Biography

African-born crooner and lead vocalist with the Ray Noble Orchestra. Killed during a German air raid on London in April 1941.

Bowlly recorded his last song two weeks before his death. It was a duet with Messene of Irving Berlin's satirical song about Hitler, "When That Man Is Dead and Gone".

In the 1930s, he signed two contracts - one in May 1931 with Roy Fox, singing in his live band for the Monseigneur Restaurant, a stylish restaurant on Piccadilly in London, the other a record contract with bandleader Ray Noble in November 1930.

The Caretaker, who sampled Bowlly's music for his Everywhere at the End Of Time project, noted the public's opinion that if Bowlly did not die during the war, he would have been "bigger than Bing Crosby," and that "he had a better voice."[.

After a series of odd jobs in South Africa, including barber and jockey, he sang in a dance band led by Edgar Adeler on a tour of South Africa, Rhodesia, India and the Dutch East Indies during the mid-1920s. His main role was as guitarist. He was fired from the band in Soerabaja, Dutch East Indies.