73-613: The Royal Grecian Theatre was a music hall theatre, located in the grounds of the Eagle Tavern , a public house at Shepherdess Walk, just off the City Road in Shoreditch , in the East End of London . The Eagle, best known for its association with the nursery rhyme Pop goes the weasel survives (albeit rebuilt), but the theatre does not. The Shepherd and Shepherdess tavern had been built at
146-432: A Thursday evening programme was added to accommodate the crowds. Morton encouraged women to attend the entertainments, giving the venue wider appeal than the old time song and supper rooms, which were male preserves. Entry was free, but the profits from the sale of food and drink allowed the construction of a larger hall on the site of the former skittle alley, at the back of the public house. This 700–seat hall took
219-526: A cinema. The building was badly damaged in the Second World War, and was demolished in 1950. In 1867, he acquired a public house in Villiers Street named "The Arches", under the arches of the elevated railway line leading to Charing Cross station. He opened it as another music hall, known as " Gatti's-in-The-Arches ". After his death his family continued to operate the music hall, known for a period as
292-505: A large hall with tables at which drink was served, changed to that of a drink-free auditorium . The acceptance of music hall as a legitimate cultural form was established by the first Royal Variety Performance before King George V during 1912 at the Palace Theatre. However, consistent with this new respectability the best-known music hall entertainer of the time, Marie Lloyd , was not invited, being deemed too "saucy" for presentation to
365-568: A long arched tunnel under the railway, entertained by an aquarium. In 1861, Blondin walked a tightrope fixed between the balconies of the hall. Their success at the Canterbury allowed Stanley and Morton to build The Oxford, in Holborn , as a competitor to the nearby Weston's Music Hall , opening on 26 March 1861. The pair managed both halls, with acts moving between the halls in coaches. On Boxing Night 1867, William Holland took over management of
438-544: A military recruitment drive. In the guise of characters like 'Tommy in the Trench' and 'Jack Tar Home from Sea', Tilley performed songs such as "The army of today's all right" and "Jolly Good Luck to the Girl who Loves a Soldier". This is how she got the nickname Britain's best recruiting sergeant – young men were sometimes asked to join the army on stage during her show. She also performed in hospitals and sold war bonds . Her husband
511-445: A mixture of popular songs, comedy, speciality acts, and variety entertainment. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place. In North America vaudeville was in some ways analogous to British music hall, featuring rousing songs and comic acts. Originating in saloon bars within pubs during the 1830s, music hall entertainment became increasingly popular with audiences. So much so, that during
584-471: A music hall song consists of a series of verses sung by the performer alone, and a repeated chorus which carries the principal melody, and in which the audience is encouraged to join. Canterbury Music Hall The Canterbury Music Hall was established in 1852 by Charles Morton on the site of a former skittle alley adjacent to the Canterbury Tavern at 143 Westminster Bridge Road , Lambeth . It
657-801: A separate bar-room. Major music halls were based around London. Early examples included: the Canterbury Music Hall in Lambeth , Wilton's Music Hall in Tower Hamlets , and The Middlesex in Drury Lane , otherwise known as the Old Mo. By the mid-19th century, the halls cried out for many new and catchy songs. As a result professional songwriters were enlisted to provide the music for a plethora of star performers, such as Marie Lloyd , Dan Leno , Little Tich , and George Leybourne . All manner of other entertainment
730-537: A show called La Revue Nègre at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées . She became an immediate success for her erotic dancing , and for appearing practically nude on stage. After a successful tour of Europe, she returned to France to star at the Folies Bergère . Baker performed the 'Danse sauvage,' wearing a costume consisting of a skirt made of a string of artificial bananas. The music-halls suffered growing hardships in
803-511: A waitress at the age of 15. Her father John who was a waiter there also secured her an unpaid role as a table singer at the venue. In 1851 Benjamin Conquest became proprietor. The musical directorship of the Grecian changed hands in 1870, general musical director William Edroff died leaving his son Andrew to direct the bands in the ballroom and on the outdoor platform. Edward Barrett, however had been
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#1733085089057876-557: A year after it had first been demonstrated at the Alhambra in Leicester Square . The film programme included Boxers and Lady Gymnast . These early experiments in films were only a partial success. In his autobiography, former Lambeth resident Charlie Chaplin recalls seeing his father, Charles Chaplin Senior, performing at the Canterbury. Later Chaplin, himself, played there. The hall
949-490: A year to build and opened as the Canterbury Hall on 17 May 1852, described as "the most significant date in all the history of music hall". The hall charged a modest admission and looked like most contemporary concert rooms within public houses of the period. It specialised in programmes of light music and ballads. Professional performers could earn high fees, and this attracted performances of selections from opera, including
1022-507: Is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era , beginning around 1850, through the Great War . It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Britain between bold and scandalous music hall entertainment and subsequent, more respectable variety entertainment differ. Music hall involved
1095-493: Is dying, and with it, a significant part of England. Some of the heart of England has gone; something that once belonged to everyone, for this was truly a folk art. Moss Empires , the largest British music hall chain, closed the majority of its theatres in 1960, closely followed by the death of music hall stalwart Max Miller in 1963, prompting one contemporary to write that: "Music-halls ... died this afternoon when they buried Max Miller". Miller himself had sometimes said that
1168-652: The Alhambra (1866), the first to be called a music hall, and the Olympia (1893). The Printania (1903) was a music-garden, open only in summer, with a theater, restaurant, circus, and horse-racing. Older theaters also transformed themselves into music halls, including the Bobino (1873), the Bataclan (1864), and the Alcazar (1858). At the beginning, music halls offered dance reviews, theater and songs, but gradually songs and singers became
1241-538: The Champs-Élysées , was frequented by the upper and lower classes alike. He persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness. Leplée taught her the basics of stage presence and told her to wear a black dress, which became her trademark apparel. Leplée ran an intense publicity campaign leading up to her opening night, attracting the presence of many celebrities, including Maurice Chevalier. Her nightclub appearance led to her first two records produced that same year, and
1314-630: The City Road in east London. According to John Hollingshead , proprietor of the Gaiety Theatre, London (originally the Strand Music Hall), this establishment was "the father and mother, the dry and wet nurse of the Music Hall". Later known as the Grecian Theatre, it was here that Marie Lloyd made her début at the age of 14 in 1884. It is still famous because of an English nursery rhyme, with
1387-719: The Coal Hole in The Strand , the Cyder Cellars in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden and the Mogul Saloon in Drury Lane . The music hall as we know it developed from such establishments during the 1850s and were built in and on the grounds of public houses. Such establishments were distinguished from theatres by the fact that in a music hall you would be seated at a table in the auditorium and could drink alcohol and smoke tobacco whilst watching
1460-600: The Cremorne Gardens . These latter became subject to urban development and became fewer and less popular. From the mid-19th century music halls spread to the provincial cities, such as Bristol. The saloon was a room where for an admission fee or a greater price at the bar, singing, dancing, drama or comedy was performed. The most famous London saloon of the early days was the Grecian Saloon , established in 1825, at The Eagle (a former tea-garden), 2 Shepherdess Walk, off
1533-456: The Grecian Saloon , was built in its grounds. The saloon was rebuilt in 1841, becoming a theatre proper. It received a licence in 1858, and became the Royal Grecian . Alterations in 1858 made it a 2500-seat theatre. In 1877 a new 4000-seat theatre was built on the site of the old ballroom. The Eagle's influence on the Music Hall genre was profound, being described as: The father and mother,
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#17330850890571606-628: The Metropolitan Board of Works and London County Council , and because of commercial competition between popular large suburban halls and the smaller venues, which put the latter out of business. A few of the UK's music halls have survived and have retained many of their original features. Among the best examples are: A new era of variety theatre was developed by the rebuilding of the London Pavilion in 1885. Contemporary accounts noted: Hitherto
1679-500: The New Canterbury Hall . The building had a grand entrance with extensive windows and a glazed roof that could be withdrawn to let the cigar and pipe smoke out. The bar was installed on a balcony over the hall, reached by ascending a grand staircase. The fittings were luxurious, with chandeliers and painted walls. At the end of the main hall there was a simple stage with a grand piano and harmonium to provide entertainment between
1752-653: The Palace Theatre of Varieties , managed by Charles Morton . Denied by the newly created LCC permission to construct the promenade, which was such a popular feature of the Empire and Alhambra, the Palace compensated in the way of adult entertainment by featuring apparently nude women in tableaux vivants , though the concerned LCC hastened to reassure patrons that the girls who featured in these displays were actually wearing flesh-toned body stockings and were not naked at all. One of
1825-463: The 'Old Mo', it was built on the site of the Mogul Saloon. Later converted into a theatre it was demolished in 1965. The New London Theatre stands on its site. Several large music halls were built in the East End . These included the London Music Hall, otherwise known as The Shoreditch Empire, 95–99 Shoreditch High Street , (1856–1935). This theatre was rebuilt during 1894 by Frank Matcham ,
1898-424: The 1850s a distinct musical style. Subject matter became more contemporary and humorous, and accompaniment was provided by larger house-orchestras, as increasing affluence gave the lower classes more access to commercial entertainment, and to a wider range of musical instruments, including the piano. The consequent change in musical taste from traditional to more professional forms of entertainment, arose in response to
1971-404: The 1850s some public houses were demolished, and specialised music hall theatres developed in their place. These theatres were designed chiefly so that people could consume food and alcohol and smoke tobacco in the auditorium while the entertainment took place, with the cheapest seats located in the gallery. This differed from the conventional type of theatre, which seats the audience in stalls with
2044-562: The 1930s. The Olympia was converted into a movie theater, and others closed. Others however continued to thrive. In 1937 and 1930, the Casino de Paris presented shows with Maurice Chevalier , who had already achieved success as an actor and singer in Hollywood . In 1935, a twenty-year old singer named Édith Piaf was discovered in the Pigalle by nightclub owner Louis Leplée , whose club, Le Gerny, off
2117-707: The Canterbury Arms, in Upper Marsh, Lambeth, in 1849. Morton was experienced in presenting 'Gentlemen Only' entertainments in his other pubs, and he had been impressed with the entertainments at Evans Music-and-Supper Rooms in Covent Garden and decided to offer a harmonic meeting , held on Saturdays, in the back room of the public house. He brought in smart tables, with candlesticks, allowing audiences to sit and eat comfortably while watching concerts known as 'Sing-Songs' or 'Free and Easys' on Mondays and Saturdays. Soon,
2190-435: The Canterbury and refurbished the hall at considerable cost. When informed that his purchase of a 1,000 Guinea carpet was too good for his clientele, he invited them "to come in and spit on it". Further popularity accrued to the venue when classical music was removed from the bill and George Leybourne was engaged at £ 20 a week as lion comique . Leybourne remained top of the bill for some twenty years, before succumbing to
2263-602: The Casino de Paris in 1895, and continued to appear regularly in the 1920s and 1930s at the Folies Bergère , Moulin Rouge and Eldorado. Her risqué routines captivated Paris, and she became one of the most highly-paid and popular French entertainers of her time. One of the most popular entertainers in Paris during the period was the American singer Josephine Baker . Baker sailed to Paris, France. She first arrived in Paris in 1925 to perform in
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2336-585: The Hungerford or Gatti's Hungerford Palace of Varieties. It became a cinema in 1910, and the Players' Theatre in 1946. By 1865, there were 32 music halls in London seating between 500 and 5,000 people plus an unknown, but large, number of smaller venues. Numbers peaked in 1878, with 78 large music halls in the metropolis and 300 smaller venues. Thereafter numbers declined due to stricter licensing restrictions imposed by
2409-427: The acts. The 'chairman' sat on the stage, introduced the acts, provided his own 'patter' and exhorted the patrons to drink. The entrance fee was 6 pence downstairs, and 9 pence upstairs. Customers sat at small tables, and waiters brought food and drink to them. The 1859 expansion of the viaducts carrying trains to Waterloo railway station separated the theatre entrance from the auditorium, and patrons entered through
2482-647: The architect of the Hackney Empire . Another in this area was the Royal Cambridge Music Hall, 136 Commercial Street (1864–1936). Designed by William Finch Hill (the designer of the Britannia theatre in nearby Hoxton), it was rebuilt after a fire in 1898. The construction of Weston's Music Hall , High Holborn (1857), built up on the site of the Six Cans and Punch Bowl Tavern by the licensed victualler of
2555-412: The attention of an often jaded and unruly urban audience. In America, from the 1840s, Stephen Foster had reinvigorated folk song with the admixture of Negro spiritual to produce a new type of popular song. Songs like " Old Folks at Home " (1851) and " Oh, Dem Golden Slippers " (James Bland, 1879]) spread round the globe, taking with them the idiom and appurtenances of the minstrel song. Typically,
2628-512: The beginning of her career. Competition from movies and television largely brought an end to the Paris music hall. However, a few still flourish, with tourists as their primary audience. Major music halls include the Folies-Bergere , Crazy Horse Saloon , Casino de Paris , Olympia , and Moulin Rouge . The musical forms most associated with music hall evolved in part from traditional folk song and songs written for popular drama, becoming by
2701-618: The crowds, including the Prince of Wales . In 1877, the Queen's theatre in Long Acre and the Canterbury were joined by overhead wires, and public demonstrations of the Cromwell Varley telephone were given. Several simple tunes were transmitted and emitted softly from a large drum-like apparatus suspended over the proscenium. Robert W. Paul 's Theatrograph was used at the theatre from 27 April 1896,
2774-507: The dry and wet nurse of Music Hall In 1882 the buildings were put up for auction by the owner, T. G. Clark, who had in turn purchased it from George Conquest in 1879. The premises were bought by the Salvation Army . The theatre was demolished in 1900 and the Eagle rebuilt. The Eagle pub, which is still in business. Marie Lloyd , known as the Queen of the Music Hall , worked at the Eagle as
2847-450: The effects of the champagne he promoted here under the guise of " Champagne Charlie ". R. E. Villiers took over the management in 1876 and spent £40,000 to enlarge the theatre. He reintroduced a popular ballet item featuring the dancers Phyllis Broughton and Florence Powell. Topical ballets, such as Plevna and Trafalgar (both by the Belgian choreographer Henri Leopold De Winne), drew in
2920-565: The first performances of Jacques Offenbach 's music in England. The venture was profitable, and a new theatre was built in 1856, of unprecedented size, seating 1,500. In order not to interrupt the flow of profits, the theatre was constructed around the walls of the 1852 hall, and when it was complete, the old building within was demolished in a single weekend. This new theatre was the first purpose-built tavern music hall and opened in December 1856, as
2993-500: The form of variety, and many music hall performers failed to make the transition. They were deemed old-fashioned, and with the closure of many halls, music hall entertainment ceased and modern-day variety began. Music-halls had their origins in 18th century London. They grew with the entertainment provided in the new style saloon bars of pubs during the 1830s. These venues replaced earlier semi-rural amusements provided by fairs and suburban pleasure gardens such as Vauxhall Gardens and
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3066-425: The genre would die with him. Many music hall performers, unable to find work, fell into poverty; some did not even have a home, having spent their working lives living in digs between performances. Stage and film musicals, however, continued to be influenced by the music hall idiom, including Oliver! , Dr Dolittle and My Fair Lady . The BBC series The Good Old Days , which ran for thirty years, recreated
3139-551: The gramophone damaged its popularity greatly. It now had to compete with jazz , swing and big band dance music. Licensing restrictions also changed its character. In 1914, the London County Council (LCC) enacted that drinking be banished from the auditorium into a separate bar and, during 1923, the separate bar was abolished by parliamentary decree. The exemption of the theatres from this latter act prompted some critics to denounce this legislation as an attempt to deprive
3212-574: The grandest of these new halls was the Coliseum Theatre built by Oswald Stoll in 1904 at the bottom of St Martin's Lane . This was followed by the London Palladium (1910) in Argyll Street . Both were designed by the prolific Frank Matcham . As music hall grew in popularity and respectability, and as the licensing authorities exercised ever firmer regulation, the original arrangement of
3285-608: The halls had borne unmistakeable evidence of their origins, but the last vestiges of their old connections were now thrown aside, and they emerged in all the splendour of their new-born glory. The highest efforts of the architect, the designer and the decorator were enlisted in their service, and the gaudy and tawdry music hall of the past gave way to the resplendent "theatre of varieties" of the present day, with its classic exterior of marble and freestone, its lavishly appointed auditorium and its elegant and luxurious foyers and promenades brilliantly illuminated by myriad electric lights One of
3358-731: The leader of the theatre orchestra. Barrett's son Oscar took over music for the dramas and pantomimes in 1870. The nursery rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel refers to the old tavern: Up and down the City road, In and out the Eagle, That’s the way the money goes, Pop goes the weasel. The pub features in Charles Dickens Sketches by Boz , when the Eagle is visited by Jemima Evans and Samuel Wilkins. 51°31′41.87″N 0°5′30.6″W / 51.5282972°N 0.091833°W / 51.5282972; -0.091833 Music hall Music hall
3431-553: The main attraction. Paris music halls all faced stiff competition in the interwar period from the most popular new form of entertainment, the cinema . They responded by offering more complex and lavish shows. In 1911, the Olympia had introduced the giant stairway as a set for its productions, an idea copied by other music halls. Gaby Deslys rose in popularity and created, with her dance partner Harry Pilcer , her most famous dance The Gaby Glide . The singer Mistinguett made her debut
3504-448: The main demands, including a minimum wage and maximum working week for musicians. Several music hall entertainers such as Marie Dainton , Marie Lloyd , Arthur Roberts , Joe Elvin and Gus Elen were strong advocates of the strike, though they themselves earned enough not to be concerned personally in a material sense. Lloyd explained her advocacy: We (the stars) can dictate our own terms. We are fighting not for ourselves, but for
3577-515: The mid-1950s, rock and roll , whose performers initially topped music hall bills, attracted a young audience who had little interest in the music hall acts, while driving the older audience away. The final demise was competition from television, which grew popular after the Queen's coronation was televised. Some music halls tried to retain an audience by putting on striptease acts. In 1957, the playwright John Osborne delivered this elegy: The music hall
3650-571: The monarchy. The development of syndicates controlling a number of theatres, such as the Stoll circuit, increased tensions between employees and employers. On 22 January 1907, a dispute between artists, stage hands and managers of the Holborn Empire worsened. Strikes in other London and suburban halls followed, organised by the Variety Artistes' Federation. The strike lasted for almost two weeks and
3723-498: The most famous of these new palaces of pleasure in the West End was the Empire, Leicester Square , built as a theatre in 1884 but acquiring a music hall licence in 1887. Like the nearby Alhambra this theatre appealed to the men of leisure by featuring alluring ballet dancers, and had a notorious promenade which was the resort of courtesans. Another spectacular example of the new variety theatre
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#17330850890573796-514: The music hall for the modern audience, and the Paul Daniels Magic Show allowed several speciality acts a television presence from 1979 to 1994. Aimed at a younger audience, but still owing a lot to the music hall heritage, was the late-1970s’ television series, The Muppet Show . The music hall was first imported into France in its British form in 1862, but under the French law protecting
3869-467: The new roles women were taking in society. Possibly the most notorious of music hall songs from the First World War was " Oh! It's a lovely war " ( 1917 ), popularised by male impersonator Ella Shields . Music hall continued during the interwar period , no longer the single dominant form of popular entertainment in Britain. The improvement of cinema, the development of radio, and the cheapening of
3942-416: The nineteenth century, the first purpose-built music halls were being built in London. The halls created a demand for new and catchy popular songs, that could no longer be met from the traditional folk song repertoire. Professional songwriters were enlisted to fill the gap. The emergence of a distinct music hall style can be credited to a fusion of musical influences. Music hall songs needed to gain and hold
4015-418: The other. The halls had recovered by the start of the First World War and were used to stage charity events in aid of the war effort. Music hall entertainment continued after the war, but became less popular due to upcoming jazz , swing , and big-band dance music acts. Licensing restrictions had also changed, and drinking was banned from the auditorium. A new type of music hall entertainment had arrived, in
4088-466: The poorer members of the profession, earning thirty shillings to £3 a week. For this they have to do double turns, and now matinées have been added as well. These poor things have been compelled to submit to unfair terms of employment, and I mean to back up the federation in whatever steps are taken. World War I may have been the high-water mark of music hall popularity. The artists and composers threw themselves into rallying public support and enthusiasm for
4161-549: The premises, Henry Weston, signalled that the West End was fruitful territory for the music hall. During 1906 it was rebuilt as a variety theatre and renamed as the Holborn Empire . It was closed as a result of German action in the Blitz on the night of 11–12 May 1941 and the building was pulled down in 1960. Significant West End music halls include: Other large suburban music halls included: A noted music hall entrepreneur of this time
4234-465: The rapid industrialisation and urbanisation of previously rural populations during the Industrial Revolution . The newly created urban communities, cut off from their cultural roots, required new and readily accessible forms of entertainment. Music halls were originally tavern rooms which provided entertainment, in the form of music and speciality acts, for their patrons. By the middle years of
4307-482: The show. In a theatre, by contrast, the audience was seated in stalls and there was a separate bar-room. An exception to this rule was the Britannia Theatre , Hoxton (1841) which somehow managed to evade this regulation and served drinks to its customers. Though a theatre rather than a music hall, this establishment later hosted music-hall variety acts. The establishment often regarded as the first true music hall
4380-412: The site sometime prior to 1745, in what was then a rural part of the parish of Shoreditch. Invalids would stay at the tavern to benefit from the pure country air. The tavern was popular for cream cakes and furmety . Shepherdess Walk is likely to take its name from the old tavern. the tavern was demolished in the 1820s. The Eagle Tavern was built on the site in the 1820s, and in 1832 a pavilion, known as
4453-488: The somewhat mysterious lyrics: Up and down the City Road In and out The Eagle That's the way the money goes Pop goes the weasel . Another famous "song and supper" room of this period was Evans Music-and-Supper Rooms , 43 King Street, Covent Garden , established in the 1840s by W.H. Evans. This venue was also known as 'Evans Late Joys' – Joy being the name of the previous owner. Other song and supper rooms included
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#17330850890574526-416: The state theatres, performers could not wear costumes or recite dialogue, something only allowed in theaters. When the law changed in 1867, the Paris music hall flourished, and a half-dozen new halls opened, offering acrobats, singers, dancers, magicians, and trained animals. The first Paris music hall built specially for that purpose was the Folies-Bergere (1869); it was followed by the Moulin Rouge (1889),
4599-453: The war effort. Patriotic music hall compositions such as "Keep the Home Fires Burning" ( 1914 ), "Pack up Your Troubles" ( 1915 ), " It's a Long Way to Tipperary " ( 1914 ) and " We Don't Want to Lose You (But We Think You Ought To Go) " ( 1914 ), were sung by music hall audiences, and sometimes by soldiers in the trenches. Many songs promoted recruitment ("All the boys in khaki get the nice girls", 1915); others satirised particular elements of
4672-516: The war experience. "What did you do in the Great war, Daddy" ( 1919 ) criticised profiteers and slackers; Vesta Tilley 's "I've got a bit of a blighty one" ( 1916 ) showed a soldier delighted to have a wound just serious enough to be sent home. The rhymes give a sense of grim humour ("When they wipe my face with sponges / and they feed me on blancmanges / I'm glad I've got a bit of a blighty one"). Tilley became more popular than ever during this time, when she and her husband, Walter de Frece , managed
4745-477: The working classes of their pleasures, as a form of social control, whilst sparing the supposedly more responsible upper classes who patronised the theatres (though this could be due to the licensing restrictions brought about due to the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 , which also applied to public houses). Even so, the music hall gave rise to such major stars as George Formby , Gracie Fields , Max Miller , Will Hay , and Flanagan and Allen during this period. In
4818-469: Was Carlo Gatti who built a music hall, known as Gatti's, at Hungerford Market in 1857. He sold the music hall to South Eastern Railway in 1862, and the site became Charing Cross railway station . With the proceeds from selling his first music hall, Gatti acquired a restaurant in Westminster Bridge Road , opposite The Canterbury music hall. He converted the restaurant into a second Gatti's music hall, known as "Gatti's-in-the-Road", in 1865. It later became
4891-452: Was knighted in 1919 for his own services to the war effort, and Tilley became Lady de Frece. Once the reality of war began to sink home, the recruiting songs all but disappeared – the Greatest Hits collection for 1915 published by top music publisher Francis and Day contains no recruitment songs. After conscription was brought in 1916, songs dealing with the war spoke mostly of the desire to return home. Many also expressed anxiety about
4964-469: Was known as the Music Hall War . It became extremely well known, and was advocated enthusiastically by the main spokesmen of the trade union and Labour movement – Ben Tillett and Keir Hardie for example. Picket lines were organized outside the theatres by the artistes, while in the provinces theatre management attempted to oblige artistes to sign a document promising never to join a trade union. The strike ended in arbitration, which satisfied most of
5037-418: Was of then unprecedented size. It was further extended in 1859, later rebuilt as a variety theatre and finally destroyed by German bombing in 1942. The Canterbury Hall became a model for music halls in other cities too, such as the Bristol Canterbury, which was built in 1850s as the first purpose-built music hall in the city. Another early music hall was The Middlesex, Drury Lane (1851). Popularly known as
5110-444: Was one of the first purpose-built music halls in London , and "probably the largest and grandest concert-room ever attached to a public house" in London. Morton came to be dubbed the Father of the Halls as hundreds of imitators were built within the next several years. The theatre was rebuilt three times, and the last theatre on the site was destroyed by bombing in 1942. Morton and Frederick Stanley, his brother in law, purchased
5183-459: Was performed: male and female impersonators, lions comiques , mime artists and impressionists, trampoline acts, and comic pianists (such as John Orlando Parry and George Grossmith ) were just a few of the many types of entertainments the audiences could expect to find over the next forty years. The Music Hall Strike of 1907 was an important industrial conflict. It was a dispute between artists and stage hands on one hand, and theatre managers on
5256-596: Was the Canterbury , 143 Westminster Bridge Road , Lambeth built by Charles Morton , afterwards dubbed "the Father of the Halls", on the site of a skittle alley next to his pub, the Canterbury Tavern. It opened on 17 May 1852 and was described by the musician and author Benny Green as being "the most significant date in all the history of music hall". The hall looked like most contemporary pub concert rooms, but its replacement in 1854
5329-700: Was the Tivoli in the Strand built 1888–90 in an eclectic neo-Romanesque style with Baroque and Moorish-Indian embellishments. " The Tivoli " became a brand name for music-halls all over the British Empire. During 1892, the Royal English Opera House, which had been a financial failure in Shaftesbury Avenue , applied for a music hall licence and was converted by Walter Emden into a grand music hall and renamed
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