To fill the void left now that Downton Abbey is off the air until the Autumn, it has been beautiful filled by Stephen Poliakoff's five part drama, Dancing on the Edge.
Set in the early 1930's, Stephen Poliakoff's drama, ' Dancing on the Edge ', follows The Louis Lester Band - a black jazz band - as they find fame amongst the parties and performances of upper class society in London.
London's progressive socialites take the band under their wing. High society scandal, racism, passion, Royal patronage, prejudice, a murder mystery and Freemason's all add up to a really good series. It has seen mixed reviews but, I have really enjoyed it..... especially the original score ..... and, the cast ..... including Matthew Goode, Anthony Head, John Goodman, Jacqueline Bisset, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Angel Coulby, Wunmi Mosaku, Jane Asher, Mel Smith, Pamela Luscombe, Tom Hughes, Janet Montgomery and Jenna Louise Coleman.
Stephen Poliakoff used The Grosvenor Room in The Grand Hotel, Birmingham as the filming location for The Imperial Ballroom. After the hotel fell into disrepair, it closed it's doors in August 2002. After being granted planning consent in April 2012, the building is now being restored to it's former glory.
The reason that I am enjoying ' Dancing on the Edge' is probably because I grew up listening to that kind of music. Above is a photograph of my Dad ......... as well as having a full time job, he played saxophone and clarinet and played in a band and my Mum sang ( I couldn't find a photograph of her singing ) so, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller, Billie Holiday and the like were played all of the time in our house ..... and then, when I was a teenager, it was The Beatles, The Who, Spencer Davis and the bands of the 1960's that competed, followed by Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Faith No More, Metallica and the bands of the 1990's that our children listened to.
Although ' Dancing on the Edge ' has had mixed reviews , if you like jazz and a murder mystery, give it a go. It's easy watching and gets your toes tapping !
image 1: video of The Louis Lester Band featuring Angel Coulby singing ' Dead of Night Express ' from Stephen Poliakoff's ' Dancing on the Edge ' via youtube, image 2: via The Radio Times, image 3: via wikipedia, image 4; via me
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