Oscar Rabin, and then Geraldo, one of the top UK dance bands.
In 1951 Ainsworth began to arrange for the newly formed BBC Northern Variety Orchestra, and, when its conductor, Vilem Tausky, moved to the Northern Symphony Orchestra, Ainsworth was offered the job of resident conductor with the NVO. In December 1952, BBC Television launched The Good Old Days from the City Variety Theatre in Leeds - this music-hall show ran for over 30 years - and Ainsworth and the Northern Variety Orchestra provided the appropriate musical setting. Economics, it is said, obliged the BBC to prune the orchestra, removing all the members of the string section, bar one, and renaming it the Northern Dance Orchestra. With the help of musicians such as trumpeter Syd Lawrence, Ainsworth welded the NDO into one of the finest units of its kind in the world. Based in Manchester for a decade, Ainsworth and the NDO appeared on numerous radio and television programmes, accompanying singers such as Frankie Vaughan, Ronnie Hilton and David Whitfield. Together with singer Sheila Buxton and laid-back announcer Roger Moffat, they had their own highly acclaimed late-night UK television show, Make Way For Music.
In 1961 Ainsworth moved from Manchester to London to serve as musical director for the imported American musical Bye Bye Birdie, which starred Chita Rivera and UK rock ‘n’ roller Marty Wilde. Between 1958 and 1965, the Alyn Ainsworth Orchestra also recorded a number of orchestral pieces for George Martin. During the 60s Ainsworth became a leading conductor and arranger for West End shows such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hello, Dolly!, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, She Loves Me and Sweet Charity. He also orchestrated Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s The Roar Of The Greasepaint - The Smell Of The Crowd. The 60s also saw the start of his long and successful collaboration with singer Shirley Bassey, during which time he acted as her musical director for many cabaret seasons in the UK and abroad. Back home in Britain, Ainsworth’s television credits included Val Parnell’s Sunday Night At The London Palladium, International Cabaret From The Talk Of The Town, The David Nixon Show, Dee Time, The Cannon And Ball Show, Search For A Star, Night Of Hundred Stars, The BAFTA Awards, Live From Her Majesty’s, Bruce’s Big Night Out, more than 10 Royal Command Performances, and many ‘specials’ featuring artists such as Cilla Black, Russ Abbott, Stanley Baxter, Vera Lynn and Lulu. He also composed the theme music for several of the shows. His other compositions included ‘Bedtime For Drums’, ‘Italian Sunset’, ‘Mi Amor’, ‘Pete’s Party’ and ‘If I Were A Buddy Rich Man’. Ainsworth was also associated with the Brotherhood Of Man, and conducted for them at the Eurovision Song Contest, which they won in 1976 with ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’. He also worked with many visiting Americans, including Johnny Mathis, Neil Sedaka, and Barry Manilow. Ainsworth also collaborated with the Beverley Sisters on their recording of ‘Triplets’, among others, and was engaged for a time to one of the twins, Teddie. His own records included a rare excursion into rock ‘n’ roll with ‘18th Century Rock’, credited to ‘Alyn Ainsworth with The Rock-A-Fellas’, and the more typically smooth Themes And Dreams and True Love.
The ultimate professional, Ainsworth would often conduct the first house of one West End show, and the second house of another, after rehearsing for television during the day. He was capable of producing his best work under extreme pressure, while also motivating others, and was the man on whom producers could rely for the big occasion.
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