Debroy Somers

British dance band bandleader. Born April 11, 1890 · Dublin, Ireland. Died May 27, 1952 · Westminster, London, England, UK. Somers studied piano at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 1904. In 1911, enlisted in the Royal Irish Rifles and studied oboe at the Royal Military School of Music. He was the arranger for Bert Ralton & His New York Havana Band at the London Savoy Hotel and took over leadership of the group, when Ralton returned to the U.S.. Somers then renamed the band 'The Savoy Hotel Orpheans'. In 1926, Somers quit the band to work as an arranger. In 1927, he formed another orchestra under his own name. Towards the end of his career, he worked as staff arranger/conductor for Columbia Records.