The Harlem Blackbirds
In 1955 Australia was visited by the "Harlem Blackbirds", a troupe of performers from the United States. The group of 32 performers was billed as "Australia's first all-coloured revue" and by all accounts the show was very popular. I've often seen programmes of the tour in my travels around second-hand bookshops and recently I found one in Newcastle - rather bug-eaten, unfortunately - that was distinguished by bearing signatures of many of the performers. I've been able to find surprisingly little written about the show and its performers. Or perhaps, sadly, that isn't surprising, given that…