First Man to Sing from the New 1YA Studio

Radio Record, Volume VIII, Issue 24, 21 December 1934, Page 11

First Man to Sing from the New 1YA Studio

Raymond Beatty, Australian Basso-Cantante, Says He is Going to Like New Zealand |

(From

Our Auckland Correspondent

MRE. RAYMOND BEATTY, the Australian basso-cantante, considers it au " honour to have been one of the vy» calists engaged, by the New Zealand Broadcasting Board to sing from 1¥4 on the occasion of the first concert broadcast from the new Auckland station. This tall, well-built Australiav, who created such an impression with listeners on Monday night, because of bis delightful, deep and clear voice, is a native of Scone, a small town about 200 miles distant from Sydney. ‘

N conversation with a "Radio Record" representative, the famous Australian singer confided that, in 1922, he was a junior clerk in the office of the Petty Sessions, Justice Depariment at Scone. Along with other lads of that township he used to give an item or two ut local concerts. After much persuasion, he decided to heed the advice given him and try his luck in Sydney at singing. ‘And so," he said, "I went to- Sydney and studied under Roland Foster at the Conservatorium of Music." Mr, Beatty must have studied hard, for he progressed like-a house on fire, "and the following year he entered fur the scholarship given by Dame Clara Butt and. her husband. Kennerley Rumford. This he won from many entrants. Following the usual run of concert work, Mr. Beatty sang in opera and distinguished himself at Sydney as Figaro in Mozart’s beautiful opera, "The Marriage of Figaro." Offers of broadcasting engagements followe, and he toured Australia -delighting listeners. . In 1931 he went to England and sang in all the important concert halls there, at one time singing under Sir Dan Godfrey at the London Pavilion. The.B.B.C. then engaged him, and it was Mr. Beatty who was one of the

vocalists, who took part before the microphone at the first Empire broad"‘easts specially produced for the bene‘fit of Dominion Jisteners. For these brdadcasts he had to be ready to sing at 2.a.m., in order to coincide with the hours of reception in Australia and ’ New Zealand: Mr. Beatty enjoyed a real thrill when he was picked to sing at the Albert Hall, London, when the audience included many famous personages, one of those in front being Prince Georg, Duke of Kent, who recently married Princess Marina. "In fact. I think be--cause he knew I was coming out here, the Duke cancelled his trip and sent his brother, the Duke of Gloucester." . jokingly remarked Mr. Beatty. "While in England I often thought of calling myself the ‘singing cyclist,’ or something like that" added Mr. Beatty. "I thrived so well in England that I was two stone too heavy, so I bought a push bicycle and rode from London to Land’s End. ana back, . & distance of over. 600-miles, in order to get my weight down. The trp took me five and a half days." | Mr. Beatty also bad experience of broadcasting in the United States. He was there for two months, during which time he did some concert: work. It amused him greatly to have to sing operatic arias and batlads, which were followed up with advertising announcements for corsets and. other articles of feminine attire. Last year Mr. Beatty travelled across the Rockies to Vancouver and caught the Aorangi on bis return to Sydney. He had an engagement to sing at 1YA while the boat was at Auckland, but it was behind time, and he had to forfeit his engagement. "So this was my first real visit to your delightful country," he said. "Arriving at Wellington last week by the Monowaj after a rough trip, I came through to Auckland last Friday, [ am pleasantly amazed at your beautiful climate here, and I know I am going to enjoy my tour of the New Zealand national stations." ° However, Mr. Beatty was a little disappointed after singing in Auckland on Monday night. Included among his songs was thai rollicking number,-""Give a Man a Horse He Can Ride." "Wheuever I sang that song in Australia, the next morning I usually was offered 2 horse on which to enjoy myself riding, but so far no. one has offered me a steed," he said. Put he _ forgets. Horsés are scarce in this country. If he had sung a ditty about a bicycle, _then perhaps someone might have obliged!