| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | In 1947 he started late night broadcasting, one of his singers being Dick James, who later achieved fame and fortune as the music publisher for The Beatles. |
| 2 | Stapleton began playing violin at age 7, and played on local radio at the age of 12. |
| 3 | Cyril Stapleton was a ubiquitous figure in English pop music across three decades, initially by way of the BBC and later as an independent bandleader. |
| 4 | Stapleton became a ubiquitous presence in English entertainment and popular culture across the mid-'50s -- his mere selection of a song could make or break it, and like Sinatra (and, later, Elvis Presley) among singers in America, Stapleton as a bandleader was given first refusal on new tunes by profit-minded publishers. |
| 5 | In 1957, the BBC disbanded the Show Band, and Stapleton immediately reassembled his own group. He even managed two chart hits in the United States with the instrumental "The Italian Theme" (#25, 1956) and "The Children's Marching Song (Nick Nack Paddy Whack)" (#13, 1959). The latter record sold one million copies. |
| 6 | In the spring of 1957, for reasons that have never been clear, the BBC decided to disband the orchestra. Stapleton was cut loose from his longtime employers, but he never broke stride, organizing his own orchestra again and going out on the road, in addition to cutting more records and still appearing on radio. |
| 7 | Following the war, Stapleton played with the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of London, and the Philharmonia Orchestra. |
| 8 | Later in the 30's Stapleton and his band relocated to London; they won their own spot performing on the BBC in 1939. World War II interrupted Stapleton's musical career, as he joined the Royal Air Force late in 1939. While enlisted, he played in the RAF Symphony Orchestra. |
| 9 | When only 12 he made his first broadcast from 5NG, the local radio station in Nottingham. Thereafter he broadcast regularly from the BBC Studios in Birmingham, then went to Czechoslovakia to study under Sevcik, the famous teacher of the violin. |
| 10 | Stapleton continued to tour and record into the 1970s; in 1965 he also became head of A&R for Pye Records. |
| 11 | In the mid-'60s, he occasionally tried to record and sign promising rock bands that crossed his path. |
| 12 | He made regular appearances on the BBC as a boy, from their Birmingham studios. |
| 13 | The band of Stapleton had introduced one huge star, Matt Monro, to his first national exposure. |
| 14 | His audience was still there, however, and in the early '70s he resumed recording and touring with a re-formed orchestra. |
| 15 | In 1947, he recreated his band, and quickly won back slots on the BBC; among the singers he accompanied were Dick James and Frank Sinatra. |
| 16 | In the 1930s, Stapleton toured South Africa with the Jack Payne Orchestra. |
| 17 | He performed on the BBC Radio often in his teenage years, and played in film orchestras accompanying silent films. |
| 18 | Cyril Stapleton was a talented conductor whose musical prowess extended far beyond waving a baton. He had served his apprenticeship in the British music industry long before he achieved his just rewards which, for a while, made him a household name in Britain. |
| 19 | The cinema also recognized the Band's appeal, and a second Show Band film in CinemaScope entitled "Just For You" was released to the Odeon Cinema circuits late in 1955. Directed by Michael Carreras, it proved why the Show Band Show was such a big draw on sound radio at that time. Stapleton was featured as violin soloist in The Story of a Starry Night, and he also accompanied Joan Regan on piano. |
| 20 | As leader of the BBC Show Band, Stapleton became a fixture on the English musical scene, broadcast across the nation throughout the mid-1950s. Players in the ensemble who went on to fame in their own right included Bert Weedon, Bill McGuffie, Tommy Whittle, and Matt Monro. |
| 21 | He attended Trinity College of Music in London, and played in a dance band there led by Henry Hall. This ensemble also played on the BBC and made several recordings for EMI. After losing his position in the band, he went back to Nottingham and formed his own. |
| 22 | Violinist and band leader, leader of the BBC Show Band from 1952, featured on early BBC telecasts. |
| 23 | Studied at the Trinity College of Music, having won a scholarship at the age of seventeen. |
| 24 | Served as an aerial gunner in the RAF during World War II, eventually organising shows and concerts at various military facilities and joining the RAF Symphony Orchestra. |
| 25 | Orchestra leader |
$4 Million