Eric Winstone
Encyclopedia
Eric Winstone was an English big band
leader and composer.
Playing piano in his spare time from a job as Westminster Gas and Coke Company led him to form his first band in 1935. He learned the accordion
, started an accordion school and formed an accordion quintet, a swing quintet, and a big band orchestra.
During World War II his orchestra entertained the forces, and performed at holiday camp
s after the war. In 1955 a CinemaScope
short of The Eric Winstone Bandshow was made.
He was quoted in 1955 as saying that
His limited company
, Eric Winstone Orchestras Ltd., was involved in a widely reported court case involving Diana Dors
in 1957. Dors had been engaged to appear with the orchestra at a charity matinee in July 1954 for the RAF Association in Clacton, where Winstone's orchestra was playing a season at Butlins holiday camp
. She failed to fulfil the singing commitment, which was to take place in a cinema, due to having a septic throat. She claimed that the illness had been notified to the company. The company argued that she was fulfilling her film commitments and therefore the illness was an excuse, and furthermore that being unable to sing was not the issue at stake as merely saying "hello" would have sufficed. Winstone remarked to the audience that she was not a woman of her word, did not respect her obligations and considered the people of Clacton to be unworthy of her talents, He thereafter told a newspaper journalist that she had let him down. Winstone's company sued for breach of contract and this caused Dors to countersue for slander, the outcome of which was that the company was awarded £5 compensation and Dors received 100 guinea
s. The judge in the case said that the company's financial loss had been non-existent, having heard that it was to receive £210 for the performance and a further £40 if all the seats were sold. Dors, who was to receive £80 for her fifteen minute appearance, donated her court award to the charity. Her husband had said in court that the need for a court's ruling (by which he was referring to the company's claim) was "a waste of time".
Winstone had a somewhat tempestuous personal life at times. In September 1959 he obtained a court order that banned his mother-in-law from staying at his home. In the same month a court ordered that an "iron curtain" be constructed in the property so as to split the rooms between himself, then aged 46, and his wife and two year old daughter. He was also ordered to stop playing his piano by 6pm each day in order not to disturb his family. At that time he was using it to compose arrangements for three bands and five radio shows. Four months later, his then 26 year old wife, Myrtle, a former fashion model, was seeking a judicial separation. They had married in February 1957.
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
leader and composer.
Playing piano in his spare time from a job as Westminster Gas and Coke Company led him to form his first band in 1935. He learned the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, started an accordion school and formed an accordion quintet, a swing quintet, and a big band orchestra.
During World War II his orchestra entertained the forces, and performed at holiday camp
Holiday camp
Holiday camp, in Britain, generally refers to a resort with a boundary that includes accommodation, entertainment and other facilities.As distinct from camping, accommodation typically consisted of chalets – small buildings arranged either individually or in blocks. Some had three or four storeys,...
s after the war. In 1955 a CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
short of The Eric Winstone Bandshow was made.
He was quoted in 1955 as saying that
His limited company
Limited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...
, Eric Winstone Orchestras Ltd., was involved in a widely reported court case involving Diana Dors
Diana Dors
Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
in 1957. Dors had been engaged to appear with the orchestra at a charity matinee in July 1954 for the RAF Association in Clacton, where Winstone's orchestra was playing a season at Butlins holiday camp
Butlins
Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families....
. She failed to fulfil the singing commitment, which was to take place in a cinema, due to having a septic throat. She claimed that the illness had been notified to the company. The company argued that she was fulfilling her film commitments and therefore the illness was an excuse, and furthermore that being unable to sing was not the issue at stake as merely saying "hello" would have sufficed. Winstone remarked to the audience that she was not a woman of her word, did not respect her obligations and considered the people of Clacton to be unworthy of her talents, He thereafter told a newspaper journalist that she had let him down. Winstone's company sued for breach of contract and this caused Dors to countersue for slander, the outcome of which was that the company was awarded £5 compensation and Dors received 100 guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
s. The judge in the case said that the company's financial loss had been non-existent, having heard that it was to receive £210 for the performance and a further £40 if all the seats were sold. Dors, who was to receive £80 for her fifteen minute appearance, donated her court award to the charity. Her husband had said in court that the need for a court's ruling (by which he was referring to the company's claim) was "a waste of time".
Winstone had a somewhat tempestuous personal life at times. In September 1959 he obtained a court order that banned his mother-in-law from staying at his home. In the same month a court ordered that an "iron curtain" be constructed in the property so as to split the rooms between himself, then aged 46, and his wife and two year old daughter. He was also ordered to stop playing his piano by 6pm each day in order not to disturb his family. At that time he was using it to compose arrangements for three bands and five radio shows. Four months later, his then 26 year old wife, Myrtle, a former fashion model, was seeking a judicial separation. They had married in February 1957.