Wales Fact and Fiction
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Wales Fact and Fiction |
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IVOR NOVELLODavid Ivor Davies (January 15, 1893 - March 6, 1951), better known as Ivor
Novello , was one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century.
He was born at Llwyn-yr-Eos (Grove of Nightingales), Cowbridge Road East,
Cardiff, Wales, to Dame Clara Novello Davies (1861-1943), a well-known singer
and teacher, and David Davies, a tax collector. He first became well known
as a result of the song, "Keep the Home Fires Burning", which
he composed during World War I. Novello wrote his musical shows in the style of operetta, and was one of the last major composers in this form. He generally composed his music to the librettos of Christopher Hassall. During World War II, Novello was convicted of illegal use of rationed petrol (gasoline) and was briefly imprisoned. This downfall from his luxurious lifestyle completely broke his spirit, and he was never the same man after his release. However, he continued to appear on stage until the day before his sudden death. Novello was a homosexual, well known for some of his more glamorous affairs. For 35 years, he was the lover of the British actor Bobby Andrews, and he had an affair with the British poet and writer Siegfried Sassoon. The Ivor Novello Award is a prize awarded for songwriting, named for Ivor Novello, and awarded each year by the record industry to song writers and arrangers rather than the performing artistes. Novello was portrayed in the fictional film Gosford Park (2001) by Jeremy Northam and several of his songs were used for the film's soundtrack.
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