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Waldini was the stage name of Wallace (Wally) Bishop, a musician, band leader and impresario born in Cardiff, South Wales, in 1894. His career spanned 6 decades, each providing its own challenges that were met head on by the man known to some as ''The Great Waldini''〔() BBC South East Wales website〕 and to others as ''Cardiff's Mr Music''. During World War I he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in Egypt, founding the unit's ''Welsh Rarebits'' concert party. After the war he continued his career as a cinema musician, until the "talkies" made his job redundant. He survived the Great Depression by forming an orchestra comprising out of work musicians that played daily in Cardiff's Roath Park.〔 They dressed in Romany outfits and called themselves ''Waldini and his Gypsy Band'' During WWII he was invited by Jack Hylton on behalf of ENSA to take his Gypsy Band to entertain the British and Commonwealth Forces at home and abroad; he later wrote of this experience in his self-published book ''Front Line Theatre''.〔 After the war Waldini and his Gypsy Band appeared during the summer months at holiday resorts throughout the UK, most notably Llandudno in North Wales and Ilfracombe in Devon. For the last 2 years of his life he toured with his all-girl band ''The Fabs'', entertaining troops again, but this time at army bases on the Rhine. During his career he also found time for talent spotting and in the early 1940s gave Peter Sellers one of his first jobs. Some of his singers also went on to acheve fame, in particular Maureen Evans and Lorne Lesley (longtime wife of David Dickinson) who in 1964 topped the bill on Sunday Night at the London Palladium.〔() Babylon Wales – ''Notes from the margins of Welsh popular culture'' website〕〔''South Wales Echo'', 6 January 1966, Obituary (page 8)〕 Waldini died in St Winifred's Hospital, Cardiff on 5 January 1966.〔 ==Between the wars== He formed his Gypsy Band in the 1920s, employing fellow out-of-work musicians, and started Cardiff's ''"Jazz in the Parks"'' movement; crowds flocked to hear these open-air concerts. He also ran Sunday concerts at Cardiff's Park Hall, and the public turned up in force to hear these too.〔 In 1928, Waldini and his Gipsy Band appeared as an entertainment at the British Industries Fair in Birmingham in the West Midlands; the backdrop to the show was the Canadian Rockies, and the 16-piece band included his sister, Marjorie.〔 He also had shows at Cardiff's Roath Park Pavilion, with singing acts such as the Pereira Sisters;〔 Waldini also signed up 14-year-old "Little Joan", a talented entertainer who played the title role in ''Red Riding Hood'' at the Playhouse Theatre in Cardiff in 1933. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Waldini」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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