In his extreme youth, Henry Ayrton dreamed of being either a train driver or a rock 'n' roll star (ideally both) but eventually had to settle for the less glamorous job of a teacher in a North Yorkshire school. Noticing one day whilst on boiler stoking duties that the headmaster had carelessly left the cellar door open, he sneaked out under cover of darkness, up the coal chute, across the compound, past the border guards and off into the 'Great Unknown'. Arriving in East Yorkshire after many adventures, he managed to persuade the management at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Humberside that he was actually a world famous dee-jay operating under cover and they generously offered him the presentership of "Great Northern Folk" for a fee of two groats a month and a flagon of ale at Christmas.
This was in 1987 and before too many years had passed he was broadcasting to nine local radio stations throughout the north of England. Despite this appearance of success he still feared his true identity wouild be discovered so, to throw pursuers off the scent, he diversified into "Northern Blues" in 1994 and then, with a sudden rush of blood to the head, converted his folk music programme into
a three hour marathon on Thursday evenings called "Henry Ayrton's Real Music Show" that also included standards from yesteryear ("Swing Into Romance") and slightly more recent yesteryear ("Roots & Branches of Rock 'n' Roll"). This ran from 2000 to 2003 and, when it had finished, he pulled elements of it into his Sunday evening show which he mystifyingly renamed "Henry's Swing Club". Despite the name of the show, it consists of rhythm & blues, rock 'n' roll, gospel, doo wop, soul and hillbilly music from the late 1930s through to the early 1960s, as well as the jazz that the title suggests. So why call it "Henry's Swing Club"? Well, there really
was a club (no doubt a very seedy one) of that name in Detroit in the 1940s which John Lee Hooker mentions it in his song "Boogie Chillen". Who couldn't resist using a name with such auspicious 'roots'? Now "Henry's Swing Club" has moved from Sunday nights to Saturday nights but at the same time, eight 'til ten, and containing the same musical mixture as before. And not only can you listen to it on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Humberside as it goes out but at any time you like over the following seven days by using the "Listen Again" thingy on the website. For two decades, Henry's been broadcasting weekly on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Humberside and they still haven't discovered he doesn't actually know what he's doing. He hopes you'll keep his little secret… | 
