Herbert Greene
Encyclopedia
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
professional musician and virtuoso of the 81 key Wheatstone Duet Concertina and accomplished player of many different concertina
Concertina
A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it...
s, the accordion and the piano.
He had an excellent technique and ability to exploit the full capabilities of his instrument, particularly the double keyboards with his use of counterpoint, rich harmonies, tricky embellishments and improvisation. During his lifetime he was fairly well known for his ability and he played in many prestigious and famous venues throughout the UK as well as on BBC radio's Variety Bandbox
Variety Bandbox
Variety Bandbox was a British radio variety show transmitted by BBC Radio on the Light Programme. Featuring a mixture of comic performances and music, the show helped to launch the careers of a number of leading British performers....
programme. He began performing in public in the 1920s and continued through to the 1960s.
Biography
Herbert Greene came from humble beginnings, born in EdmontonEdmonton, London
Edmonton is an area in the east of the London Borough of Enfield, England, north-north-east of Charing Cross. It has a long history as a settlement distinct from Enfield.-Location:...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
in 1907. He grew up during the First World War and left school at the age of fourteen. His musical talents emerged at a young age and his dedication, hard work and love of the concertina made him an accomplished player by his teenage years, during which he would often play at social events and local pubs.
He grew up in hard times and experienced family difficulties, eventually marrying Bertha Maude Skelton in 1930 whom he also taught to play the concertina, so that she could become his musical partner under the stage name of Marion Vane in a popular and successful double act. They played together for many years at live events all over the UK, entertaining the troops with ENSA
Entertainments National Service Association
The Entertainments National Service Association or ENSA was an organisation set up in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes...
during the Second World War and at the same time raising four children, some of whom also later performed with them on stage. They appeared in shows with many well known performers of the day including; Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne, diseuse and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
, Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
, Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
, Bransby Williams, Kate Carney
Kate Carney
Kate Carney was an English singer and comedienne who played the music halls in London.Catherine M. -Kate- was born in Southwark, London in 1869 . She first appeared as Kate Carney at the Albert Music Hall in Canning Town, singing Irish songs. She was, however, more famous for her Cockney songs,...
and Bea Lillie. Mrs Green died in 1962.
Herbert Greene also played live on BBC radio and provided background music for The Magic Box (film)
The Magic Box (film)
The Magic Box is a 1951 British, Technicolor, biographical drama film, directed by John Boulting and starring Ronald Shiner as the Fairground Barker, Sid James, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov and Charles Victor. It was produced by Ronald Neame and distributed by British Lion Film Corporation...
(1951), although this was largely edited out in the final release, and Captain Horatio Hornblower
Captain Horatio Hornblower
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. is a 1951 naval adventure film. It was directed by Raoul Walsh and stars Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty and Terence Morgan.It was based upon three of C. S...
(1951) in which a little more of his music can be heard.
Inspired by his admiration for Sir Charles Wheatstone, Herbert Green went on invent the "Concordeon" (a unique musical instrument constructed from part concertina and part accordion) and later an electronic organ that was connected to the keys of his concertina and able to produce many different sounds and effects. He also wrote detailed memoirs about his life and career as an entertainer although these are currently unpublished. Towards the end of his life he became disappointed by the decline in popularity of the concertina in the UK and disillusioned with the direction in which the entertainment industry was heading, feeling that true musical skill and talent were not respected or appreciated as they should be.