After leaving school, he worked as a clerk in a steelworks in Sheffield while learning to play musical instruments and sing in choirs during his spare time.
In order to earn enough to pay for singing lessons, he formed a dance-band and eventually enrolled in the Sheffield School of Music.
He auditioned for the Carl Rosa Opera Company and was engaged as a chorister, subsequently playing small parts and eventually making his debut as a principal in the role of Rodolfo in La bohème.
After the war he became Principal Tenor at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, making his debut as Calaf in Turandot.
He completed the first act and the Opera House staff were able to retrieve some of the offending article in the interval, but the next day an operation to remove the gauze was needed.