percival mackey records for sale

[Coonsanders]

hi
this is mostly for british record collectors..im looking for any 78s by percival mackey and is band..if any of you have some for sale let me know.thanks..

lenny aka coonsanders

[epigramophone]

When I saw this thread I instinctively reached for my wallet, until I realised that the records mentioned were not for sale but were wanted!

I started collecting Percival Mackey's records because we share the same surname, although we are not directly related, but I quickly grew to enjoy his snappy arrangements and the distinctive style of his piano solos.

As well as on Columbia, he recorded for other labels including Edison Bell, Metropole, Piccadilly and Regal. His band also recorded as "The Everbright Boys".

His records are not as common as those of the better known British dance bands. At the recent CLPGS Phonofair I only managed to find two, but both were titles which I did not have, and at £1 each were not to be missed.

Percival Mackey has however made it to CD on Vocalion, a label for which he never recorded! The Serial Number is CDEA6139 and there are 25 tracks dating from 1925 to 1931.

His last recordings were made in 1934/35 as director of HMV's New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, after which he concentrated on music for the theatre and the cinema, for he was a talented and versatile musician in a variety of media.

Roger.

[Coonsanders]

hi
greetings from new jersey..alway nice to meet another mackey fan..i just found 3
mackey 78s on ebay..im in the middle of ordering another one..a gal in phonix had
one and a guy in west ny new jersey had one..the guy had a 12 inch mackey 78..he
wanted 45.00 for it.a guy who sells records made me 8 cds worth of mackey stuff..
this guy is a brit..in the early 80s i bought that mackey lp on worlds records and mackey became my favorite brit band.i do have that new cd that mike dutton
made and love it..maybe his records are scarce because he died rather early in 1951..people told me hes rare and they tell me hes common over in britian so ive
gotten confused as to whats what.how many mackey records do you have?me? 3..
is his wife still alive?anyway nice meeting you.

lenny

[epigramophone]

Good morning from Somerset, England.

Percival Mackey's main area of activity was the theatre, where it is said that he raised the standard of musical performance to such a level that some people came to the shows just to hear the orchestra.

The band had a relatively short recording career lasting from 1925, when they became the first of Columbia's dance bands to record electrically, to 1932/33. They never held a West End hotel residency and seldom broadcast on radio. These factors probably contribute to the comparative scarcity of their records.

Despite buying almost all that I find, I still have little more than 30 original 78's.

Thomas Percival Montague Mackey was born on 15 June 1894, the son of a London music publisher, and died on 23 November 1950. His ashes are interred at Golders Green Crematorium.

Information about his wife, the singer and dancer Monti Ryan, is hard to find. If she is still alive she would be aged over 100 by now.

[2Bdecided]

I also love his records for the lively arrangements. The Columbia pressings usually sound great too. When I first started collecting, it always surprised me how records that looked so dull (1920s/30s Columbia labels are hardly colourful!) could contain such exciting music.

I don't have any for sale, but found a little more info here...
http://www.memorylane.org.uk/al_bowlly_ ... m#Percival Mackey

The Pathé newsreal is on Youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YDrZBh7j6Q

Cheers,
David.

[Coonsanders]

hi men..
i did manage to find another mackey 78 on ebay and ordered it..he made alotta records as i stated before..another brit made me enough mackey to fill 8 or 9 cds..i traded with a brit a number of years ago and he sent me 8 (count em)8
cassette tapes of mackey stuff..i think thats pretty prolific myself..i may get
another mackey on ebay but its a little expensive..around 65.00..im not sure
though..and one of the reasons that there arent more mackey stuff is that he
died in 1951 but thats my opinion..nice meeting my fellow mackey fans.

coonsanders

[epigramophone]

Yes, Percival Mackey was a prolific recording artist and his records sold well, but the survival rate of many dance band records is low.

If they were not played until they wore out, they were often discarded once they had gone out of fashion. The Charleston is a good example, a best seller in it's day but quite difficult and expensive to find now.

By contrast, expensive classical records by Caruso, Melba et al were usually well looked after and were often passed down from generation to generation.

[2Bdecided]

I suspect that a different "kind of person" bought dance records. They were younger and less careful. They probably had cheaper gramophones, didn't always change the needle, and had never even heard of fibre needles! This is all stereotyping though - clearly some people bought dance records and were careful with them (or never played them) because we probably all have examples in our collections.

The hottest tunes always seem to have been played the most - and wouldn't you do the same?

It's a lot better once you get into the mid-1930s and beyond, because many people had radiograms that didn't chew up the records so much with each playing, and pickups kept getting lighter and lighter as the years went on.

It's the same with 45s - once you get into the mid-1970s and beyond, fewer people were using record-eating crystral cartridges and far more records survive in decent shape.


Late 1920s Columbias are especially prone to sounding awful when worn, but wonderful when mint. In contrast, crackly HMVs can sometimes sound a little better if some of the crackle has been worn away! (Though it seems to be only by luck that the wear happens in just this way).

Cheers,
David.

P.S. Shouldn't this be in one of the UK forums?

[epigramophone]

I think this thread is where it is because Lenny (coonsanders) who wants to buy Percival Mackey records is not based in the UK, but any discussion of this rather neglected band in the UK section would be welcome.