{{Short description|English bandleader and violinist (1896–1981)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}{{Infobox musical artist | name = Sydney Kyte | image = | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = Solomon Barnett Chyte | alias = Sydney Chyte<br>Sydney Bernard Kyte | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1896|6|1}} | birth_place = Spitalfields, London, England | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1981|7|29|1896|6|1}} | death_place = Chelmsford, Essex, England | instrument = Violin | genre = British dance band | occupation = Musician<br>Bandleader | years_active = | label = Regal, Durium, Edison Bell Winner, Panachord, Decca, Rex | past_member_of = Savoy Orpheans }} '''Sydney Bernard Kyte''' (born '''Solomon Barnett Chyte'''; 1 June 1896 – 29 July 1981) was a British dance band leader and violinist who became known in the 1930s, when he led the resident band at The Piccadilly Hotel in London's West End.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Schleman |first=Hilton R. |title=Rhythm on record |date=1978 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-20257-5 |edition=Repr. d. Ausg. London 1936 |location=Westport, Conn}}</ref><ref>General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: ''9''; Page: ''1520''</ref><ref name=":3">Principal Probate Registry; London, England; ''Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England''</ref><ref name=":4">The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911</ref><ref name="NYPL2">{{cite web |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |title=(still image) Sydney Kyte, (1850 - 1959) |url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e2-16d8-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 |accessdate=November 29, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref> Kyte made numerous recordings, and remained active into the 1950s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Sydney Kyte Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sydney-kyte-mn0001443279 |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" />
==Early life== Kyte, who was Jewish,<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKay |first=George |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Circular_Breathing/1ocHLuESAToC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA97&printsec=frontcover |title=Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain |date=2005-11-23 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-8728-2 |language=en}}</ref> was born in Spitalfields, east London, in 1896.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":0" /> As a 13-year-old boy, he took part in a performance of classical music at the Salle Érard which was reviewed in ''The Daily Telegraph''. The newspaper wrote that his solo performance "showed promise".<ref>{{Cite news |date=1909-12-17 |title=Salle Erard |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-salle-erard/159998888/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |work=The Daily Telegraph |pages=7}}</ref> Kyte studied at the Royal Academy of Music, winning a scholarship at the age of 15, and was later an associate of the academy.<ref name="NYPL2" /> He joined the Royal Life Guards in 1914.<ref name=":1" />
==Career== Kyte achieved prominence as deputy leader of the Savoy Orpheans dance band,<ref name="NYPL2" /> whom he began recording with in 1926 as their violinist. He also played the violin on recordings by The Sylvians, another Savoy Hotel band, in 1927.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Rust |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Rust |url=https://www.phonotoneclassic.com/british-dance-band-discography |title=British dance bands on record 1911 to 1945 |last2=Forbes |first2=Sandy |date=1987 |publisher=General Gramophone Publications |isbn=978-0-902470-15-6 |location=Harrow}}</ref> This was followed by short stints at The Berkeley hotel and Ciro's nightclub.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1946-08-17 |title=Sydney Kyte Dance Orchestra’s Visit |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gloucestershire-echo-sydney-kyte-dan/160119030/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |work=The Gloucestershire Echo |pages=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes |last=Rust |first=Brian |title=1931-1932 |date=1980 |author-link=Brian Rust |id=SH387 |publisher=World Records |others=Sydney Kyte and his Piccadilly Hotel Orchestra}}</ref>
During the 1930s, Kyte was musical director at The Piccadilly Hotel in central London, which he and his band played and broadcast from. In 1939, it was estimated that apart from Henry Hall, no other bandleader had achieved as many hours of radio broadcasting as Kyte, at over 700 hours. By that point, Kyte had been resident bandleader at the hotel for six years.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1939-02-10 |title=Sydney Kyte and His Band at St George's Hall |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hinckley-times-sydney-kyte-and-his-b/159936838/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |work=The Hinckley Times |pages=4}}</ref> His signature song was "Tune In, Keep Listening" by Harry S. Pepper and John Watt. After his stint at the Piccadilly, Kyte toured the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SYDNEY KYTE'S RHYTHM AUCTION |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/34a025398d18ff9f6310556a9510f97e |access-date=2 July 2025 |website=BBC Programme Index}}{{dead link|date=September 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
His fame was such that he was one of 25 dance band leaders featured on a 1936 set of Lambert & Butler cigarette cards.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Broom |first=John |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_History_of_Cigarette_and_Trade_Cards/fcOIDwAAQBAJ?hl=en |title=A History of Cigarette and Trade Cards: The Magic Inside the Packet |date=2018-08-30 |publisher=Grub Street Publishers |isbn=978-1-5267-2175-4 |language=en}}</ref> According to this profile, he enjoyed fishing, "particularly for octopuses off the coast of Majorca". It also noted that he was musical director to the Duke of Westminster.<ref name="NYPL2" /> Kyte and his orchestra appeared in the 1937 musical film ''Saturday Night Revue''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=Adrian |url= https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Cheer_Up/dgo7EAAAQBAJ?hl=en |title=Cheer Up!: British Musical Films, 1929-1945 |date=2020 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-1-78327-499-4 |language=en}}</ref>
In October 1931, Kyte began his recording career as a bandleader, in a session with the Piccadilly Hotel Band for Regal which included the popular song "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries". His band recorded regularly for Regal until September 1932. That month, he moved to the Durium label, where he led their Durium Dance Band. The following year, Kyte's band switched to Edison Bell Winner for three sessions. After a break from recording of over 18 months, he started recording for Panachord in 1935. In 1936, the band were with Decca for three sessions. This was followed by a recording session for Rex in June 1939, which saw the end of his regular studio sessions. Among the titles recorded by Kyte were "Paradise", "The Sun Has Got His Hat On", "Stars Fell on Alabama" and "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody". Vocalists on his recording sessions included Anona Winn and Sam Costa.<ref name=":2" />
The last Kyte show on BBC Radio was a June 1942 broadcast for the Forces Programme network.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SYDNEY KYTE |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/641feab5e8ad189391411f664ecc1e44 |access-date=2 July 2025 |website=BBC Programme Index}}{{dead link|date=September 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
==Personal life and death== Kyte married his wife Amy in Westminster in 1928.<ref>General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 1a; Page: 845</ref> From the 1930s to the 1960s, he lived in Golders Green, Middlesex (now Greater London).<ref>London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Electoral Registers</ref> He survived Amy by three years and died on 29 July 1981, aged 85.<ref>Principal Probate Registry; London, England; ''Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England''</ref> He had latterly lived in Great Leighs, near Chelmsford, Essex.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Sounds_Vintage/20I5AQAAIAAJ?hl=en |title=Sounds Vintage (Volume 3, Issue 6) |date=1981 |publisher= |edition= |language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://www.discogs.com/artist/4518135-Sydney-Kyte Discogs profile] * {{imdbname|0477528}} *[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sydney-kyte-mn0001443279 AllMusic profile]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyte, Sydney}} Category:1896 births Category:1981 deaths Category:20th-century English violinists Category:20th-century English conductors (music) Category:20th-century English male musicians Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Dance band bandleaders Category:Decca Records artists Category:English bandleaders Category:English male violinists Category:Jewish English musicians Category:Military personnel from Chelmsford Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Barnet Category:Military personnel from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Category:Musicians from Chelmsford Category:Musicians from the London Borough of Barnet Category:Musicians from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Category:People from Golders Green Category:People from Great Leighs Category:People from Spitalfields