Ray Noble New Mayfair Dance Orchestra - The Moment I Saw You

Ray Noble (1903-1978) was a British bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. Noble studied music at the Royal Academy of Music and became leader of the HMV band in 1929. The band featured members of top hotel orchestras. His most famous vocalist was Al Bowlly (1899-1941), who gained experience in a band led by Jimmy Liquime. Bowlly arrived in London as part of Fred Elizalde's orchestra. In the 1930s, he was to sign two contracts which were to change his fortunes. Despite Bowlly's stellar success in Britain through the early 1930s, he never achieved the same measure of fame in the USA, and his absence from the UK when he moved to the States in 1934 damaged his popularity with UK audiences. His career also began to suffer as a result of problems with his voice from around 1936, which affected the frequency of his recordings. Al Bowlly returned to England at the end of 1937 and in February 1938 he began recording with Lew Stone again. This wonderful recording was made in 1933.