Billy Cotton

Billy Cotton was born on May 06, 1899 in UK. Billy Cotton's big-screen debut came with in .

Billy's first contact with music was as a boy chorister at St Margarets, Westminster, When the first world war came along he gave a false age to a recruiting sergeant and found himself in the Dardenelles at the age of 15 but when this was discovered he was shipped back home where he went off and joined the Royal Flying Corps and became a pilot, He often talked about those days which were clearly some of the happiest.of his life but always a key note was one of enthusiasm and never one of nostalgia, After the first World War he worked his way to the top the hard way While he was trying to get established he worked as a bus conductor and played football for Brentwood and Wimbledon and also did some boxing. By the late 20's he was at the top of his profession as a band leader His success allowed him to indulge in his three passions flying messing about in boats and motor racing, becoming one of the great personalities at Brooklands and his trophy case in his house was tangible evidence of his skill as a driver. He was in deed top of the bill in everything that he did He first broadcast as far back as 1924 at the Wembley exhibition and his radio show became as much a part of the English tradition as Sunday lunch,