One unusual show at the Empire was presented by Jack Hylton, who was very popular there when he brought his band to Glasgow. The London Symphony Orchestra had fallen on evil days and was in danger of disintegrating altogether. Jack Hylton came to the rescue and took financial responsibility for a tour of British music halls, one of them being a week at the Empire. I don’t know what happened in the other music halls, but the effect in Glasgow was remarkable. So intrigued was I, that I went to see the first night. Perhaps it was Jack Hylton’s name but, whatever it was, the place was packed and, being a Scottish National Orchestra aficianado myself, I could tell that most of the audience were not habituées of St Andrew’s Hall (which happily existed then). Naturally, the programme was on the easy side. The highlight of the evening was Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, in which the soloist was a well-known lady pianist whose name, unfortunately, I forget. What I do remember, though, was that she wore a different dress for each of her appearances and, for the Gershwin, she naturally wore blue. The Hylton touch went all the way. Few of the audience could have heard ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ played by a full-size symphony orchestra. The reception was thunderous. << less