The Ahad Duo, 1920s-30s Sydney Hawaiian Duo, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist.

The Phantom Dancer is your weekly non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV every week.

LISTEN to this week’s Phantom Dancer mix (online after 2pm AEST, Tuesday 19 April) and two years of Phantom Dancer mixes online at, at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

AHAD DUO

Ahad Duo, Victoria Ahad aka (Mim) and Jack Campbell, husband and wife played shows around Sydney Australia in the late 20s and early 30s.

They were regular broadcasters over Broadcasters’ Limited’s 2BL station in Sydney (taken over by the ABC in 1932) from 1925-33, relayed to 2HL Newcastle and 4QG Brisbane.

‘Snuggle’ and ‘Home’ which you’ll hear on this week’s Phantom Dancer, and in the video above, is their only known recording to survive.

It was recorded in 1932. Beryl Newell accompanied them on piano. This suggests to me that the record was made at the Columbia Graphophone studios in Homebush, Sydney, where Beryl was a session pianist.

Here is a photo of Victoria Ahad from a 1931 edition of the Wireless Weekly…

Snuggle and Home are rare recordings remastered and sent to The Phantom Dancer by grandson of the Ahad Duo, Kristian Kriesel.

In the Ahad Duo,
Jack Cambell: Acoustic Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar and Electric Lap Steel (some years later) and Vocals
Victoria Ahad Cambell: Piano, Piano Accordion, Ukulele, Vocals.

Victoria was a classically trained opera singer. Her background was Lebanese. Ahad was her surname before she married Jack Cambell, who was Anglo-Australian. They jammed with Pacific islanders.

They played mainly around Sydney in the late 20s – early 30s and were based in the Sydney inner city suburb of Balmain.

Jack Cambell died in the late 1950s. Victoria died in the late 1960s.

Music has been passed down through the generations, with one of Jack and Victoria’s, Kristian Kriesel being an ambient musician who has performed live on 2SER.

A photo album picture of Victoria Ahad…

19 APRIL PLAY LIST