Tag Archives: Basil Woon

The White Lyres

The White Lyres

One of the first Jazz Bands to organize in Paris after the armistice following the end of World War 1 was the White Lyres. The two founding members were the Americans Bill Henley and Kelvin Keech and other members fluctuated throughout its existence. The band performed in London, Paris, the south of France, Turkey, Egypt and the rest of Europe but by 1925 it had dissipated, with both Bill Henley and Kel Keech fronting their own bands and going their separate ways.

Continue readingThe White Lyres

The Dancer Fay Harcourt

Fay Harcourt was a British dancer who made it big dancing in Paris in the Jazz Age of the 1920s  as part of three dancing teams – the first with the American Harry Cahill, the second with a Russian called Nicholas and the third wit hthe Argentinian  Peppy de Albreu. But, after a glittering career from 1922-1928 she simply vanished.

Continue readingThe Dancer Fay Harcourt

The Chateau de Madrid

The Chateau de Madrid was regarded as perhaps the best and finest restaurant and summer resort of Paris in the Jazz Age. A favourite rendezvous of Americans in Paris and Parisian society, it’s allure was because you could dine and dance outdoors under the trees in the cool night air at the height of the Paris social season.

Continue readingThe Chateau de Madrid

The bizarre tale of Mrs Smith Wilkinson

The bizarre tale of Mrs Smith Wilkinson

Described variously as ‘The Countess of Monte Cristo’, ‘The Queen of Diamonds’ and ‘Madame Aladdin’, Mrs Smith Wilkinson can be seen as a society con-artist and one of the first wannabe celebrities. She made a rather big splash in Paris in the summer of 1921 causing much debate and gossip in the press thereafter. Whatever was all the fuss about?

Continue readingThe bizarre tale of Mrs Smith Wilkinson

Les Copeland: a life of Ragtime

Les Copeland

One of the great ragtime stylists of the early 20th Century, Les Copeland was a popular American composer, pianist and performer, who reached success in the USA in the teens but achieved greater fame amongst the ex-patriot American community in Paris during the 1920s. Gershwin regarded him as one of his favourite pianists.Continue readingLes Copeland: a life of Ragtime