Billy Cotton

British bandleader and entertainer

English bandleader and entertainer. (6 May 1899 – 25 March 1969) William Edward Cotton. Born London England (6 May 1899 – 25 March 1969), better known as Billy Cotton, was an English band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestras survived the British dance band era. Today, he is mainly remembered as a 1950s and 1960s radio and television personality, although his musical talent emerged as early as the 1920s. In his younger years Billy Cotton was also an amateur footballer for Brentford F.C. (and later, for the then Athenian league club Wimbledon, now AFC Wimbledon), an accomplished racing driver and the owner of a Gipsy Moth which he piloted himself. Had a long-running variety show on BBC Radio, "The Billy Cotton Band Show" (1949-68).