Victor Silvester Later life
 The lack of what he felt were adequate records for dancing led Silvester in 1935 to form his own five-piece band, later to be enlarged and named Victor Silvester and his Ballroom Orchestra, whose first record, You're Dancing on My Heart (by Al Bryan and George M. Meyer), immediately sold 17,000 copies and was to become his signature tune. He insisted that all his recordings conformed precisely to the beats per minute recommended by the ISTD for ballroom dances, a concept he termed strict tempo, and in British eyes he became indelibly associated with the catch-phrase slow, slow, quick-quick-slow - the rhythm of a variant of the Foxtrot used for social dancing otherwise known as Slow and Quick Rhythm.
The Silvester band always had a very distinctive sound, achieved by an unusual line-up including, as well as the usual rhythm section, alto saxophone (initially Charlie Spinelli and later, for 26 years, Edward Owen Poggy Pogson, who had previously played in Jack Payne's and Jack Hylton's bands), a lead solo violin (for many years usually Oscar Grasso), and not one but two pianos, one taking turn in solos and the other maintaining a brilliant improvised tinkling continuo in the background throughout every piece, which Silvester called his lemonade. He notes in his autobiography that his first two pianists in 1935 were Gerry Moore for the melody and Felix King for the lemonade. Later pianists included, at different times, Monia Liter, Charlie Pude, Jack Phillips, Billy Munn, Victor Parker (also accordion), Ernest Slim Wilson (who was also Silvester's main arranger, and with whom he co-wrote several pieces), Eddie Macauley and Ronnie Taylor. Silvester's drummer for over four decades was Ben Edwards, who was crucial for supplying the strict tempo. Typically there would be four saxophones altogether, two alto and two tenor, including in latter years Tony Mozr, Percy Waterhouse and Phil Kirby in addition to Pogson, all doubling on clarinet as required. On some recordings, the Ballroom Orchestra was augmented with 15 strings and woodwind, when it became The Silver Strings.
During the war years, when Oscar Grasso was in the forces, the world-famous classical violinist Alfredo Campoli took his place, using the name Alfred Campbell for contractual reasons.
These were world-class players, some of whom (like Liter, Grasso and Pogson) were already noted in jazz or danceband circles before they joined Silvester's band. Unlike most British dance bands of the era, there were no vocals. Silvester did not play himself, but stood in front of his orchestra in white tie and tails, conducting it with a flourish. He was a perfectionist, and his professionalism and sparkle, and his jaunty way with a catchy tune, ensured that the appeal of his records went much wider than dancing enthusiasts alone.
He would continue to make music for half a century, mostly covering the popular music standards and show tunes with a strong melodic line, but sometimes also including styles such as swing, trad jazz and skiffle, and in latter years, especially from 1971 when the orchestra continued under the baton of his son Victor Silvester Junior, rock and roll, disco and pop, although these modern attempts to stay with it, which involved the introduction of an electric guitar, were not always thought entirely convincing by aficionados of the genre. It is mostly the more melodic recordings of the 1940s and 1950s that are nowadays frequently reissued on CDs and sold all over the world.
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