[1][2][3] He was the son of Louis Preager, a tailor, and his wife Rebecca (née Cohen De Murcia).
[4][5][6] While at school, the younger Louis he played the piano in dance bands, and from age 19 he was a full-time musician.
[7] He was invalided out of the army in 1942, and he formed a 14-piece orchestra to play at the Hammersmith Palais in London; it was the resident band there for 18 years.
A number of vocalists sang with the band, including Paul Rich, Edna Kaye, Rita Williams and Elisabeth Welch.
During the 1950s, Preager presented Housewives' Choice on the BBC Light Programme and, at the time was a well-known disc jockey.