Alan B

I hope that this extremely long post may help with your original query my friend, and NO I didn't sit up all night writing it: it was compiled for an original query made from my American Music List in 2002!

Take care now.

Ragamuffin Brian

Picking Up The Musical Threads!!!

To be a true Londoner - A Cockney, you have to be born within hearing distance of the bells of St. Mary Le Bow, Cheapside, in the City of London.


Cockney Rabbit or talk originated as a secret way of communicating by costermongers when carrying out illegal street trade in the mid-nineteenth century
Cockneys are known for their eloquent wit. Their gift for phrase making and nicknaming has enriched the English tongue with new forms of speech; clichés and catchwords that have not only been diffused through the housing estates of East London but have proliferated many, many miles out of earshot of the sound of Bow Bells around the English speaking world.
Some slang has become part of everyday speech and many Londoners wouldn't realise they are using it. Some slang is shortened to use only the first part of the rhyme, as in `butchers hook' means `look' as used in the sentence `Let's have a Butchers' meaning `let's have a look'. Modern phrases in everyday usage include `leave it out' means something like 'don't be silly'; 'gercha!' means anything from 'you liar' to 'go away'; 'give us a bell' means 'phone me'; 'geeing up' is teasing; 'old man/woman' is father/rnother or husband/wife; 'old geezer' is an old man; 'straight up' means 'honestly'; 'hang about' means 'hold on'; 'give it some stick' is to perform strenuously; 'what's the damage?' means 'how much?'; 'you're not on !' means, 'the answer is definitely NO !'.
New slang is being constantly manufactured and there are variants, sometimes funny and apt, occasionally vulgar and of uncertain origin, but still adding to the power or variety of the English language.
This is one example of the use of traditional Cockney rhyming slang ...
`Ullo, mate. Come in awf (out) of de frog an' toad (road) an' 'ave a cuppa Rosie (cup of tea). It's on de Cain an'Abel (table). But wipe yer plates o' meat (feet) 'cos de ol' trouble an' strife (wife)'s just scrubbed de Rory O'More (floor). She's up de apples an' pears (upstairs) 'avin' a bo-peep (sleep). I'm still on de cob an coal, (dole). Get into that lion's lair (chair) and let's chew the fat (have a chat).'
A response .... 'hey, gerrahvit (get out of it). It's a lowerol rubbish that slang stuff. I've lived in Hackney all me life, and I've yet to hear anyone say `come in awf of de frog an' toad', when they mean out of the the road. That stuff is for tourists!

Pearly Kings and Queens

Pearly Kings and Queens were an `aristocracy' of Victorian London costermongers. Their ceremonial clothes were studded with a countless lavish collection of pearl buttons.
Victorian costermongers, earned their living selling fruit and vegetables from a barrow. Pearly Kings and Queens were originally elected to safeguard their rights from competitors. Today they devote their activities to charitable activities.
The tradition of London's Pearly Kings and Queens began in Victorian times when a young orphan boy, Henry Croft, decided that since he shared his birthdate with Queen Victoria in the hope that he might share some of her glory ! The Royal Family would parade in their finery in the London parks on Sundays so that the common people could appreciate their grandeur. This sentiment was not always well received and there was a certain amount of "lampooning" of this tradition in the poor mans favourite entertainment of the day - The Music Hall.

What is/was Music Hall?

In the early part of the 19th century, tavern landlords, seeking to draw custom, would hire song and dance acts, introducing them in turn from in front of a simple stage and trying to keep order with the gavel. Meanwhile the audience, boisterous with alcohol, heckled and joined in with their favorite performers and songs.
The phenomenon spread rapidly across Britain, creating great reputations and quick fortunes. Almost any building that could hold an audience was pressed into service. At its peak, in the 1880s, music hall was the TV of its day. Hundreds operated in London alone, and most city dwellers visited them every week.


Stars such as the suggestive Marie Lloyd, and the male impersonator Vesta Tilley were enormously popular in a way it is hard to believe now. Songs were written specially for them, and their permission would have to be sought if other performers wanted to sing them in public.
The fame of British Music Hall performers spread across Europe. The young Stravinsky even wrote a string quartet in honour of Little Tich, a diminutive comedy singer whose trademark four-foot long shoes allowed him to dance hilarious and magical routines onstage.
By the First World War stricter liquor licensing and building laws made it harder to entertain large audiences in a casual way -- the sale of liquor in auditoriums was outlawed in 1902, striking a blow at the very heart of music hall -- and it evolved into to Variety, a larger, if blander for and broader version, although curiously 'variety' had always been a more suitable word anyway. Music Hall as such had all but died.


Though it was not forgotten. In 1936 two young actor/musicians were offered a short lease on premises in London's Covent Garden. They decided to put on a revival of this old proletarian art form. Initially this was for no other reason than an older colleague - an expert of the Music Hall - suggested it. But that's another story...
Music Hall was a vital part of Victorian British life, and almost as important as TV is to ours. For more information, you can contact Daphne Singleton of the British Music Hall Society, on 0171 836 3289.
If you have a specific historical query, write to the Historian:
Max Tyler
British Music Hall Society
76 Royal Close
Chichester, W. Sussex
PO19 2FL
But please enclose an SAE or reply coupons.
He gets several hundred queries a year and postage costs a lot!


The History of Wilton's - London's Oldest Music Hall
The Music Hall Years
Wilton's on Fire
From Music Hall to Mission
Film and TV at Wilton's
The Waste Land
Wilton's Lives Again - Broomhill Opera

The Music Hall Years


Wilton's Music Hall was the first and one of the most successful of London's music halls. Situated in Grace's Alley, just off Cable Street in London's East End, it was opened by John and Ellen Wilton in 1858.
Wilton's had previously been a public house, the 'Prince of Denmark' which had a concert hall where melodramas were performed. Lavish use of mahogany in the tap-room's decoration earned it the name 'The Old Mahogany Bar'. It was still known by this name until well into the 1950s.
Known as "the handsomest room in town" Wilton's was a highly successful music hall for over a quarter of a century. Mirrors covered much of the walls of the main hall, and light was provided by a gas-burning chandelier made from 27,000 cut crystals. (A similar "sunburner" chandelier can still be seen at the restored Gaiety Theatre, Isle of Man.)
Famous performers at Wilton's included George Leybourne ("Champagne Charlie") under the guidance of impresario William Holland ("The British Barnum"). The picture above shows Wiltons in 1871, at the height of its success.
During renovation in 1895 the foundation stone of the music hall was discovered. The inscription on it reads:
The foundation stone of Wilton's Music Hall
was laid by
Ellen, wife of John Wilton
on Thursday the 9th day of December, 1858

To Great Apollo, God of early morn,
Who wakes the song of birds from Eastern sky,
We consecrate this shrine of gentle music;
Music that alternates from smiles to tears;
Smiles emanating from the purest mirth,
And tears of sympathy that speak not sadness.

Wilton's on Fire
In 1877 the building was gutted by fire. A local newspaper reported that, "The Hall presents a scene of utter destruction; here and there a portion of the balcony on either side rests on the tottering pillars underneath, and in other respects the interior is burnt to ashes, nothing but the bare walls remaining".
Undeterred, Wilton refitted the hall, and it was reopened on 16 September 1878. In his journal, Wilton recorded, "What a cheer from a packed auditorium greeted Mr Condell when the band struck up the National Anthem and Mr Estcourt took his place to introduce the artistes."


Earlier quote in part of this article………. "and there was a certain amount of "lampooning" of this tradition in the poor mans favourite entertainment of the day - The Music Hall."

Now, the Cockney is noted, for his spontaneous, quick wit, no better displayed in the writings & performing, of songs & routines in The Old Tyme Music Hall, & this my dear friends, is where an old connection/experience of mine becomes of relevance & value:-
In the 60's I had the wonderful experience of starting, developing & running a Folk Music Club in the South of England, called 'The Jug Of Punch'. One of the 'rare artists' that I had the pleasure of "booking" was a, then young musician called 'John Foreman'. John played a Steel Guitar, a 'Squeeze Box', Harmonica, &, of course, 'The Spoons'. On occasions, & as a rare treat, he would bring along to a gig a miniature 'Music Hall', which would then be setup for a full, end of performance, Shadow Puppet Show, with John providing all of the musical accompaniment, sound effects & Puppet Action……an amazing experience! I recently "dug up" an old L.P. copy of a record titled……The 'Ouses in Between'. What follows is a copy taken from the cover sleeve of this particular recording, & best describes & explains the true tradition of Cockney Music, & how the music of the Cockney was popularized through the Music halls 1890 – through until the Second World War. [Browse & enjoy]!

RY 1004

JOHN FOREMAN
………………….the ou'ses in between.

Cockney songs of vintage have a great charm and staying power. Ask an American tourist what he associates with London, and he'll probably say "the Cockney", and you can't say the word "Cockney" without conjuring up dozens of his songs. They are part of him-they are the Cockney's comment on life, his defiance, his unbeatable courage. He went to war on them, he starved on them in the lean days, he entertained the family with them, he danced to them, and, to the accompaniment of a (usually out-of-tune) piano, he drank to them in his local pub.
"IF THOSE LIPS COULD ONLY SPEAK" was his sob song; "THE 'OUSES IN BETWEEN" his putting-up with-it song-his making-the-best-of-if ballad; "THE AMATEUR WHITEWASHER" a do-it-yourself-to-save-the money song; "DOWN THE ROAD" the tribute to every coster's pony that ever trotted to the Derby.
Fun and poignancy, always the double-edged twins, are the key to these songs-certainly clever songs with clever tunes and clever lyrics, but no one ever thinks of them as songs in that sense. They are ejaculatory bursts of enthusiasm bound up with long and undying devotion to a tune the Cockney always did love: as the Englishman always loves a joke he knows, the Cockney always loves a song he knows. But-more to the point-a song his mum and dad knew.
I know you will love these songs. You will take them to your heart, play them to your friends, you'll try to imitate the inimitable Cockney of John Foreman. pick up his infectious good humour, do a nostalgic "Lambeth Walk" or "Knees up" round your parlour. And unless you're dead, insensitive, cynical or mean (and I know you're not or you wouldn't be about to buy or have this record) you will be caught by the catchiness, the audacity, the cheekiness of an L.P. which owes nothing to the "pop" world, the folk world, the classical world, but yet can be listened to by anyone. It's TAM rating is universal.
JOHN FOREMAN, born near Euston Station, is the son of a London postman, and on his mother's side is a Harper. In spite of the Blitz, he says, he had a happy childhood. There was some theatrical talent in the family: his father's mother, Elsie Naish, danced with and under' studied Adeline Gen6e. Through his mother he is related to Victoria Lytton who, to put it John's way, "worked the halls"; she eventually teamed up with Arthur Cunningham, a noted singer and whistler. His mother's Uncle Charlie, says John, worked as a clown, and his mother's grandfather was a circus ringmaster. John's songs are mostly learned from "Mum and Dad" but he learned a lot from going to places of entertainment, like music-halls, whenever he had a bob or two, also from watching, listening, and performing at London's Unity Theatre. It was there, incidentally, that he learned "THE FOUR-OSS SHARRYBANG" from Laurie Davies. He is married to a dancer, and has two children.
JOHN worked as a doorman at the Metropolitan, Edgware Road, and for a time was a "bottler" with a Punch and Judy man, Professor Alexander. (The "bottler" collects the money, does the front of the house and bangs the drum). He also busked and sold song sheets in Petticoat Lane: he is still known as "the Broadsheet King". The Broadsheets he produces and prints himself.


SIDE ONE

THE FOUR-OSS SHARRYBANG
(Corney Grain)
IF IT WASN'T FOR THE 'OUSES IN BETWEEN
(Le Brunn)
YOUR BABY 'AS GORN DAHN THE PLUG 'OLE
(Spade)
MARRIED TO A MERMAID
(Trad. arr. Farran)
PRETTY POLLY PERKINS
(Trad. arr. Farran)
DON'T GO DOWN THE MINE, DAD
(Geddes)
THE HOB-NAILED BOOTS THAT FARVER WORE
(Weston & Barnes)

SIDE TWO

I LIVE IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE
(Murphy arr. Farran)
DOWN THE ROAD
(Gilbert arr. Farran)
IF THOSE LIPS COULD ONLY SPEAK
(Ridgwell & Godwin)
THE AMATEUR WHITEWASHER
(Murray & Leigh)
VILLIKINS AND HIS DINAH
(Trad. arr. Farran)
THE WINKLE SONG
(Trad. arr. Farran)
CAPTAIN GINJAH, O.T.
(Leigh)



This Is John's background, and he is proud of it, as he is equally proud of the fact that he is a teacher, and has taught in practically every kind of school; is now in Further Education, a profession that leads him into all sorts of hobbies and interests. He is also a founder member of the very recently-formed British Music Hall Society, which puts out records and keeps archives, and he himself has quite a collection of printed material and bills relating to the music-hall, for which he has a very great love. John helped dismantle Collins Music Hall when it was burned down: he has broadcast and televised. Don't ask me where he finds the time to, but he entertains in folk clubs as well-he calls them "the poor man's music-hall," but I think a man who can appreciate the infectious songs of the Cockney music-hall is rich indeed.

Sleeve design: Ray Kinsey                           Photo: James Normington                                  Produced by W. Merrick Farron

REALITY RECORDS LTD., NORTH WATFORD, HERTS.


For more information on the history of The Cockney browse:-

www.cockney.co.uk

For more information on The British Music Hall:-

http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~dumsday/abtmhall.htm