Through the joint medium of gramophone records and wireless broadcasting, the rise of the American big bands in the later 1930s filtered through to the British public. Tumultuous events then took a hand when the U.S. entered the Second World War at the end of 1941 and Britain itself received a taste of everything American (except the generous food rations) first-hand, with the music of the now dominant big bands much in evidence. It wasn't that this country was short of its own home-grown talent - good dance bands were plentiful - it was just that the 'Yanks' had a panache and youthful brashness which was the product of a much younger, less world-weary and more diverse culture. It would be very flattering to say, and simply not true, that one English band arose to challenge American musical supremacy, but certainly one band did arise from the war years which went on to become the best at home and recognised for its talent across the Atlantic. Enter Ted Heath. Worth special comment are the six tracks which comprise Fats Waller’s "London Suite", beginning with "Chelsea". Composed by Waller during his visit to England in 1939, the Heath recordings were the first time they had been fully orchestrated, with Eric Jupp arranging three of them ("Limehouse", "Piccadilly", "Soho"), the others by Alan Bristow ("Chelsea"), Reg Briggs ("Whitechapel") and Bruce Campbell ("Bond Street")

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1. OPUS 1
2. MY GUY'S COME BACK
3. EAST OF THE SUN
4. BAKERLOO NON-STOP
5. AD LIB. FROLIC
6. TURN ON THE HEATH
7. A NIGHTINGALE SANG IN BERKELEY SQUARE
8. CHELSEA
9. WHITECHAPEL
10. LIMEHOUSE
11. BOND STREET
12. PICCADILLY
13. SOHO
14. BIG BEN BOUNCE
15. PAGAN LOVE SONG
16. SONG OF THE VAGABONDS
17. HINDUSTAN
18. LADYBYRD
19. STRATFORD WATER
20. NIGHT TRAIN TO SCOTLAND
21. SOPHISTICATED LADY
22. LYONIA
23. EUPHORIA
24. LISTEN TO MY MUSIC