Blades, James (1901–1997)

English percussionist. He was employed in dance bands and playing film music in the 1930s. He joined the London Symphony Orchestra in 1960 and was a member of the English Chamber Orchestra and the Melos Ensemble; he played with the English Opera Group for their production of Britten's three church parables. He was a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1960, and was awarded an OBE in 1972. He recorded the sound of the gong used at the start of J Arthur Rank movies – the visual sequence was mimed – and the ‘V-for-victory’ Morse code signal broadcast by the BBC during World War II.