Dear All

I am now 400 miles south and reunited with my books.

In "The Story of Unity Theatre" (Lawrence and Wishart 1989) by Colin Chambers details are given of the activities of the "Outside Show Group" later called the "Mobile Group" of Unity. They provided entertainment in the shelters, particularly the deep tube stations which, after civil disobeience forced the authorites to allow their use, sheltered Londoners during nighttime air raids in World War II.

I quote exactly from page 200

" Shows for labour-movement or left-wing organisations had to offer entertainement with political bite whereas in shelters the performers had to rely on creating an immediate rapport with an audience who had not chosen to be entertained. Unity had to become popular in the simplest meaning of the word and siongs were usually the key like, for example, "The Landlord's Song" by Woof and van Phillips which was recorded by Topic Records with Alfie Bass singing.

So pity the downtrodden landlord
And his back that is burdened and bent,
Respect his grey hairs, don't ask for repairs
And don't be behind with the rent.8"

A footnote 8 states

"Published by the Workers' Music Assocation and available in the Britsh Theatre Association Library....."

We do not got a copy of this song other than in "The People's Song Book" where the music is of course attributed to Arnold Clayton. Van (first name) Phillips was a long time collaborator with my father writing the music for many of his lyrics.

I posted that I was intending to access the published sheet music for the song in the Unity Theatre Archive but yesterday it was reported in a London evening paper that the Theatre Musuem in Covent Garden which now houses the archive is closing immediately due to lack of funds and the theatrical archives are to be moved - how long will that take?

Re the different verses, my brother has a strong recall of the "day's work would kill" one and we are both certain that the thunder clouds verse was in the original. It would be good to be able to access the WMA version. I will make enquiries of the Victoria and Albert Museum - an instituion I know and love but which is unfortunately responsible for the closure of the Theatre Museum. It will be housing the archive somewhere on it's South Kensington site, according to the newspaper report

"The People's Songbook" gives the dates the WMA copyright as 1946 but, if it was being sung in the shelters, it was clearly penned well before that date.

By the time it appeared in the songbook in 1948 it seems to have been well rooted in the tenants' movement. The introduction says
"This song, which originated in England during World War II, was caught up by thousands of United States tenants threatend with eviction when congress lifted rent controls."

Does anybody have information about those times relating specifically to the song?

Yours

The Lyricist's Daughter