Letterpress poster advertising the variety show at the New Empress, Brixton, for the week commencing Monday, 15 February 1933. The 'top-of-the-bill' act was the popular black American piano and vocals duo, Layton and Johnstone. The others were Cal & Nona Kay (billed as 'selling sunshine'), Japanese juggler Uno Togo, El Ray and Lady 'in unique ventriloquial offering "The Hairdresser"', burlesque comedian Peter Fannan, Will Power and Page ('stunts on unicycles'), Donald Stuart ('the longest laugh in variety'), and 'the famous revue stars' Tom Payne and Vera Hilliard.

The American songwriter and pianist Turner Layton (1894-1978) linked up with the vocalist Clarence 'Tandy' Johnstone (1885-1953) in New York in 1922 as Layton and Johnstone, and moved to England in 1924 where they became hugely popular, appearing in the theatre, clubs, films and on the radio, and selling over ten million records between 1924 and 1935. Turner Layton split with Johnstone in 1935 and returned to America, while Turner stayed in London where he regularly performed at the Café de Paris until his retirement in 1946.