Ivor Novello

David 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 the well-known singer and teacher Dame Clara Novello Davies 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. After the war, he appeared on stage in the West End, in musical shows of his own devising, the best known being The Dancing Years (1939). He also went to Hollywood and appeared in numerous successful films, but the stage remained his first love and the medium for his major successes.

Principal Shows

• Glamorous Night (1935)
• Careless Rapture (1936)
• Crest of the Wave(1937)
• The Dancing Years(1939)
• Arc de Triomphe (1943)
• Perchance to Dream (1945)
• King's Rhapsody (1949)
• Gay's the Word (1951)