Under the Arches

Walter Sickert painted there; Kipling could see it from his window; Ada Reeve reminesced about it and many great stars appeared there.  Gatti's at Charing Cross was one of the most popular London music-halls.

Variously called 'The Hungerford', 'Gatti's in the Arches' and simply 'Gatti's', the theatre was originally a restaurant.  Carlo Gatti launched it as a music-hall in 1867.  It was built into a 250-foot arch underneath the South-Eastern railway station near Charing Cross.  The old theatre, which was one of the most vulgar music-halls of the day, could hold 600 people when it was filled to capacity.

Ada Reeve and Katie Lawrence were just some of the many stars who appeared here in the late 1800'
s.  They scandalised audiences by dressing up in men's outfits and singing risque songs.

I learned about Gatti's because I recently saw Sickert's painting, Katie Lawrence at Gatti's, in the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Ada Reeve Talks About Gatti's

Syria Lamonte, An Australian Opera Singer

A young barmaid working at Rules Restaurant in London was invited to make the first recording on flat disc for His Master's Voice. She had an excellent and large soprano voice. The year was 1898 and the song was 'Coming Through The Rye'. Her name was Syria Lamonte and she was an Australian opera singer. (Please see Tony Locantro's note).

This is the myth. Syria Lamonte worked as a singer at the restaurant, not a barmaid. She is probably turning in her grave at the very thought!

Born in Sydney, Lamonte was trained in opera by two highly skilled teachers, Madame Chambers and Signor Checi. They also taught Nellie Melba. The young and beautiful soprano soon started getting musical engagements. She sang at the Tivoli in Sydney at the beginning of her career. The Sydney Morning Herald described Lamonte as having 'a fine soprano voice.'

Lamonte sang in various opera companies in Australia and visited many capitals and country towns. According to The Brisbane Courier, she made 'a very favourable impression' in the opera 'In Town' and 'her vivacious singing of 'The Gay Parisian' was warmly applauded.'

The young opera singer decided to try her luck in London. She sang at music-halls there as well as the restaurant. She was also engaged for the opera 'Lohengrin' in Berlin. Lamonte sang in many countries, including Russia and America. Eventually she came back to Melbourne where she retired.

(The Tivoli, Sydney from The Dictionary of Sydney.org)

The Well-Dressed Music-Hall Star

Imagine having your leg amputated at 82! This happened to Albert Whelan, one of the most famous Australian music-hall entertainers. Yet he still made appearances and even did a stint on the BBC TV show, Life Begins at Eighty. One has to admire this kind of attitude!

Born in in Melbourne in 1875 as Albert Waxman, he made his start by singing for the miners in the goldfields in Western Australia. He changed his name and became part of the musical comedy team, Whelan & Wilson.

Whelan must have been extremely ambitious because he soon went to London. He made his debut as a dancer and singer at London's Empire Theatre in 1901. He was very versatile - he could play the piano and the violin, sing comic songs, and tell funny stories.

He toured the United States and appeared with Anna Pavlova at the Palace Theatre in 1912. I wonder what she thought of him! She might not have liked his singing, but she probably approved of his appearance. He always dressed immaculately for the stage. His outfit included an opera cloak, top hat and tails and white gloves.

Whelan was the first person to use a signature tune - The Jolly Brothers - which he whistled at the beginning and end of his performance.

Albert Whelan died in 1961.

Here he is singing with his son Gordon at the piano.

Albert Whelan Sings My Secret Passion

A Music-Hall Singer on the Goldfields

NB: This post is about a music-hall singer in the Victorian era. I wanted to write about Australian singers so I will include him.

Charles Thatcher has been described as 'the most acclaimed music-hall singer of the Australian goldfields'. This popular Englishman certainly led a successful and interesting life which varied from digging in the goldfields, singing, and importing.
He also lived in three different countries.

Born in Bristol in 1831, Thatcher was the son of a curio seller. When he was quite young the family moved to Brighton where his father ran a curio shop. Young Charles showed musical talent early - he learned the flute and played in London orchestras.

The seemingly easy fortunes to be made on the Australian goldfields attracted -Thatcher when he was only 21. He soon came to Australia on the Isabella. He quickly made friends and started digging. He was lucky enough to make one thousand pounds and decided to leave the hard labour of digging for gold.

Thatcher decided to become an entertainer in the music-halls. Although he apparently had a weak voice, he was handsome with broad-shouldered, clean-shaven looks. He also had a knack for writing humorous lyrics which he set to old songs. These qualities soon helped him become a success. He toured the goldfields with these songs.

The singer's lyrics concerned timely topics, such as the goldfields and cricket. He also sang political songs at times. Thatcher's comments about the gold commissioners and police were criticised. Thatcher regarded his songs as 'a popular history of the time'. He was nicknamed 'the Colonial Minstrel'.

When Thatcher was 30 he married a widow, Annie Vitelli, who was also a singer and entertainer. They had two daughters. The couple lived in Dunedin for some years where Charles continued to sing but they returned to Victoria.

They eventually decided to go back to England where Thatcher ran a successful curio shop, following in the footsteps of his father. He died of cholera in Shanghai, where he was on a business trip in 1878.

You can see a drawing of Thatcher here in the middle of the page:
Charles Thatcher

I have been neglecting the Australian music-hall singers! I will start off with Florrie Forde.

Florrie Forde was called 'the world's greatest chorus singer'. She was a quintessentially Australian music-hall singer with a broad Australian accent. She was proud of being Australian and helped other Australian singers, such as Billy Williams.

Forde, a Melbourne girl, was one of eight children. She had an unhappy home life and longed to go on the stage. When she was very young the ambitious girl ran away to her aunt in Sydney. She may have worked as an under-housemaid at Government House before being discovered by a theatre manager.

She began to sing and dance at the theatre and often appeared as a principal boy in pantomimes. She appeared at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. Forde also had seasons in Adelaide and Melbourne. She sang 'After the Ball' at the little Alhambra music-hall in Melbourne's Bourke Street for many weeks. She was also honoured to ride Tarcoola, the 1893 Melbourne Cup winner, onto the stage.

When Forde was only 21 the British comedian, G.H.Chirgwin, heard her and offered her a large sum of money for her work if she'd go to England. The irrepressible Florrie Forde agreed. She appeared on the stage at three music-halls on her first night!
She also continued to act in pantomimes.

Forde popularized the great songs: 'It's A Long, Long Way to Tipperary' and 'Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kitbag' during the First World War. She also sang 'Hold Your Hand Out, Naughty Boy' and 'Down at the Old Bell and Bush'. Forde made many recordings and had small parts in films. I also read that she had a club in Shoreham, Sussex, where she lived that was notorious for drinking and rowdiness. The neighbours apparently frowned on it.

One wonders what her husband, who was an art dealer, thought of the club.

Florrie Forde was very popular and had a wonderful stage presence. Even Melba praised her strong, clear voice. She said that: "Florrie's is a voice of true Australian quality."

Forde became very plump - she eventually weighed over sixteen stone. This may have contributed to her death at sixty-five in 1940. The music-hall singer collapsed and died after singing for patients at a naval hospital in Scotland.