Biography
31 December 1914, Nottingham, England, d. 25 February 1974, England. Stapleton played the violin at the age of 11, and served in pit orchestras for silent movies before joining Henry Hall as a violinist in the early 30s. By 1939, and the outbreak of World War II, he had moved on to working under Billy Ternent, via Jack Payne, and married impressionist Beryl Orde. He joined the Royal Air Force, initially as an air-gunner, later conducting the RAF Symphony Orchestra at the Potsdam Summit Conference. At the end of the war he formed a band to play at Fisher’s Restaurant in London’s New Bond Street. In the late 40s, the band, plus strings, was featured on BBC radio programmes such as Hit Parade and Golden Slipper. In the 50s he became known as the UK’s ‘Mr. Music’ when he became the leader of the all-star BBC Show Band which made its first broadcast on the Light Programme on 2 October 1952, and was featured three nights a...
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