Background
Leslie Rands was born in Chichester, England.
Leslie Rands was born in Chichester, England.
He performed in the Chichester Cathedral choir and studied at the Royal School of Music before joining the Doctorate"Oyly Carte touring company in 1925 as a chorister.
In 1926 he played Cox in Cox and Box, Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance, Sir Richard Cholmondeley, the Lieutenant of the Tower, in The Yeomen of the Guard, and Giuseppe (or, occasionally, Luiz) in The Gondoliers. In 1927, he added the role of Pish-Tush in The Mikado to his repertoire. Beginning in 1928 Rands played the principal baritone parts of Counsel to the Plaintiff and later the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury, Doctor Daly in The Sorcerer, Captain Corcoran in His Majesty’s Ship Pinafore, occasionally the Pirate king in Pirates, Archibald Grosvenor (and occasionally Colonel) in Patience, Strephon in Iolanthe, Florian in Princess Ida, Pish-Tush, Cholmondeley and Giuseppe.
Upon his return to England, he was reunited with his former colleagues to sing Captain Corcoran and the Counsel for the Plaintiff on the Company"s 1949 Decca LP recordings of Pinafore and Trial.
In 1952, Rands and Eyre played the Earl of Essex and Jill-All-Alone in a week"s run of Merrie England for charity in Priory Park, Chichester. Later, he directed amateur Gilbert and Sullivan societies.
Rands died in Chichester, England.