Ian Handford: The amazing man who left the world new types of music

Having introduced numerous forms of new jazz, including bebop, Billy Munn gave jazz lovers the kinds of sounds they had only read about.

But in mixing with many famous names in entertainment, he inevitably became involved with serious drinkers. He admitted many years later: “If I had not left London, I would have died through drink – Torquay, in fact, saved my life.”

Working in the capital meant being surrounded by heavy drinkers night after night. In time, this made him a workaholic – and yes, an alcoholic. He had joined the Ciro Club and then Casino in Deauville in America and heard a much greater diversity in jazz, which he brought back to England for use on BBC Radio.

In 1947, alongside bandleader Harry Parry, he launched a new weekly programme titled The Jazz Club. With Billy as both presenter and musical director, the show was a great success, reaching a far wider audience than any previous half-hour jazz segment on the BBC.

Billy introduced various forms of modern jazz, including bebop – a style that many of his contemporaries considered “incomprehensible and outlandish”. Yet true lovers of jazz were finally able to hear musicians they had only previously read about.

Over the decades, Billy was twice invited to perform at the Royal Command Performance. On one of those occasions, he was fortunate enough to meet HRH Princess Margaret, herself a jazz fan. He discovered he had made a fan of her too. Recalling one of the performances, Billy said: “We had just toured Europe and America with Jack Hylton. It was all work and travel – all one-night stands and, unfortunately, far too much alcohol.”

Most entertainers who worked long night shows every night knew all too well the dangers of alcohol. Billy said he could consume whisky in large glasses and was a true alcoholic, yet still managed to create over 2000 recordings in his career.

When the war ended and his wife became pregnant, an opportunity arose to leave this high-pressure lifestyle. It was a chance to leave behind the demons, the bright lights, the intense workload – and yes, the wealth – of London by moving to Devon.

The opportunity arose shortly after his third Royal Command Performance in 1950. His friend, Lord Adrian Foley, had just returned from a holiday at the Imperial Hotel in Torquay and told Billy they were looking for a bandleader for the upcoming season. As it happened, Billy was between jobs. He apparently already knew the area and loved Devon, so he leapt at the chance.

He got the role of resident musician and bandleader – and soon discovered it wasn’t just a seasonal position. He remained in Torquay for a staggering 30 years and never performed in the capital again.

Billy was married four times (twice to the same woman), though it was his second wife, Suzanne Sim, who gave him a son, David Kennar. Reflecting on his music career, Billy said his most joyful memories were of working with Jack Hylton and his wife, Beverley Hylton. The couple had married when she was 31 and Jack was 70. After her death in 2000, Beverley reportedly confided in Billy details about a side of Jack Hylton the public never saw.

Billy retired from the Imperial Hotel in 1979, but his commitment to music didn’t end there. He became musical director of the Babbacombe Theatre in Torquay. Occasionally, he still played piano – “tinkling the ivories,” as he called it – for local charities and events.

A highly talented, Scottish-born pioneer of jazz, broadcaster, pianist, songwriter and bandleader, Billy had a magnetic personality and a deeply compassionate nature.

He finally stepped away from the musical world at the age of 83 in 1994 and returned to his homeland of Ayrshire. Five years later, William Munn died of cancer at the age of 88. His son, David, later said: “Billy only had one real passion in his life – music.”