A brief life and times of the Victorian music-hall
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Citation Senelick, Laurence. 1971. A brief life and times of the Victorian music-hall. Harvard Library Bulletin XIX (4), October 1971: 375-398.
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Several years ago, ,v hlle a graduate sru dent 1n th c Comp ara ti ,re Li tc.m t urc 1) e~ partn1cnt at l-Irarl·nrd, l hcgan a $tndy of the Eng]ish n111sic-haUsong and its influence on litcra turc. J\1u ch. of tn y ,v ork \\ 1 as :rnade p ossib]e by the Ba rvard Theatre CoHcction's va5t hulding~, of nineteenth-century sheet n1usic and its in val u ablc clip pj ng filcst ably adn1in.i stered by- its c nra tort 1\1i ss Helen Vl HJard. Field ,vork in England enrjched this fund of material. The fol1o,ving article first nppcarcd in so1uc'tvhat different forn1 a~ n c:nuserie before the Con1parative Literature Conference in I 966~ a:nd is intended as a pro}ego111cnonto -a 1norc extended study of its subjec.:t. J shou]d ]ike to dedicate it to Professor 1-Iarry Levin~ ,vhose encourage1nent and appreciation fostered this ·w·ork from its in~ ccptiona
~--- VER since the Rornans offered pn11e111et circe11resas a vulgar diversion, popu1ar entertain1ncnt has proved an e1nbarrassment to the scholar. \ 7 audevi1le,.1nusic-hal], circuses, bcar-baitings, ...... and Tin Pan AlJey- nn1uscn1cntsoffered to and sustained by the grounu]ings - a.re usually disdained by social historians like Hui- zinga,.,vho consider them at best side-effects of the hysteria evoked by th c Industrial ll ev o]u ti on. Folklorists, anxious to record rnan ifcs ta ti ons of crentivity on a popular level, arc disturbed by the urban., co111- n1crcial~and non-anony1nouschnracteristics of.n1ass cntcrt~inrncnt., ':11- though, as A. L. Lloyd hgs n1adc cle::ir, 'tthc idea of the ~folk' as an autonomons, soci-a.lcategory alien to book learning ~nd 111echanical
industry 1 and evolving their olvn un\vTjtten culture in isolation1 is n scntin1enral absrrnctiont par ti cu]ar 1)7 ,vherc '-'' estern J~urope js con- cerned~~"1 So these art forn1s are left to exploiters of Pop culture, the high pries ts of Ca111 p. For tun a.tel y, th c vita.lity of popular en tcrta in- mcn t can ,vith stand .such cphctncral diddling.. The English 1nusic-hal1in its heyda)7 ,vas a short-lived phenomenon, but its h1flucnce ,v-as vast. lts songs 2nd the personalities ,vho .sang
1 A. L. I ~loydt uForc"·ord,.U The Bro~1dride Ballad Ly Leslie Shepard (London, i962 ), P· 5· 375
Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) 1-/ar·vardLibrary Bulletin then1 entered the national consciousness to such an extcntt that tod:1y teen~agers,vho have never been jusidc a n1usic-hal1can sing the lyrics of ''Any Old Iron.,.,or HGoodbye'!Dolly Gray/' having absorbed these verses as n1ost children absorb nursery rhy·n1es.To n1any,the origins of such catch phrases as ~'everything in the garden's lovely'~ or '\vhere did you get that hat?'l 1nay be unkno,vn., but th~ phrases thetnsclvcs a.re stiH vigorously current Although the songs \Vere ,vritten by ill- p~id hacks or fashionable dilctcanti, although the halls ,verc 1nanagcd by b11sincssn1cn,,rhose chief concern , 1.:rasprofit~ 1nusic-haH touched a genuine chord in the popular in1agination! fulfilled the need for an urhanizcd mytho]ogy, and ,vas a true expression of both the real ]ifc and the fantasies of irs au dicnces '' i\1usic h al] and var i etv are real r " native art," John Berjen1an ,vas to ,vritc in a rc1nini~ccncc. ""The truth about v·ariety i~that it is unselfconsciously the poetry and song of the people.'' 2 And l\-iax Ecerbohn1., nddressing rn.dio 1istcners in 1942.., broke off a strca111of nostalgia to re111ark''For these too 2rc folk-songs,
inalienably Englishl and racy of- 110 1 not of the soil, but of the pave~ 1nents fro111,vhich they sprang .. I can take leave to think that if Shakes- peare had Jivedagain and had heard thcn1 ,varbled in the halls, he n1ight have introduced thcn1 into his piays, just as he introduced - ,vith 111agiculvariations, of course~ the folk-songs of his o,vn tin1c,. He might have done so.. Or again) he 1night not.''~ Sir l\1axls supposition is not as fanciful ~s it sounds: the pave1ncnts glorified jn the \lictorian music-hall n1ay ,Yell have had their antece- dents in the cobblestones of Elizabethan London/ The Elizabethan pta.y·houscs probably harbored fencing exhibitions~ acrobatics, dun1b- sho\vs.,and the celebrated Hjig'tor long hurnorous and of ten extempore song")n1ade fnn1ons by Richard Tarleton. H:unlet\i instructions to the
John Betjeman, [[Forc,,·ordi"~British i\.fusic Hnll, a Story i11 Pictures Ly Raymond
l'V1JJ.n d er and Joe i.\1itcltc:nso n (London I t 9 6s ) 1 p. tL
1 a.Sir J\1:axBeerbohn1t ''i\•1us.ichalls of my youth 1j]' 1HainJj-on the Air (Ne,\~ Yor'kt
1 95 8) p, 3 7. Dy lau Tl totn~s, on the other h 111d 1 ,vas a \\rn re of the pitfalls cf ovc:r- esdmadng the ardscic rnerit of music-h 111songs. 1 [I agree t h2t music-hall ongs can be good poetry .. but: 1 dori.it like tl1c doublc-blnffit,g ~11proach th:lt pretends to think that il'm one of the ,-uios thcLt CronnvcH knocked nhout a bit 1 is better poetry than, say, the serious~ unfashionable \'Vork of Cowper or I-i~rands Thornp~on. Jes just vct-y diiTerent poetry .. ~n ~ of H~r mony 1 a Lo nd un C!=!.baa ret tl 1at sp-eci.ilized in 1nu sic-hall reviv~ l.s. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief Li{e aud Tiuzes of tbe Victorian A1uric-J-lall 377 players to ,,:1ctthose that play your clo\vns speak no n1orc than is set do\vn for thc1n,'' n1ay,vcll have had Tarleton in vie,v-1 for this buffoon ,vas notorious for his ad libs/i One anecdote teHs of Tarleton's attend- ing the performance of Eanhs' Celebrated Trained Horse .. The trainer requested the horse to pick out ''the veriest fool in the company,u and the beast made straight for Tarleton, ,vho cxclain1ed ''God a mercy·, horse!" so inirnitably that it becarne a cant phrase. Other phrases fron1 his son gs, such as "Please one, pl easea 11'' and '.=l'Vhat d 'ye lack?.,, ,vere as comn1011on the lips of his contcn1porarics as '(Get your hair cue, and ~'Has your mother sold her 1nanglc?n \Vere to the \Tictorjans. Like- ,visc~Tarleton had a trick of rnaking sudden appearances bcc,veen the curtains, a comic device later exploited by the great clo,vn Grirnaldi ,vith his abrupt "Herc ,ve are again!" and Dan Leno's "quick run dn,vn to the footlights and a drun1-r.oll\Vith his feet.'' 0 \Tariety entertain1nents continued in diverse for1ns -at Bartho1omc,v Fairt the p]easure gardens, and the ~1usic House at Sadler's ,~leUs, ,vhich Ne Vi7ho ,vithout paying Reck\1ing ,vere stealing :nvay 1 ,~lhich me.de L-s.dySqugb ,vith her l\1oonified Face 1 By the side of the Organ, rc.sun1cher old Placci \\Tith hands on her Belly, she open'd her Throat, And si]enc 1 d the Noise, ,vith her 1\1usit:al Note: The Guests ,vcrc all I.Jush~ and Attention ,vas given, The listcni n g 1\1ob thought th c1nscl\.'es in a I-Ica ven; l f the Rn vjshi n g Song , \' hich she sang~ you \vou] d k nO",\\ It ,-;.,nsRub't rub, ~1,b,·-rub, 11lh 1 rub; iu and out bo. As soon as her S\\Teet,modest l)ittv.. ,vas donct She ,vi thdre,v from her \\:oick er i us Chaste ns a.Nun. Professor C. R. n~skcnTill believe~ th:at 1·arlcton's reliance on \1 ojce, fo.cial ex- pression and actions "i.\'asfar Jnorc responsjb]e for comic effects than the Jines them- selves1 and quotes FuHer's Tf1-ortbier~ 11Indccd the scJf-san1c"'ords~ spoken by-another, would hardly tno\i(': a n1c:rry in~n to sn,He, whichi uttered by him, ,vould force -a.sad soul to laughter_,' Sec Ba.skcrvilliThe Eli2abetbi'lJ1 Jig and Related Song Dra111a (Chicago, 1919), p. 96. e Harry Randall Old Tinw Co'l11edianby .Hi1uself (London,. n.d.), p. 147. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) Harvard I~ihraryBu JI etin The Butchers so plcas'd ,rith her ,varLlingstrains, Both l{nock' And f urthcr 1 the lvfob~s Admiration to kindle She turns on her Heel like a \:\1hee] on a Spindle; .... 'I 'hen in a Cl,::nvn]sdress con1es 1ny honest friend Thon1asl lVho looks by his Bulk to be Lord of the Don,us; I-le cocks up his Ilat, dra,vs his I-lcels to his Arse, .,_!\.n d nmkcs his (n vn Person ns goo Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief Life and Tin1es of tbe Victoriau li1usic-Hall 3 79 aganza of spectacular proportions, and have the evening rounded off by· a Shakespearean pastiche doctored either ,Yith song-and-dance interludes or (as nt Astlcy·'s :1111phichcatrc)exhibitions of virtuoso horsemanship~ The Eng1ishpantomin1e~ no,v- produced only at Christ- mas~ developed under such conditions as a hybrid of t,vo distinct parts: the first, a rather 1nelodranrn.tic pia.y or legend in rh)rtned couplets, rjfc ,vith those puns so dear to , 1ictorian hun1orists; the second, co1n- ing at the crucial point in the plot, ,vhcn aH the characters arc trans- f orn1ed into Colu1nhine, Harlequin, Pantaloon, Clo,vn, etc., and the har]equinnde, a knock-about farce of visu~l gags, chasesi bcnrings, color- ful 1nct-a 111 or ph oscs., and n1i1nc, gets under ,v:1y. In such sh o\v·s did Jocy Grim3 ldij the grcut c]o,vn, sing numb crs \vhich ,vcrc cn1bf )7 0nic f orrns of m usi c-ha] 1 n1 a tcrial. 0 ne of his n1ust popular son gs \ vas ''I-Iot Codljngs/J a nonsensical ditty about an old Jady se]Hngbaked apples; its favor \vith the audience ,vas due to the fact that Gri1naldi left out the last ,vord in each verse? leaving it to he supplied by the public, ,vho \Vould then join in the chorus. This t) 7pe of audience participa- tion is pcrh-aps the n1ost enduring and viu1l feature of n1usic-ha1l perf or111 ances. 8 Y\lere you a young s\veH ,vith no desire to return hon1e at the early hour of n1idnightt you n1ight have proceeded to a '"night ccllar,n one of those features of Re geney· J_,ondon that survived into the Victorian era, forn1ing a part of the n1urky· undcr\vorld that ran beneath its guttapercha surface. 1~he night celJars ,-vcre a development from the Georgian catch or Co1nusclubs, ,vhereat a group of enthusiasts ,vould gather round a table to drink and sing 1 under the leadership of a burly chair1nan. The night c ellurs ca rcrcd to a clien tel e c 0111posed pr in1arily of idle y.oung spnrks~ eldcr]y· debauchees, and a bohemian jetsam of con1ic songsters and broken-do,vn actors. Frequently the enterrs1.in- ment ,vas Joucbe; Renton Nicholson~ ,vho called hin1sclf the "'Chief 1 Baron, i f onndcd the "'Judgc and Jury Shu,v-s1,, a series of obscene though hilarious 1nock trials for crin1. cou. and adultery., ,vhich re- mained a feature of London night life for t\vcnty )•cars.~ The eve- ning's trial ,vould often finish ,vith ''Poses P]astiques/ 1 a vurjant of See Richard l 1~indlitcr, Grinz::rldiKi11g of Clowns (London~ 195s ), pp. l 38-142. I' HLord Chief llaron° Nichol~onts Autobiogrnp/Jy ,v.a:srepublished as l~ogu,ls Progress, ed. John Bradley (Cambridge:, ~1ass.1 1965 ). A n1orc c~ndid account of the rri3 ls is given by Cyril Pead in T be G i rI v.;Jt b t be Sv.Nnisdo-wn Sent ( Ind fan apolis, Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) 380 H arvnrd J_,ibrrrry B11Uetin living statuary·, ,vhich introduced \vomcn - though ,von1en of a par- ticu1ar allure~ into an atn1osphcrc that had hitherto been unequiv- ocally stag. It is to the Ctder Cellar that ,vc can tr8ce the first ~1hit'"' of the halls the foul-n1outhed ccsan1HallD ,vhich 1nade f.a1nous an other,visc obscure actor narned ,~,4G. Ross. lloss, a perforn1er of a single song, \vould sit astride a chair in tattered rags and a battered hat, ,vith a sullen~ soot-begrim cd countenance; b enveen his teeth h c clenched a pipe removed only for p1u·poses of expectoration 1 as he intoned, or rather gro",Jcd, this lo,v-life bal1:1.d(,vhich is of an earlier date than the 184o's ,vhen he introduced it): i\1y nan1c it is Sain Hall, rm a thief! (rtpertt) l\-Iy nruue it is Sam Hall, And l 1ve robbed botl1 great and sn1al] And 111y greeting js to al] Da1nn your eyes! They've shut n1c up in quodi up in quodi (repeat) They~vc shut me up in qood For killing of n sod They have, so help me God, l)an1n their eyes! The song goes on to describe the murder, the visitors to San1~scell, and ends on the scaffold. And no,v I 1 111 going to H c1l, goj ng to 1-1ell! ( r cpeat) And no,v 1'111 going to Hd!, And ,,.1 hat a b]oody se11 If you all go there as "reU! l)an1n your eyes! 10 The frjsson created b)' this sordid piece uf realisn1 is inconceivable~ all the con1n1cnt11torsof the period - Percival Leigh~ F. C. Burnand, Gilbert A'Bcckctt, H. G. J-Iihbcrt 11 - speak of it ,vith a kind of a,ve. ~0 A co1nplete text of the vcr~c.lican be found in Arthur L. Hay,var Song Book 1 edited by ff aro!d Scott (N C\i:J )" ork, 1916 )., p. 85, a11d Late Joyr nt tbe Plnyerl Tbemre (London! l 943), p. 65. u For instan~c 1 sec S~r Francis C. Rur nan d! Records nnd Ren1b1iscence s Persanal and General (London, r905), pp. 9z--96, Burnand claims to have seen Ress on a night ,vhen Thickcray \.\'as present 'ilnd enthusfo.stic. · Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief 1...-ife aud 1"i1Hesof tbe VictorianA1usic-l-lall 38 r \~ 1hcn lloss ascended his pulpit-like pl-atf or111 and scolvlcd round at the audicncci somctitne betrveen t,velvc and 011e in the n,ornrng, p1ates stopped c1attcrh1g.,conversation ceased, and the journa]ists, sratesn1cn., city clerks~ 'varsity lads., country parsons in mufti, dandies and their valets1 kept 8 full n1inutc of .silence, ,v hilc ·lvaitcrs rushed into ad;oin- ing roon1s to announce ''i\-lr. ]loss is about to sing 'San1 Hall..' J, And if ''San1 Ha.H" embodied all the covert vio1cnce and ugliness of L.on- don, it p1aycd on subn1ergcd reserves of f car ,,Tithin the hearers. Ross hin1self never achieved success \Yi th any other nun1 be r, but the song~s grhn po,ver ensured its longevity and it bccan1c acclirnated to 1\.merica, \Vhere it is no,v one of the standbys of Josh \i\ 1hitc's repertoire. Thnckcrny ,vas an habjtllc of the Cider Cellar r1nd describes it in T/Je }lewco111es.Colonel Ne\vcorne and his son Clive participate in the singing at a night cel]nr, bcco1nc the subjects of a ~ung improv.isa- tioni ,vhen suddenly (,'anunlucky ,vretch~' nan1cd Costigan -based on ltoss- rises to dc]iver his prin1c song. At the end of the second verse the Colonel started up! clapping on hls hat, seizing his stick, and looking as feroci ou5 :-asthough he had been gojng to Go hrnnc to your bed 1 you hoary old sinner. And for my part1 ·rm not sorry n1y son should see 1 for once in his lifci to "-'ltat shatnc and degrad~tion and dishonour., drunkenness ant1 \\ 1 hisky 1n~y bring a 111an ••• " 12 Colonel Nc\vcome's ,vrathful denunciation conics a.s an excellent cor- rective to the a,ved encon1iun1s of others; it reminds us that, uespitc th cir popu lari ty, the night ce l Ia rs \ v erc considered 1l lackguard Iy, of too lirnitcd an appeal to concern the \'ictorian n1iddle class. They failed to 1nake the transition to n1usic-hal1,because they could not accon1mod~tc ,vithout anachronism either la.dies or 1 'gentlemcn..'" So they succumbed to their n1orc potent riva]sl the pleasure gardens .. 1-.here , vas nothing particular 1y fro ,vsy about Cantcrb u r y I-Ia 11,the u Thackeray~ The 'f...7 ~t»co111es (London, I 855 )i Chapter I. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) Harvard Library IJ11Jfeti11 first genuine n1usic~I1a]l,founded jn 185 2 h)r Charles l'vlorton, an ex- \\1aitcr and tavern keeper. Food and drink of the hest ,vere to he partaken of 11t the Spanish nrn.hogany tables, ,-.rhile continuous enter- tainn1ent held forth on stage. J-Jadics,originally relegated to a special evening, \Vere 1nade ,ve]comc cvcr}r night to fill out the 1 500-pcrson capacity. J. E. llitchie 1 ,vriting five years latcti-described the audience as 111ainlyurcspectable n1echanics or srnal1tradesmen ,vith their ,vives and daughters ~nd s\veerhcarts. No\v and then you sec a nlidshiprn~nt or a f e\v fast clerks and ,varehouscn1en. Everyone is sn1ok111g"11nd everyone hns 8. glass before hin1; hut the class that con1c.s here are cco1101nic~l,and chiefly confine thernselvcs to pipe~ and porter.'"' 13 1\ dozen native oysters and could he procured for a shillingl 2s could ::1chop and a b~lced potato dispensed by j\1.orton hin1- sclf, ,vho, in an cfTort to ~ttract rcspectnblc custon1crs, built an annex to house a collection of paintings by lv!aclisc., \ 1 crnct, Rosrt Bunhcur, and other fashionables. It ,vas quickly dubbed the '(R0) 7 al Academy over the ,,,~ter.~J The n1us 1 cal div crtissen1en t off er ed ::1.r the C::tn terb u ry , v as eel ecti c, to say the ]east, ranging fron1 North Country ballads to conlic patter- songs to grand opera. Gounod"'s Faust \vas first he~rd in England at the Canterbur_r, \vhere ;rrias and duets ,verc spliced ber,vctn ('l~hc Roast Beef of Old England'' :1nd "'rm , 1 ery· Fond of '''ater.J' ~fhat ornnivorous .strain in \'ictorian taste that digested both Tupper and Bro,vning is here 1nuch in evidence. Tbe l 1e'J1g11i11Dictionary of tbe 1·1)eatredefines a 1nusic-hall as ''yaric9• entern=iinn1c11tof songs and conlic turns at ,vhich the audience could buy drink ..'' Such a cav~lier reference does singJc out the features ,vhich consistently characterized the inusic-hall throughout Britain I for, unlike its An1crj can counter part t l1 r vau dev ill e the atrc, it took on regional and even district charactcristicsl depending on its location and audicncc. 14 VnudcviHe theatres in A111crica,vere invari- J::: J.. £,.,,jng Ritchie, Tbe l\7 igbt Side of Landan ( 1857 ), quoted in 1\1andcr and 1\1itchenson, op. cit,~ p. r 5. A highly =trnusing =lccounr: of :.=i.r.c~llC-l:UI u]e young l~dy's .first impressions of the Canterllury is gi,Tcn Ly Emily Soldene in Chapter I of Aly TbcatTical tmd .A.fusicrrlRecollections ( London, 1 S-98)1 an outspuken and vivacious men1oir, She "J.LHlidoucdfor Morton in 1865, ,._,•a~rc,Tuked Ly the sn1cHof beer -nnd ~t~1e tobacco!' bur got the jol~. t L For an i ntcre.sd ng 1 provocati ,Te,though not thoroughly con v j nci ng socio] ogy- of the popular ,Tark:tythcatret see Afbert F. AicLean, Jr., A'l11e.ricmiv· mrdeville ar Ritu,11 (University of J{entucky Pr-css. 1965 ) .. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief f_.,ife and Tilues of tbe T7'ictorian Alusic-1-lall 383 abl;l located in the business or shopping centers of large cities., an1idst an active con1m11nallife, in an agora ,vhcrc a11 clen1cnts of society could n1inglc. Therefore, the rypt of pcrf orn1ance~ in vaudeville "'ere ncccss:1rily·unifor1n in ~ppcalt so that they could easily be toured across the country.. But 1nusic-haUs ·,vcrc individu~iizedt ninging from the free-and-easy ntn1osphcre of Snn1 Collins' in the suburbs to the ultra- respectable A]ha111bra,vhich touted the instructive quality of its sho,-vs; an I co lnn l enc e the evcn.ing ,vi th a f C'H;""raps, an set:-ond1 and harder still to the third, and for the next singer (generally a l::uly) I beg their kind attention, for the third I ask their kind indulgence, and for the. fourth (,vho's rather a star) I infor111the people that I have great plc~surc in announcjng &c. rapi tap., bangsT The nex-t happens to be a p~i r of bouncing hrnthcrs and I, having gained ,visdom by past expe.riencei ahvays leave n1y chair till thcy'\'c gone through their pcrfonnr1ncc, \\'hen I rush back and h:1n1111er fiercely; they come before the curtainj :n1akca bo\v and Jc:1\"'Cthe st~ge, n1yse]f Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) Har·vardLibrary Bttlletin a.nd audience a,vaiting the arrival of the great man ( cornique) ,vho don't co1nc to titnc and never ,vilL1U Con1percs,o\ving to the rise of public gentility, ,vere replaced by num- bered cards inserted on either side of the stage; their nun1bcrs referred ro nan1esin the progranL Since a single turn seldorn lasted n1ore than t,venty mtnutcs at n1ost'l the perfor1ncr pluycd several houses 2 night~ rushing fro1n one to tl1c next ,vith the aid of .skilleddrivers or Hpro,s coachn1cn/, ,Yho 1nade a specialty of dodging traffic, "'\vhilethe harried star changed costun1c and n12keup in the cib. An adverliscn1cnt in a spordng gazette might re2d, Hi\1r. 1-3:arryRandall ,viH appear tonight at the Tivo]i at 7: 20 and 9:45, at the l\1ctropolitan at 8: 05, and at G·atti"s I-I2ll of \ 1arieties -at 8 : 50+t3 The n1ost obtrusive features of music-hall decor, \vhich had a perva- sive appeal for ,,, ~ltcr Sickcrt., ,,~ere the lavish use of red plush and gilded plaster,vork~ and the barmaids serving at the Jong mahogany counters at the back of the hall. Both the furniture and the I-Icbcs served as targets for n1oralists; J. J~,1;,-ing llitchie, a re,,erend social ,vorker, lan1enredin 188 o~ There \Vas a side bar at ,vh.ich the actors aud actresses occasionnHy appeared on their 1-varto or fl'on1 the stage and affably drank ,vfrh their friends and admirers. The other day I happened to hear a thiePs confession,, and ,vhat do you think it ,vas? 1.'hat it ,,,as his n1ingling "·'Iththe singers off the staagethat had led to his do,vnfall. He " 1 :ls C\Tident]ya snrnrt, clever~ young fc11o,,,,and had thought it a sign of his being a lad of spirit to stand treat to people. Of course, he could not afford iti :1ndtof course, he had a. fond :ind foolish 111other,vho tried to screen runt in his do,vnv~·ard career. The result ,vas he c1nbezzled his c1n- ployer1s money, and ,vhen that ,,·as d;scovered, imprisonn1cnt =1ndunavailing rcn1orse ,vcrc the result~ The h~lls ,verc clearly to blan1c.16 "I have 'J.l\vays thought/' mnscd l\1ax Beerbohm, "that the speech over Y oricles skull ,vould have been much 1norc poign-ant if Han1lct had g·ivcn 1-]oratio some .specific ex,ample of the ,vay in ,v hich the )Cster had been ,vont to set the table on a roar/' 17 l)ubious though :i:!'. Quoted jn Sa1nuel f\fcKechnie! I'opular E-ntcrtainnzcntr through tbl? Ages (Lon,lon, n.d.), p. 143. J. f,\ving Ritchie,. Days nnd 1'7ig/Ja in London ( r R8o Quoted in 1\1:cl(f::c:hnie, op. p. l 58. n Sir J\1aA Hccrbohrn! nDan Lcnot A Selection froiu Around T!Jeatres (NE,v \""ork, 1960) p. 103. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) 1rf:!:."CF.F..!. r CO.~f/{' ,•-:u,w;WR!i';'l.'N .SI/NO [JY • '' I ' • I 1.--=- ,._. ..._ GEORGE LEYBQURNE.- ---- 0 1 . ·1r.;(.-.JL- J,:-.ti:1. ii:.."l1l 11"·1•-tJ l'a,,I-Jll"J1:Wt:-1•'.1~(J¥ti'-4fl 11-.::~.:-..-."l.rL•-: 1 • 0 :""i•,.- 1~..- ;""-."il•'4 ' l 1 :- 1 iri."_':' ." J.- .1,.. ..-_ 1 -;..i::.". .. ?f~I---G'.V- ."•U"1 ,:.,n ,.,.l .. r.".\."·\."':~"1--r.AT"-f}.'"J ,.-J•".,"t.J. -s:.·,.,_,,-;.r.1.~• •.": tifJ"li-..,."'-"•· I-.•" ...... I.L ' 1: ·-.•:·• .... . 1. r MUSrl.:'.1-:-r .r.1.~.r ....,."1'..-~! A lt~.. R_ED lJ"EE . · i·, · . I C:N='°~· C ;!°,-IE ~H~, I~-? _I ·•,::~40L]OS.., 't.· (' PLAT£ I CHAi\I PA~NE CHARLIE (I..F.Yl~OlJR'NJ:-LF..E;I 867) Here we sec George Ley bourne iu tbe guise of a k11ut, displayi11gtt bottle of tbe bubbly~ Note especially tbe Piccadilly weepers,. or Drn1dreary •..vhiskers1 u1ucb affected by gay bhrdes of the 186ds. A) fr typical of sheet- 'inusic of tbis period., tbe cover u1erely j1re.:H:ntrn portrait in cbaracter. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) (-.1 _.-:;•• I 111 1 1 ' ' PLATE II COVE~T GARDEN lN THE 1\·10H.N1NG ( Gl-lAYUOK-COO-n•:) TIJe Great V nnce and his cronies «re seen nfreshing the1nsef ...1.-Jes after a '11lg!Jt tJu t+ T be chorus: Cbe n·i eJ .~ored St nn.vbc~7ief r ipc, At bonie..,of course, tbey'Jl he stonuiug. l\7e",)e r 1uind t.be abusc, y o1 r have t.be e:rel, ,c, J~ouwent to Cnvc?ntGarde11 in tbe 1uorui11g~ becmne tbe tbe-Jne song of t/Jc Late Joys revue at tbe P/!ryers' Tbeo.t1"e, a club devoted to the p-reser•vrttiuuof Victoria11sviig~ Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) . =··i_ •• :.: ....=. ·:'.; :\':-;. ~-- 'i,t-.,,,_~'--1.:._.,\,-,)J,,':,. '' .• ·• :=:•°!'"- . "-?:O:.~-i:i ... 2:-~ . '~. ' -·:'"~.:.._ • '="·"\_x,,,:'I. -,.,_~"-"'- ·~1..- . • I:,• . -~·~\;·.. ~g,.; . .-~ ...... :· \ : : ' ·-l RJT~-;~->-~)' :_j. ' - ' i -_,.,.,~\\ . r • .J ,., t \ . ·. . ' '· .· .. \" . · EDGAR-BATEMAN. .- , I ...... v,,\t,.<41 . . . - __,,~ -~ ' ... ,.- .. Iii\... .· ,. l . ~f«F .r"Q'.!11~:i-----~--=...... :c~. ..,.... . . ;j, . : } . • • I • "'. ••• I • . OSE:D lEBRUN l . I PLATE III ]F n· "\\'ASK'T FOR TfO; 1 0USES Jr-..Tnr:f\VJ-~I::N (DATF.:"\·!AN-LE .BRUNN) Gus Eleu is here seen iu ~'" 'luilknuo/'s 11igbtshirt~to -;nake bhn look ,ens yokel n.scan be/~ This is a prin1e e:rn111plcof tbe lithographed cover in itr heyday/ the portrait of tfJe pe,jonner fr enbn11cedby ,;.,iguettesdepicting iucideuts i11tbe song~ Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) Tfi."J!.::'!J 1,11-=j-' ti::.l~-y ,-;, ;u.Hii: "";t!:i,;~l fcf w{i"c.~,,Ct! · ~w,.pf .1!"Mvpc 11,ilh -c1r:,;tfJ'!.,,r(~.:;. 11rf"<'J!ric.t/(lf'tr.: ,7.::1.~1i!l1::tJ l~ cl~.-J~~JDt !,~ Pul-lrj~:•.-;:, . I.•- i .. ·. .:.. . ' 'I .. ··.• _ ~----_.,r.,I 1 -~I-~ p LA.TE-;I,, "J'HF: I.AST GOOD-RY£ ( i\1 URRl\ Y A~l> LF.1GH) Altbough Florrie Forde is singing (.~Goand do your duty~ Jack} l'/l do 1niue/' she is decked out in the glorified version of a c/Jorus girrs outfit: s/utngled tigbts, ·fh:ylJJings,aud a pltnned hat. Tht> bejeweled staff was de rigueur for stately -praucesabout tb.e stage. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) PLATE \T on! l\lR. PORTER (TIJQ]\[ A~ T.l~ DlltJNN / G¥...OHGE.LE BRUNN) li.farir Lloyd at her 1nost de1uure in one of her 111ost popular u1nnberr~ The chorus ran: Oh! A1r. Porter, ,aihnt sbn/l f do? l 1v«nt to go to Uirn1iugl:uuuand they'1·e ta/..:iug1ne on to Crewe, Send 1ne hack to Londou aJ quickly a.r you cnn, O/:J!Afr. J>orter,•illhat a sill;i girl I an1! She -ne-verdoes get to Uir--1niugba1Jt)but go?.r ojJ l"'~itb Afr. Porter to his 1n1UJSi o}J iu I be JU burbs. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) -~ /..,7~ l-/~·. . I: -4· -~·-. . •fi I . •. ' • I i' . . j '· ;: "/~ , - . ·. I /.~: • , . ~-• I I • • - - '·---- W~i\ten ~ . '"', [ . . Q,mp0o0 . . , J P... HARRJN,G-liQN ":t\rGEO, LE. 6R.UNN :,oc., - Lo !'-[l?OMr~AN Cl~. DAY ,ll,: Hu l'ITF..R,195, O.vo Fto OTR £ET W. I 1 / {. 1p(~..S . L J{U:_,..1t.~~{b,.,~ ~..,,£,u .:?~..:,..,!,,,.,.~ f ...... -:.----··~~ ~\. t-..,l:....~,-:-,..._:s,£;5 I';_ft~;:.&._;;" .f Kr. £,-,_ 1 ,...,..,--is'1,. t.·~ l'Y J--t;.i=~ T . 6- H />.P.t-1 :!::, Lt C I B E:A'ST 2"2 s T~E£ 'r A • · C••.r:f'V--~-:--:-c,-:1..;, :-.,. ~.1,. •• J 1 •"j ~• ..'-M•:, '!-..-'r.-"•';" •·Y i-,:~ -1-.1-. p..,,~,. ,..1-I. • - I .• PLATE VI SALL"TE j\fY BICYCLE~ (HARRI ri,,,'GJ'ON-LR URUNK) A reflection of tf)e cycling craze of the 189cls"} rw!Jen a cbaiu-driven 111acbine1.vhlJ pneuvmtic tires eJurbled Indies lo take unchrrperoned airings.. ,,1a.rie wears- t/:Je~i. Rationrd Dress (''1Veli, bo-w do you like 1ne, eb} boys? . . . A little hit t«Jty, eb) boys?11) nud eivide111ly bad great piny insinuating double entenclrc into sutb technical tennr as-,:Burt 111y ty-re.n Ob11oxiou~ bystanders are info,7ncd tbl1t tbey can "salute u1y bicycle/" Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) \..______;-~--- ... ·-· ---- - -.- .. ·- • ;-~-<'-'~·"/ • ,I '\ ..: ./ .. ,i . . .".} ·' •· i . \: t .\ ,·' fl I . . . ·1--- - .-- . I • ,i. . - _. • a. I ------·, . : ~.....,"~ . . ., ....,,,...... ___..... ' :.:-...,;,...-.-- = ~~--- ·.:--,· j ~JIG:E.'D" ON ..Jj-U" -~: ; . t ' --~AN)is).iOt n . . 'fbpu~~R.~o~~s. o/ .:_ [;r. . ... ':·-: I I ___,_,__. .·_ i ' I :\~ ··.. . ·• . ~!!IJl: ,Err_::--...,• ; . '. . [ .' -..:. I t t· ·•:,._ r ._ :... ~' . • . : :J.j ON, ON J · : · i .. · ; . . ·: HARU.S SHE.ARD & CT'.M-~~l\Jbl~h~i)pr~~~~t's-~2.in frf;KO um !. ,;i· . ~v Oi,,p,,,,::-J'~ ...... ! • ..... ---F~l'llla----~a · I j,r dO~'Tnd:. • · · · • • - · · ?.,.~ . -· f/ ,:;\-r.,.,.,..... I/- I / .r • .P• •n• '~ ""-"' "':':~ ~1fl'",J_2/ • ~•~l:c.;,.")' &~ ?/&. PLATF. ,r11 TJIF. J>Ar,,-LENO POJ.k:A {EPLETT; I 891) An exau1pleof the co11nno11prdctice of co1nposing 1ned/eys fro1n a populnr perfonner's hit un,e.s. On tbe cover -1:ttesec tbe beloved f..,(!-UOin a garlnud of his favo-rite roles, including t/Je Sig11ah,huI,the Shop·-:;,.valk.er,nnd a Dnnu: Part. l~eno for 1nany years ·1.vasthe grentest of tbe co111ic d(t;ues in C hrist'111tupi"t 11t 0111iuie s., such as the lV id ow 11r;.1.x111key in HA laddin. i Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) ·.-,i:,-;-:i,:~,,,~~j/C-:7J,0;. ... ,:;,,:.:--:.."";""·:J..:"i.i:.r.t .m·.r..~:•. !.:-~·.~7.".J/,.-icj/ ,1,--r!f M:.."J,'C l-f~li'1,:,-:1--;'5 r19.~ cf f.~~ Jt)l!!Ja~ re_lf'r.t·t!d bPd 1 Sultan. The Sea.side(BACK TO WORK.) ' . I • I: • J . . . j : '. . • I : • ' . • . ' .\ ~'n/ten a-nd Composed b_y C·W·MURPHY ar.d W[LLIAMHARGREAVES. 5llng by ;o/Y'~issVes to. Ti Iey~ce I 21"'~ & ~i_lJ~Tr,R: 14:.-,Ct-14n·L,.:.c;.ci::o~s R-O-'O (f!n...,_.,,_,S'f'ur{11,,_!L-t.-"-lciOr-;.wc. F~A Hcis,D,\Y -.""•·· Fla• "Fifi ·r. _..._•,.....rp;1...... ,:- •i';',.l_t,Jr, ,r,•_."A'F...n., .--.., ,.j •_1.,:_.:_•11~/l-..•11 .. ,.',< f!("f,·~r-r•.Pr~f f,· •l'i",1': J+.,J!l11f.~...,. ' ...... !-(• .. ,,, =--· .... A I ri ! 2 ;- "!::.TI=: L £ .. :-•--= 1-JE ~J i' 0 i- t-1• T n t- a.,~....i; !'".o . .a.":--' ":r : ·~ ~-:rr-~---•...... -.1.-.• .r ./h.•.~f,::a.::~ ._ ._...,_.C.''::•d [.a•:..:._ .;,,:::.,,"·:fAi J.l C liJ }.II .-., .~+•l.,'1 :,~~ 'W . 1 "11 • : f •..-.1,: r.-~ i' -~>1,.·._. rr ..1,-J t: ..-. H LI. :a._.._r !a, PLATE \TJII Y -11 A RG RF.AVES; I 90 3 ) THE SEAS1DES VJ.T A.N (BACK 'IO \ VORK) { :!\1 URPK Vesta Tilley in oue of ber 111aleintperJonatinn; as tlJe bom·dwtrlk 1JUtsber Kent re- wbo ti nctually « br111kclerk011 holidtry. Tbe co,uer by Sidney 1 a cnlls tbe contnnporaueous /)Oster techniques of JVillinn1 1'icbolson, of the chaste, ratb~·r a11ystJle quite at odds •uJitlJtbc burgeoning cctrtoous enrlier lilbognrphs. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief Life and Ti'lnes of tbe Victoria11A111sic-Hnll 3 85 tl1is reasoning 1nay be, as·anyone is a,varc ,vho has ever tried to describe the pcrforn1ance of a. great comedian, dim echoes o.f past glory have been caught on phonocylinders and early discs. They· make clear that the ,va) 7 a song \Vassung ,vas frequently·n1orc important than the song itself~ and the personality of the performer often n1akes full-bodied ,vhat in print js Ji1npand feeblc.16 The most popular renditions of the song-and-supper roon1s \Vere the ballad parodies of San1 Co,vcll,rn ,vho ,vould reel off intern1inable verses relating sanguinary cockney tragedies; his t\VO favorite nu1nbcrs ,vere ,~,Tillikinsand his Dinahti (to the tune \Ve kno,v as HS,vect Betsy· from Pike'') and "The Ratcatcher's Daughter.' J "Villikinsn told the talc of a City 1nerchant's daug11ter ,vho refuses to 111:irr)r -anyone but her darling "\1illikins -and takes pojson as a result; the final verses ran: As ''il1ikins vos a-v~Jiking in the garding around 1 He Sff\V his dear J)ioah 11dng dead on the: grouod 1 ,,rjv a cup of cold pi7,onall do\, 1n by her side1 And a b illct-dux ,vhat said as ho,,..,'t\vas by pfa~on she died+ Spoken: (The label read British brandy.) Siuging: too-rali-oo-rali- oo-rali--a y. No,v all you young gids don~t you thus fall in love nor Do that not by no 1neans that ,viH "'ex your gnvnor, And all you young men! t'1ke care ,vho you claps eyes on1 R e111e1nher \ 1i l1ikins1s Dinah, n d the cup of co] d pj zon. Cl1orus. ~-=Thellatcatcher's Daughter" is hardly· Jess affecting than this back- street "Lord L.. ovell, n for its s-adburden is of a girl ,vho sold .spratsfall- ing in love ,vith a 1nan ,vho sold li1y-,vhitc sand; she fell in the Thames as , vcll: i!.Od th is is the 111o urnf ul conclusion: Nn,v Jily-,vhitc sand ven he heard the ne,vs Iloth rus eyes:1·un do"~n vith vater:ii And he said, ''In love I'll constant prove, li The mus.i c-h 3 l] sori g is just b egj nn iug to he investiga tcd, *nd the cu s reader is ref er red to i\i1a ud ce , ,, illson Dish er1 Vi ctori.anSo -ng ( Londo nj l 95 5); Christopher Pulljng, Tbey TVere Singing and TVbat Tbcy JVere Sh1ging About (London, 1951) i and Colin Maclnne~, Su1eet Saurrday NIKht (Londonj l969). 10 S:Jnn1 cl Hough ~on Co\\Te11 ( 18 io- 1 8'64) ·was b Drn in Lon don but grew~ up in A1ncrica., "' here he trod th c ho~rd s as the Young Amer j cl n R osci us-. H c \Vas on c of the stand bys of the ~n terhury i1nd hls rcpertoi re i nclu d c d, besides the ~ongs u1entioned ~bo'.ve, Black Your Rootsj BHly Harlowj The Cork Leg1 and a parody, The Tragical Hfrtory of Hanzlet tbc Dane.. · Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) 386 1-IarvardLibrllrj' Bulletin I'H be h]o\ved if i live long arter/' So he cut his throat ,vith a piece of glass, 1\.nd stabbed his donkey artcr, So the re ,vas an end of lily-vi tc sand The donkey and ratcatchcr's daughter. 0 Chorui::::noodle-dec 1 doodle-di, dee dum dondle di do. ~ These san1 pl es of gall o \Vs h 11111or , v ere s 11n g, I1 un1 tn cd, , v]1 istl ed, p] ayed, and recited in all concciva b1e places, including the bourgeois h onseho]d \ vith its parlor pia no forte. Nor is this surprising; , vc n ecd only gl ancc at Tbe Pickr-..vickPapers ,vith its nun1crous jokes about decapitation, choked babies, kitten pies, and ludicrous su~cidcs, to reuli7.e that /Ju11101tr 1,oir,vas a \ 7ictorian staple. The specialt)r of H-arry Clifton/ 1 another song-and-supper. enter- tainer~ ,YaS hon1iletic tuncs 1 the n1u~icsl equivalents of Norn1an \Tin- cent Peale; such songs as ~'Paddle Your O\vn Canoe,J, ''Pu]ling Hard Against the Streatn/"' 1'\,r2it for the Turn of the Tiden (nautical in1- agery see1ns inseparable fro1n optin1is111),~'C p \Vith the ]..,ark in the I\1orning,,:,,and this capitalisesdelight: Work 1 boys 1 \\Tork and be contented, As long as you\re enough to buy a n1ea!i The n1an, you n1ay rely~ '''ill be ,vea1thy, by and by, If he,ll on1y put h.is shoulder to the ,vheeL To hi:;credit) be it said, he also ,vrote HPretty Po1lyPerkins of Padding- ton Green," a genuine cockney love song relating the hopeless passion of a n1ilkman for an ambitious ser\,..ant-gir1. The songs that pro ]ifcrated during the golden age of the British n1usic-hall c~n be broken do\vn into a number of general categories. The Heavy Swell song, especially popular in the J 860\. and 187o's 1 in1n1ortalizeda certain type of fatuous dandy, ,vhose dra1natic imago ,vas J_j ord Du ndreary, the sill)r-ass nob Ic1na n of Our A 1u eric ctn C 011sin 1 ,vith his iterated ,cl-la-\v~ha,v, hn,v>,and fashionablelisp. In appear~nce1 n1onoclcd, \Vith long, droopjng PiccadilJy v{eepers on his cheeks~ trousers of gaudy stripe or check, toying ,vith an ivory-handled stick, c.ul\1 rs-. Co,1itelli a kind of theatrical Frances T ro] lope,, left a record of her husband 1s c.i dcspcratcl y profi d cssti A 1neri can tour. See T be C owd ls in A uieri ca beinK the Diary of Afr! Smn Cowell + • 1860-1866 1 ed. !\1. \Vi1lson Disher (London 1 1934 ). :l!l I-larry Clifton ( 1832-1 Sr2). As might be expccted 1 C1iftont~ upHft songs v.·ere read i1 y a doprcd int:o th c dra \vingroo-m. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief f_jf e and Ti111esof tbe Victorian A1usjc-Hnll 3 87 the real-life s\veH could be found on ,vcek-nights frequenting all the flashier places of entcrtainn1ent and on Sundays lounging in the Aquarinn1 _orstrolling jn the Zoo. Ile ,v-asfirst brought on to the 111usic- hall smge about 1864 by George Leybourne and Alfred \Tanret the c:~]ionsco1niqucs~', 22 Lcybourne and \ 1ancc participated in a curjous rivalry: Lcybournc had 111adca hit ,vith HChan1pagneCharlie,'' a song ,vhich added a dc1nigod to the inebrjate~spantheon. \Tance ans\vcred 1 it \Yith his song, HClicquot'; J.Jeyhourneriposted ,vith ''Cool Burgundy· Benn; , 1ancc parried ,vith Hl\1oetand Chandon,"J and so on through the ,vine list, frequently at the expense of shippers ,vho enjoyed the n1clo- dious ~dvertisen1ents of the singing son1111clicrs.Indeed., Lcybournc drank hitnself into an early grave, for like Jarry· ,vith King Ubu, his o,vn personality bccan1c absorbed into that of his creation, <:c:Chan1- pagne Charlie~~, ,vI10 sang: 1~hc ,,ray I gained nly title's by a hobby ,vhich I've got Of never letting others pay, ho,vcvcr long the shot; \~-'hoever drinks at my exp ens c arc trcn tcd a]I th c. Saff1c1 From Du kcs and Lords to c ab1nen do\, :n~ I make them drink champagne. And on occasion he stood treat to the \vhole audience.. The chorus as ju most of JJeybournc~~.songs \vas insipid and repetitious, but infec- tious,.and had the po,ver to set an audience roaring: For Cha1npagnc Charlie is 1ny nan1c, Chan1pagne Charlie is my name., Good for any gan1e at njght~ n1y boys {tepeat) Champagne Chndie js my name (repeat) Good for any game at nighti boys, ,~ 1ho~11COl11C and join me in a spree? George Lcybournc (1R41-18A4),born Joe: ~1,1ndcrs] began life as a ste:unfitter, but by the n1id- r S60 1s "':JS -earnjng a hundred pounds a ·weekt h:id a tO"wn house and country estate, :lnd cntert:1~11ed b.vJshly. The Eve11i11g1rn11script remarked in his obi trn1rr ( 1 7 0 c tober 1 fH_{:4): ii.. A £ 40u diamond so] irairc sparkled from his glossy shirt hoso 1ni Ml d di:J.111on d rj 11gs added to the brj 11ian t halo ~bout 1lin1. One 111ig ht hear him s:lng1 Datldy's on the Drink/ at the Pa,Tjlion,at a guinea~ YCrsc, then see hin1 step into his urol1gh!lrtl :lnd \vhfrl off to tl1n Oxf ord 1 \vhere he ,vou]d rake in a :fiye~pound note in ten n1inutes .,with '1\1other has lHizzled , 1dth .i\1.ike/ There ,vould sd 11he tim c for him to dr ivc to the I\ 1c tio p olit:1n and ga th e::rin half a dozen sover- 1 d gns ,vich JSister's on the Scoop." " He died a pauper. Alfred Vance~ nc A1frcd Peck Stevens ( 1839--1888) started as a solid tor'\; clerk haforc gojng on the haUs. l-1c died in h:~:r:ncss on th c stage of the Sun J\-1n~i c H-s.111 lu.ving just comp Ieted a .song calI cd ''lVhat 1s th l! \T crdj ct? 1s lle Gui] ty ;i 11 Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) Harvard Library Bulletin As the century ,vorc ont the heavy s,vcll song faded out, as it ceased to picture an existing type; it gave ,vay to songs about "\Yonld- b e fops and impcc uni ous ar isto erats~ 1 ik.e the '' Ooflcss Duke t, and ''P crCJ7 from Pin1licot,,,vho confessed, 1'111 spooning both l\•laudic and Nc11, I pinch their checks-if I get the ch-a.nee I pinch their purses as \Vcll. Od n1ated their nun1ber at 3 0,000 1 annuall 17 incrcil.sing,-and described their habits and an1uscn1cnts as inseparable: 1(for the habits of the costcr- 1nonger nre not domestic. His busy life is passed in the n1arkctsor the streets, nnd as his Jcisurc is dev-otedto the beershop., the dan cin g-r oon)., or the theatre., ,ve n1ust look for his Im.bitsto his den1_eanourat those places."r.2 3 This class con1poscd the bulk of the 1nusic-11allaudience, and to _it the 2ppenl of hun1or ,vas made; the chief topics of rnost comic songs ,vcre situations f:nniliar to the caster - rent ov·erdue., bullying rnother-in-hnv, annunl seaside holiday, and beer ,vcrc thcn1cs ,vhich he could understand, appreciate, and syrnpathize ,vith. For him the n1usic~ hall v.rasan escape,a veritable haven in \vhich to find congenial spjrits :3 Henry i\1~yhc,v, L Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief Life and Tinres of tbe Victorian Music-Hall 389 (in every sense), and a raffish1 carefree atn1ospherethat enabled hin1 to forget the norrnal problc1ns of life bJTJaughing at their conventjon- alizcd presentation on stage. The hun1or, though broad in the bcan1, sn1 ackcd of Sam \i\Tel 1er: cocky.,. ind omi tab le, re vclli ng j n b ackch at, full of bonho111je and 1nalapropisn1s~ and often hinting of the 111acabrc. The t, vo stars of the halls \V ho excelled j n s.ongs ,,rhi ch tried to n1irror the Jife of the cocknc)r ,vcre Albert Chevalier and Gus Elen. 24 Chcvalier1 a talented virtuoso actor~ took to the halls only \Vjth n1uch trepidation" but the coster son gs j n ,v hi ch he portrayed the love affairs of \t\.rr}rand 1Arrict \Von j1nn1ediateresponse; it must he admitted" ho,v- cvcr, th nt Chevalier t not hjtns elf a caster, tended to sentitn en ta 1izc and hlnr the sharp tones of his urban s\vains. This seldom disrurhed his public, ,vho enj0) 7 Cd this ro1nanticizcd picture of its daily Jifc; as Chev- alier, ,vho ,vrotc his olvn 1natcrial1 rcn1ru--kedin an intervie\v 1 ~'I-fu1nan nature is ,vhat one ,v:ants to render, and lvhat an audience ,vants . . . You 1nay play it higher up or lo,vcr do,vn the scalci but the tune is the sa111c4'"2 r; His n1ost enduring nurnbcr ,vas "l\1y O]d Dutch"' (fro111 "old Dutch clock/' cockney slang for '\vifen), n1orc acted than sung, 8nd demonstrating a technical perfection in the hand]ing of pathost avoiding as it does the 1norc obvious ctnotiona]ism for closel)robserved detail. I calls her Sal, iEr proper name is Saircr, Ant ycr 1nay find a gal As youid consider fairer~ She ain1t an aogcl- sh~ can start A-ja,,ing till it makes yer smart; She's just a 1001nani bless 'er 'eartt Is tny old gaL Chorus~ YVe've been together no'\V for forty years Ani jt don't seem a day too n1uch+ 2..1 Albert Chcvnlicr ( ! 861-1913) w·as pcrsu~dcd to quit kgidnlatc drama and go on the halls. only vdth great reluctance, but liis immedbte .succes5 confirmed hiin in hfa nc,v cs rec r, I-Ie 8 pccia Iized in i 'character'' ro]c.i,: old 1id l fl 11ds farmers, vie arst trump~., s.s ,vcll ~s: custcrs; s.nd sur,:jv·ed Jong enough to ~ppcar in fiJms. Ernest A ugu stu.s E1en ( 186 :z- 1 940) retired after a successful career, but i.vas I ured hack in r935 to appear in a Command perfotmnnce. He stopped the sho,v 1 but turned dn,vn off er s to go on tour in his .seven ty-s:e cond ye3 r. :; Albert ChcvaIr er 1 ''On Costcr5 and l\-1u !ilC:~ha] ls, it Eng li.sb Ouatter I:Y, April r 89 3, P· 487. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) 39° Ii nr·vard Li brttr y Bullc tin There ain't a lady livini in the land As rd s1.vopfor my dear old Dutch! 2 G At the other end of the .spcctru m ,vas Gus Elcn, ,vho started singing ju taverns, and ,·vhosc depictions of cocknC) 7 life ,vcrc 111uchtruer and more tinged ,Yith bitterness than Chevalier\,. He could create a richly con1icvista fron1 a n1arket gardener1 s feeble attempt to make a farn1 in his slu1n backyard in "'If It ,, 1asn1t for the 'Ouses in Bet\veen',: Oh! it really is a "'"erry pretty garden And 'Endon to the " 7 es:t\vard could be seen; And by clinging to the chirrlbley \r o u could sec ncross to \\' em h] ey, If it \\'asn 1t for the 'ouses in lH:~tv,:een. or decply~felt sorro,v at the death of a family's 111-arein "Do,vn the Road." I-Iis accent ,vas the pure and undefiled Cockaignc of Dickens' J•outh, ,vith v's transposed for ,v's, nnd even in his o,vn tin1cl' there v.7asan air .of quaintness aho11t Elen, as if he ,vcrc preserving the relics of son1c fast-dying race .. The , vo1nen \v ho sp ecializc d in cost er 111atcr ial ,v ere even n1ore naturalistic. A1non g them ,v ere p nthc tic Jenny I~Ji11, the '' \l ita 1 Spark/' \vho had aln1ost starved to death before succeeding in the halls and had thcrcf ore a natural understanding of ,vaifsi llnd the ratnbunc- tious Bessie Bcll,vood, ,vho oncct invited to perform at a noble house., dissenting u piujon co1flcs f to1n Colin l\1 c In H{:S., oJ,. cit., p. 15 7: ". . . Chevalier deU,rered fr ·with such oleagjnous dollops of sentiment th-at -an ad1nircr of the an of th~ I-IallsiUJa~king his feels he ought really to keep quiet aliout it~ To sing this ntnnl.ler, Chcv:8-Hcr sc:t h•s scene ,vith ~kill ..... 1'o a soft ·whine of violins 1111der playj ng the ccnua1 thcrnc., the tabs part :ind you :5CC :a drop j nsc ribed ,~, ORKH OU Sl!':.. In thfa there are cut t ,vo doors, one marked MEN~ the other "\VOMEN. Sitting before the drop is the ,,Torkhouse porter (appcadng at thirty shillings a "\Yeek,since his isnit a speaking patt) \vJ,cn Jo and behold~ .in totter Albert nnd his Dut('.h (she probably at t,v~enty shjllings. a ,veek, slnce .she doc:.~n,r spe~k either), and Albert presents his ~dmjtn1ncc cards to the porter. This functionary glances s~vcrely -J.t the old pair (-a tremolo front the French Jiorn nov,t ioining the violins) and in.dicatcs,vith a .rough ges.ture that they mus.t no-w enter the ,vorkhousc doors. DUTi AlLen h::i.snot noticed th~t there are t •Wo entrances:: and trh~s to go in with h\s ancient dona h to the one m-arked i\•1EN. ,\ 7h ere upon the pa ncr tr i cs to sepnrntc them roughly-, ~nd pu~h the aged Durch into the door n:.arked \VOJ\1EN. The full horror of the situation cln,vn~ on Alhcrt., ,vho crfos. c.You can 1t do this to 11s~ ,ve1 ve licrn together FOR FORTY ·yr.AUS/ A cunAin no,v-cuts off the porter and the donah (,vho nip round to the pub for a half quartcrn) 30d Aluert ad,Tances to rhe footlights, d~spa ir yet deter min-atinn on his honest features ~nd, as the orch cstra 1 mo\~c~ into its big moment, .... he.gins .... ' Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief Life aud Ti111esof tlJe VictorirrJJA1usic-Hall 3 9 I stuck pins jn the silk-stockinged calves of the footman to sec if they ,verc real.. I(acc Carncy ..'s splendid torch-song., "Are VVeto l)art like ~!'his, Bili?)),Yith its haunting chorus, is a guttersnipe version of ''Care- Ies~ I...tove''and yje]ds nothing to any· ballad jn its genuineness of feel- 1ng. The patriotic song ,v::1sahv~ys a sure rouser, disp]ay·ingas it did chauvinistic fervor and unfurled Union Jacl{s. Queen \ 7ictoria's army ,vas usua11yfighting in son1e exotic corner of the Eastern hen1isphere and could provide an oddly~nan1edb~ttlefield or sacked city as a pre- text for s\vord-rattling. The n1ost famous of these barrach~oon1 ballads is G. I-Ir JVL1cdcr1nott'sc~,~'c Don't 1.:~/antto Fight~ hut by Jingo if ,,re Do ('1/ c,vc got the Ships, "\:\Tc'vc got the A.fen~,v e've got the l\1oney Too)/' 1vhich added the tern1 ujingoismn to the language. Every night., the Great l\1acdennott ,vould arouse an audience, ,v hich usually· couldn't care 1e£s,to protest that ~cthe Russians shall not have Con- stantino-pie,'~ ,vhi]e Djsracli's secretary· Corri stood in the ,vings, gauging the public,s sy111pnthics.The 1,1ar l\1inister ,varncd P:1riia~ n1cntt ''"The nations of Europe are nrn1cd to the teeth; a single spa.rk rnaJ7 ki!Jdlc F1uropeinto a Raine,"' and he feared that i\1acdern1ott's act fflight be th,at spark. P~cifists like Bradlaugh and l\1or1cy,vcre n1an- handled by cro,vds that marched 1nto Trafalgar Square bcllo,ving the chorusj although in n1oresober mon1cnts the cornic I-Ierbcrt Can1pbcll ,vonld sing his acerbic parody·: I don't ,vant to fight, ru be slaughtered if I do; 1iu change 1ny togs, r11 sdI rny kit, ~nd pop my riflci too. I don't like the ,var; I ain't a "Briton truc~H And 1]11let the Russians have Constantinople. But the j in goes ,von out; the fleet \Vas ordered to the l)ardnnclles and Parlian1ent voted 6,000,000 pounds for lvar expenses. I-Jenccforth" l\1acdcrn1ott Y~lascalled in by various 1ninistries as a benign propaganda agent ,·vhcncver the government ,vas testing the popularity·of its foreign policy.· '''hen telling of discarded ser\,.icemen 110\V do,vn on their luck, havjng given nll fot an ungrateful countr ...v., the patriotic song ,vould drjft in1perceptihl)7 jnto the senti1uentnl song, that staple of the dra,ving-roon1 ,vhich ,v.a.sused to leaven the high spirits of the cnter- rainrnent. Abstraction and vague nostalgia. ,vere the 1nost frequent features of such ballads in the I Sfio's and 1 87o's, ~nd tears ,vould ,veH Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) 39 1 Harvard Library Ht11letin up in the eyes of tenement d,ve]lers as they mused on the stereotyped ruined cottage., hl-a.sted oak) and for saleen milkn1 aid. i\1other on stagc ,vas al\vays a ,vhite-haircd 2nge1~sclf-s1tcrificing and redemptive, though l\fothc.r in real life 111ightbe a bleary·-eyed .slattern on the gin, ,vhosc houscmriid,sstoop ,vas aggravated by carrying buckets of beer~27 ~1usic h2U audiences ,vere particularly fond of songs that portra) 7 ed '\he upper-classes ,vi th. their vi11 ainous d c1ni-tasscs'' ~s as rcn1orsc-stricke n1 regretful of past 1nisdceds, and suffering the loss of dear ones. Such a melody ,vas .c~IfThose Lips Could Only Speak"' ,vhich, ,varbled by a tenor in evening dress, began He stood in a b cautif u l 1n-ansi oni- Sur roun For poor fa111ilics \Vi th th cir o\\rn pro bl ems, it , vas a soothing conso- lation to fancy the haute n1onde prey to .suchgrief. L.. ater in the cen~ tUtJ71 ,vith the rise of the SalvationArmy and a n1ore vociferous tcn1pcr- ance n1oven1ent,sentin1ental songs ,vcrc a truer reflection of urban mores; \Vhen a.ragged lassie ,vith golden ringlets intoned: Please sell no more drink to my- father., It malees him so .strange and sn ,vHd, Iieed the prayer qf 1ny henrt-brokcn 1nnthcri- And pity the poor drunkard's chi]d it hit hon1c to many, ,vho, over,vhelmed and repentant, rushed to the bar in the next interval and dro,vned their pangs in a pint of bitter. 7 !!-: T /_,e St ..] (une s Hall C hri.sI)'' s Al init rel Sixt}' "/-.ew S 01igs ( London 1 n~d. [ c. 18 65] ) lists arrlong other ]achryn1osc numbers~ i'I{iss 1\1e~l\1other, Ere I Diet '~De~r l\1other, l\rc Con1e Home to Djc/) ,c~,~lho'\'\Till c~re for 1\1other- No\v? / 1 ''Break It Gently 1 to 1\1:yj\1othcrt •UJsTh11t i\,forher Bending O'er A·1e?' ccRock l\fe to Sleep 1 l'\fother," HA1other Kissed i\-!c in l\.{y l)rc:Hn,'' uoh, Bless l\1.c,i\1other, Ere I Diet and, to r:e- vcrse the object of n1ortaiity, ''rm Lonely Since wly 1\-lother Died." A line ftotn Gr~cic Vicldsis p:i.rodyi ,iHe:1\Ten \\ 1ill Protect the YVorking Girl/' Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief I.3fe aud Thner of the J7 ictorirn1A1usic-Hall 39 3 This 1nention of left-handed moralit)r rc1ninds us that the n1usic- hall ,vas forever victi1nizcd by the l\1rs. Grundicsr Dickens, in an e~rly pamphlet entitled ((Sunda)r Under Three Headstn had blasted the Sab~ bacarians for attcn1pting to deprive the ,-vorkjng n1an of his recreation on Sundays hy closing all places of a1nusc1ncnt; a half century· later., there ,vcrc still those ,vho ,vould have 1ikcd to prohibit the halls to the lo\"ver classes and thus rc1nove a 1najor source of pleasure (kno,vn as sin). i\.ny pretext ,vns seized on~ "'The halls provoked drunkenness.', Perhaps~though any obstreperous sot ,vould be hastily ejected by an audience ~nxious to hear the perfor1n~nce, ,v11ilethe :unount of ~lcohol consun1ed ,vould hardly equal that knocked do,vn at a pub in the .same arnount of time. ''The halls incite immorality·, for loose \Von1cn parade in the arcades, pickit1gup ttadc~,, This ,vas the case, ho-\vever,onl)• in the pron1cnadc of the Empire Theatre, ,vherc the thoroughbreds of th c de111i m onde foregathered, it ,vas fin a11 y shut d o,v n by· l\ 1rs. 0 rmis- t on Chaunt and her purity· league in 1912 1 1nuch to the disgruntlcn1ent of tta dj tio nalists, incl nding "\\ 1in ston Churchill. ~(The halls , vcrc the scenes of licentious dancing, in particular, the infamous cancun~i, Not reaHy, for the cancan as danced by Lottie Collins in her star turn '~T arara-boom-de-ay i, ,vas a tame ex hibi ti on, and rhose psychologists ,,rho claim that the cancan is nn effort to sho,v that ,von1anhas a penis ,vou]d have been hard put to garner concrete evidence f ronl her dis- play of petticoats~ ' 1The halls ,vere an arena of lc,vd innuendo and ba\vd y song4'' This depended on the tastes of the audience and the particular neighborhood of the thcatrci although frequently it ,vas the public itself ,vhich imposed the taboo. If a favorite pcrforn1cr erred jn his tastet the audjence his~·cdas politely as possible and murmured "Too bad~ Too bad!', If it ,vere an unkno,vn, the gallery· shouted ~'Chuck ,in1aht, the dirrty ty·ke!', The nlanagen1entoften participated in this censorship; the progra.n1 of the Royal Trocadero Palace of \ 1ari- ccics in Sh aftcs bury A Yenu e h ore the f ollo\ving superscription: i\1:r. R. R~ Bignall requests that any hnpropcr ,vord or act.ion cn1ane.ting from any Artist upon the Stage may be i1nn1cdiately co1nn1urucated to the l\1anage- rnent, that it n1ay be enquired into a.nd rcctificd. 29 nut the majority ]o\,.cda bit of subtle smut and much could be put into a gesture. '''11en the An1eric-a.n-born comcdi2n R. G. l(no\vlcs co111-. plained in his .retirement about the decline of standards in the halls, From program jn the author's collection~ Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) 394 Harvard Library Bt1lleti11 son1conc asked if h c hnd cv er said anything objcctiona bl e on stagc hin1sclf. ~'Certainly not.,1' he rcp1icd. ''Sudgc~gcstivc~ yes; but ob- jectionable, never." 00 To her greater glory and the eternal confusion of the bluenoses, it ,vas the jnunortal i\1larie l.Joyd.. ,vho rnost of ten fell foul of these distinctions. ''It is strange,'' ,vrotc 1\1·ax Beer bo]un, 1:'that of :111tl 1c , v 01 ncn of the \Tictorian era the three 1nost generally rc1ncn1bcredarc Queen Victoria herself, and l\·fiss Florence Nightingale~ and l\1ahric.,, Rl Ilorn in 1870 l\1ntildaAlice \ 7icroria ,,rood, dal.lghter o.f a maker of artificial flo,vers, she 1nade ber first professional -appe2rance at the Nile Sueet i\1iss ion in a troupe called th c Fairy B cll l\1instrc1s singing ''ThroYv Do,vn the Bottle and Never Drink Again ..t, HistOf)T docs not record any rush to the recruiting o ffi cc of th c local Band of Ho pc, ll nd l\ 1aric soon discovered that her niche ,vas singing a livelier sort of numbcr4 YV'ithint,vo yea1·sshe ,vas earning a hundred pounds a ,veek and \Vas ,vcB booked ahead in the n1ost important halls. To paraphr~se the title of one of Chev-a.lier'ssongst ''it's not so n1uch the things she saysJ as the narsty ,vsy she says Jcn14,,Her songs ,vcrc for the 1nost part 1nedi- ocrc, but ,v hat .she lacked in 111atcrjrtl, she n1adc up in personality .. in total giving herself to the entire audience fron1 ne\vsboy-in the gallery to Algy \Tere de \ 1ere in the stalls. Sha,v Desmond describes her en- trance at the Tivoli: \Vhen i\1aric's nrnnber ,vent up in its fra111e, the o]d Tivolians shouted and ,vhistled :.:.ndcachinnaccd in their joy. And ,vhcn J\1aric can1e on in her blonde, blue-eyed fairncs.s,,vith a "rink that ,va5 a caress, and sho,ving rather n1orc leg and garter th-an '\"as strictly compatible ,vith the hon ton "'hich she ustrn.Hy affccte d in her son gs, the gods ,vent mad and ,vou ld exc han gc a 1itt1e 1ig ht badinage ,vith their darling 1vhat time the orchestra n1un1bled a sort of refrain and before she got into her stride." 2 Her gin1n1ick\Vas to sing bouncily and coaxingly:t affecting a naivete belied by her notorious ,vinks and gestures; a nod and a laugh in the right place and an innocuous nutnber ]ike JtEverything in the Garden's ~;:i The story is told (in slightly differing versions) hy Beerbohm ;l nd fr.1cKcchnie. Sir t\1a~ Jk.erhohm ... ~1\-'larieLloydt A1ainly on t/Je Air, p. 100 .. Although every- \\Titor on the mus.le-hall concurs in eking 1\1aric L~oyd ( ~long '\.~:ithDan Leno) as tbe greatest star, the only full work dc,·otcd to hct is Na{.11niJacolls Our Alarie (Loo- don., n.<1.),;,v h ic h ~macks of the Sunda r supplements, despite its ,n:i 1·n1th and close ~rquaintance ,vith the s11bject, 1 discount entirely ,~.,, 1\1ncquecnPope's Queen of tbc f-,Jn1fs, ,,·h~ch is freql1cntlr inaccurate, digr~ssh,.,ctand for too gossipp>7. Sh~,v DesmonJ1-Lo11do-JJNig!Jts iu tf:u: Gny Nineties (~e,v Yor1-:,[9i8) 1 p~ 2:47. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief Life and Ti111esof tbe T7ictotia;zA1usic-Hall 39 5 Lovely') becan1e charged \Vith infinite possibilities. A story is told of a deputation fro1n the London County Council that jnsisted on l\1aric'ssinging her repertoire for their approval; she did so) speakjng it as a Sunday-school recita6on, flat~ dull, gestureless. The deputation rose to go, hut 1'12rie stopped th en1= ''No,v, ~,said she, ·"y,ou\rehad your sho\\"~I'll have mine. I'n1 going to sing you a couple of the songs your ,vivcs sing.i, Thereupon she regaled thcnl \v·ith''Queen of 1\1yHeart" and "Co111c into the Garden., 1\1aud,t, ,v hich suddenly took on unbe]ievable in- • decencies. 1'Thcrc/' she cro,vcd~ '~if you can stand that sort of stuff in your homes I don,r think thcre"s anything much \Vrong ,vith 'Ill)' little parcel!""aa She., ,vhom S:trah Bernhardt had called Hthe grc~test 3Ctrcss in England,~~never performed at the ultra-respectable Alhan1bra, ~nd "~hen the first con1mand performance of n1usic-hall stars ,vas given be- fore George Vin 1912, !vlarie,vas not invited. In retaliation she gave a "Popular Demand Perforn1:ance,n for in actuality she ,,,.nsthe people's goddessJ the object of i1 cult that lingers to this dn)7 " As she gre,v older, i\11arie Lloyd dropped the scductivel) 7 · coy pose of her youth and adopted the character of a ,vartn.,boozy house\vife; her last song before her death in I922 distinguished her as "One of the ruins that Crom\vcll knocked abaht 2. bit." It ,vould be an endless task to Iist all the types of songs that soared back and forth over the footlights in the golden age of music-halL 0 n c co n1poser, hauled in to court, inform cd the n1a g istra re that his income ,vas 365 pounds; he cou1d be so precise, he nsscrted, because he \Vrore a song every ro J..Il. Roothi Pink I'flrade (Ne,v York, r 933), p. l 6i. Ilooth \1ras a cofonlnist for The Spo1·1jngTbne.r, kno1vn fron1 the co1or of .itsp3ges ::rnTbe I'i11k ~uv,His nia.ny hooks arc rfoh repository of information on London Jjfc theatrical, sponjng, crin1cnal1 and jol]rnalfatic at the turn of the century. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) Harvard Li hrar 11 B1111eti11 nonsense songs; and ghost songs. Perhaps the n1ostenduring and cbul- lien t of th c.n1 al1 ,vere t l1ose tl 1-at praised the ,vor king n1a.ns nee tar. ",Arf a Pint of AleH and "Beer., Beer, Glorious Beer" could be toasted by the audience in their o,vn elcn1cnt, besides increasing the liquor saIes of the theatre. "f'hcrc ,verc times ,vhen the songs stopped taking th e1nselves seriou sly and latn po on ed their o, vn conv en tio ns; this ,vas especially· true in the case of scntitncnta.l nun1bers ,vhich had Vilorn out their pathos by the turn of the century, and ,vcre parodied by .c.cI-Icavcn \~'ill Protect the ,~./orking Girl' 1 and HYour Baby 1-lusGone Do,vn the Plug Hole/' a-i I n Am er ica > th c ref rain, ''"\¥ ho killcd vaudeville?/' suggests a S\Vift and sudden d em isci but th c end of \Tic toria n n1usic-hall , va s a sl O-\v de- clinc -and fall rather than -an abrupt annihilation. The ·Great ,~rar ma)T be blan1cd for dcstroy·ing the soci'c1lconditions, the highly structured caste syste1n, the econornicprosperity that fostered so 111anynineteenth- century institutions. Although Florrie Forde on the stage of the Pa,TiJionsent the boys off singing "It's a Long ,~lay to Tipperary,' and 1'Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-bag/, there ,vas little assurance that the patrician Berries and plebeian Alf s \Vho coin posed her audience ,vould return. But even before this., the hslls h-ad hcen .su-ffer~ in g from clc p hantia sis.. 7\1u sic-hal L is cssentially a. 111cdi u 111 for songs and their pcrforn1crs, a fran1c,vork for personality expressed through the rendition of a vocal number, increasing the intin1acy bet,veen ar- tiste and auditor ancl forn1ing a vital bond that charged this 1ncdiu1n , vith its particular electricit.y. Yet the managers had been cxpandin g their bills ,vith a hyperthyroid compound of trained .sca]s~acrobats, Chinese 111agicians,vcntriloguistsi living statuar} 7 (1nore cultured than the .old ''Poses plasti q u es''), -and sirn i Ia r i111pediment-a.. Beerbohm mourned, ''The magic had fled - the dear old magic of the unity~ the 1nonotony., if you ,vill- of song after song after song~good, bad, and indifferent, but all fusing one ,,,.ith another and cumularjve1)7 in- !-L A1r. Pun c/J "'s j\ 1otl el }d usi c-Hall Songs m,d D rmuas by F.. A nstcy ( London, 1891) lampoons each ,·aricty uf nlus.k-lrnll number., unde.r these hc~dings: The 1 Patriotic C-'On th-c: Chcap!' ) 1 ,..fhe ,..rop,~al-Polidcal C'Bet\,·een You and J\.1e- and the Postln). A l)en1ocradc Dittr (' 1Gi1i·en A,r~-}' ~,,·ith 2- Pound of Tcl"'t)., The IdylUc ccsoShy P' )i The An1atory Episode C'1\1ashed b}' a lvfarchjoncsstj )t The Chiva1ruus (''\'-'hr Sbo u I dn' t the Darlings? rt) , The Fran kl y Cc111a1!le ( "Th~ Poor O] d ~orse .,,) , The Dramatic Scena {'·The Dn n ger of !1.-1ixcd D rin ksi i) , The Du eni~ts 11 (''Rhino! ) , J) isinter-estcd Passion {''Only a Litt1 e Pl eheian !'') 1 '"fh c Pancgy tic Pa ttcr 1 f 'The Joys of the Seaside '), rrhe PlainthTcly P:athetic ('Cl'hc Night-light E,Ter Rurn- ing by the R cd, 1) , and the l\.iiLiui.ryI rtlperson ator ( ~'In the Gu.1rds! ~,}. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) A Brief Life aud Tbner of the Victorian A111sic-l-Inll 397 stilling a sense of"deep beatitude - a strangct s,vcct f orctaste of Nir- v~1H1.'" Ge.orgc Garnblc, ,vriting around the heyday of the halls, Jooked fonvard to an age ,vhcn vulgarity ,vould be banished and the music-hall ,vould be the repository of "cultured., s\vcct,. riant graceful music""013 and intelligent, reliable gaiety; in short, he sought an art- forn1 that ,vas the opposite of n1usic-halL His vision ,vas f ulfillcd by the pallid, charming, oh-so-sophistic:tted revue of the early t,vcnticth century. But by that tin1c the co1nn1on n1an had started going to the n1ovicsfor his am1.1sen1cnt,solace and~ I fear - stultification; or8nge pop replacing beer, and a glazed passivity taking over from enthused . . . pa rtl Cl patl O11, In his ess·ayon J\1arie I...Joyd,T .. S~Eliot vic,ved the situation ,vitb alarn1: The ,vorking man \\'ho \\ 1 cnt to the 1nusic-lrnlland sffw·l\1arie 1....loyd and j ojn~d in the chorus v~.rashin1se1f performing part of the act; he "r~:s engaged in that coHaboration of the audience ,vjth the artist ,vhich is necessary to ~ll art 1 n1ost olnTiou~ly in dramatic art. He \'V.iHno,v go to the cinema., ,vhere his mind is lul1cd by continuous scnsckss 1nusic and conrinuous action too rapid for the brain to act upon, and 1vHlreceivej ,vithout ghTing, in the s-a1nclistless apathy ,vi th ,v hich the n1id die and upper clnsses regard any en tcrtaj ntn en t of the nature of :.1rt. He ,vjll also h~ve !ost soinc of his interest in life.-87 Today the music-hall js not quite gone and not quite forgotten. I am not referring to the L3tC Joys cabaret or other retrospective revues \vhich sprout occasionally and retain an clcn1cnt of charade as off.shoots of the Ed \V~rdianrevival. I xef er to son1ething less obvious 2nd con- trived, but more lasting,.for it is no great ,vonder that the pop group Hern1anJ.s I-Iermits could .make a sn1ash hit out of I1arry Cha111pion,s old standby "f'rn Henery the Eighth, I a111"'~or that Ilarbra Streisand should choose to record l\1aric lJoyd"ls c,atchy ~~l\1y-Old J\1.~nSaid Follo\v the ,, an~1 or that the highpoint of Noel Co,vard's ,vcary musi- cal The Girl TTT!JoCn,ne to Supper should have been Tessie o~Shea in a suit of pc::1r1iesbelting out coster tuncs/ 18 These songs hilvc n pro- found appeal heca.use they sprang from comn1on soi1 and spoke directly- to their original audiences. 1 (I!) Bccrhohtn, '1\·Iuslc hallsof my youtht op+cit.1 p. 44. :tai George G'J.mbl<\ '[Chiefly Concerning the i\·1usic Halls,,,. Tbr: uHnlh't (London 1 n.d. [ c. 1905] )t p. 46. ;r, T+ S. Eliot, i 'J\1a:rj e Ll oyd/1 [ 1913 J S dee ted Prose., c Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) 39 8 Harvard Library Bulleti11 A fe,v years ago I ,vent ton pub called The Iron Bridge on a Saturday night in the East End of London. \ 1\lith ,vugc packets to spend and a good deal of drinking to do before tl1e barn1an called., ''Tin1e., gentle- men,', a large cro\vd ,vas packed into a s1nall space, l\1alcbolgean in its heat and smol Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971) CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE CliARJ 1 ES BERL IN is L ce I'd. Fried n1an Bibliographer in Ju daica in th c Harvard College Library and heads the Library,s I·Icbrc,v Divjsion. His Han~~rd dis- serration ( 1963:) ,vas an edidon of Seder Eliyyabu Z11taiby E1ijahhen Elknnah Capsali. D UKCA N 1ST Ji".S teaches at Birkb eek Coll cg c of the Uni irersity of London; his "J Richardson~ and 7 1/Je Feumle Quixoten appears in the ne\V edition of Tbe Fen1ale-Quixote ( ed. l\1. Dalzcl) th~t \\' RoGER, V. PEA TTI E is A..ssistant Prof c.ssor of En g1ish at the Univ crsi ty of Calgary-. LAu RENCE SENELICK is Assistant Prof cssor of Eng1 ish at Enl crso n College in Ilostont Artistic Ojrcctor of the Harv'1rd Producing Organiz-ationi and Editor of Dickens Studies. i\1Rs. i\1ILADA SoucKov~t continues a part-ti1ne association ,,rith the S]a.vic Di- vision of the I-Iarv~rd College Library d~spitc 1·ctirc1ncnt and a recent appoint- ment as \lisiting Professor of Czech and Slovak Literature at the University of Chicago. She is the author of several volumes of poetry and of litcr.iry history, including A Literary Sntellite; Czecboslovak-RussirrnLiterary Re/atio11si"rhich ,vas pubHshedby the U nivcrsity of Chicagu Press jn l 970. 444 Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 4 (October 1971)