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Edwin "Eddie" Mordue (5 January 1928 – 26 January 2011) was a Britishjazzsaxophonist whose career spanned 70 years.
Born inSouth Shields in January 1928, Edwin Mordue moved to London in 1941 aged 13 and toured with 'Archie's Juvenile Band'. During the Second World War, he playedtenor saxophone with theEric Winstone Band where he met singerJulie Dawn, whom he married in 1950. The couple went on to record and perform withFrank Sinatra,Gene Kelly andSammy Davis Jr. Eddie joined the Jack Nathan Band in 1951, a regular at theLondon Palladium and the emerging West End jazz scene, then worked as a freelance, loaning his sound to the benefit ofNat King Cole, Judy Garland andBillie Holiday's last concert.
Many recordings followed in the 1960s including tracks withDusty Springfield,Alexis Korner andShirley Bassey. Eddie remarried in 1967, his wife, Gudrun, bore him three sons.
During the 1970s, Mordue played on a number of television shows includingTop of the Pops,The Generation Game,The Two Ronnies,The Morecambe and Wise ShowThe Eurovision Song Contest,The Royal Variety Performance, andRoy Castle'sRecord Breakers where he played the world's smallestsopranino saxophone. He was a member ofThe Wombles. He also recorded on a number of film soundtracks includingThe Pink Panther withHenry Mancini and theJames Bond films withJohn Barry. ‘The Talk Of The Town’ was a regular gig too.He also played with Ronnie Hazelhurst's band playing on Tv theme tunes like 'Only Fools and Horses' 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin' and 'Last of the Summer Wine' as well as many others.
In his later years, Mordue performed in concert halls and theatres on tour with theTed Heath andGlenn Miller tribute bands.
Edwin Mordue died in January 2011.[1]
