The daughter of a fellow band member popped round to my house yesterday - she wanted to find out about some of the music hall material with a view to possibly performing it. I played her some of my records by female performers of the era - some of whom I've mentioned above - and we discussed the ins and outs of the performances.

Two things came across strongly: (a) Most of the performers of the music hall stage played in character - they took on a persona and lived it in their performances, and (b) they had masterly powers of projection, stagecraft, control, presence, etc., at a time when there were no microphones and amplification.

My friend's daughter was awed by these performances - and rightly so, IMO.