Derek Sculthorpe

The fruit of many years' research, this entertaining study charts the changing fortunes of music hall in Britain during the early twentieth century through the lives and careers of ten artistes.

Each presented some aspect of the national character which made people laugh at themselves. Many, including Lily Morris, Nellie Wallace and Billy Bennett, reached the top of their profession, and even the less well-known performers were once household names. All worked hard to develop their individual acts and found ways to adapt to the massive changes in society wrought by the First World War, the decline of the halls, the advent of variety, and the shifting demands of an increasingly restless population.

Some made a success in revue and others became popular stars of radio. Several of the subjects, such as Norman Long and Charlie Higgins have never been discussed before at such length.

Included are many rare photographs, with full discographies, an extensive catalogue of sheet music and monologues for each individual. With the aim of bringing back to life an era and its people, the book serves as an introduction to the roots of modern entertainment.

First published: Saturday 18th September 2021

A word from Derek Sculthorpe

I had long wanted to write about music hall since the days as a child watching The Good Old Days, recorded incidentally at the City Varieties Theatre in Leeds where I saw many a pantomime as a boy. When I inherited all my grandfather's old records there were lots of gems among them, including comedy items stretching back to music hall days. Through them I was introduced to a lot of names I never heard of before, including Tom Foy and Norman Long, two of the subjects of my book.

At first, I was quite ambitious in my scope for the book, and my plan was to include an example of each kind of act in a typical variety theatre, so I would have a ventriloquist, a magician, a balancing act, a juggler, animal act etc. Unfortunately, I lost a great deal of my research after the computer crashed and the hard drive was irretrievable. After that, I consolidated what I had and added different ones. The result is a cross-section of comedians and comic actors. Many are still probably household names, such as Nellie Wallace, Billy Bennett and Lily Morris. Others are completely obscure, but I hope that makes it a voyage of discovery. I include details of their entire recorded output and even sheet music for those who might be collectors.