Roy was born Harry Lipman in
Stamford Hill,
London, England to a Jewish family and after learning piano from the age of seven, went on to study clarinet and alto saxophone at the age of 16. In 1931, he wrote and sang "
My Girl's Pussy", which has since been the subject of many
cover versions and remakes. In 1935, he married Elizabeth Brooke (stage name: Princess Pearl), daughter of the White
Rajah of Sarawak, with whom he appeared in two musical films,
Everything Is Rhythm (1936) and
Rhythm Racketeer (1937). During the
Second World War, Roy toured with the Tiger Ragamuffins. He was at the Embassy Club in 1942, and a little later, toured the
Middle East, entertaining troops with singer
Mary Lee. A popular wartime song by his band was "
When Can I Have a Banana Again?" (1943). In 1948, Roy travelled to the
United States, but was refused a work permit. Returning to
Britain, he reformed his band and scored a hit with his recording of "Leicester Square Rag". By the early 1950s, the
big band era had come to an end. Roy's band split up, but he still drifted in and out of the music scene. In the 1950s, he ran his own restaurant, the Diners' Club, but it was destroyed by fire. In 1969 Roy returned to music, leading a quartet in London's
Lyric Theatre's show
Oh Clarence and his own Dixieland Jazz Band resident during the summer at the newly refurbished Sherry's Dixieland Showbar in
Brighton, but he was by then in failing health. He died in London in February 1971. ==Personal life==