Ray McVay

My career took off when I became Musical Director for Larry Palmes, the Rock 'n Roll impressario. This wasn't an easy job because all the Rock 'n Roll stars wanted to sing the same popular rock songs and change their act every night, believe me it was hectic! In the Rock 'n Roll touring package were stars such as Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Freddie Cannon, Conway Twitty and Billy Fury. The drummer on many occasions was Brian Bennett from Marty Wild's Wild Cats who later went on to join The Shadows. Clem Cattini took over who later joined The Tornadoes and my guitarist was Colin Green who is now the Musical Director for Shirley Bassey. On piano and vocals was Clive Powell who later became the legendary Georgie Fame and to this very day we are still big pals. At the end of this tour Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and some friends were preparing to head back to Heathrow Airport. We were all very jovial at the end of a very successful tour when Eddie decided he wanted to take his Amp (which was a Gretch Amp) back to the United States to be repaired but the driver of the car said that there was no room for it unless someone got out, this I volunteered to do and traveled with the other boys from the group in my Dormobile. It was one hour later that there was a terrible car crash, fate had obviously kept me alive, the seat I had given up was the seat that Eddie Cochrane had sat in! As we all know he later died from his severe head injuries.

Whilst working with Gene Vincent we had a 'top ten' hit with Pistol Packin' Mama' on which I played the tenor sax rock solo ... maybe it was my solo that got it there! Following on from my days touring with the Rock 'n Roll band, I accepted a new challenge when Eric Morley, Head of Mecca, asked me to join his organisation with my own showband. We worked in Glasgow, Edinburgh and   Hammersmith Palais in London, before headlining at Mecca's top venue, the Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand. There followed twelve years on Come Dancing, winning almost a dozen Carl Alan Awards for 'Best Ballroom Danceband Leader'.

However, my heart was always with the Big Bands, and I yearned to direct the music of Glenn Miller. I had the initial idea to form a British Glenn Miller Orchestra with one principal aim in mind., having heard various bands play Glenn Miller type music I was disappointed when their phrasing, tuning and arrangements were not correct so I decided to contact Glenn Miller's American Office with the idea of forming a Glenn Miller Orchestra in the U.K. and was invited to New York to discuss plans. When I arrived in New York I was thrilled to discuss the plans I had and within six months of that American conference, the Glenn Miller Orchestra (U.K.) had taken to the road in Britain. Its success has even taken me by surprise.The Spring of '99 saw the band commence their first trip to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and then in the Autumn we are off to Miami on the Q.E.2. performing all the way! This is just another step in keeping the name alive and it's nice to be involved with the music of a man like Glenn Miller. 

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