British Music Hall

The British music hall thrived in the early Victorian era as an entertainment venue for theatrical and musical acts. Its popularity sustained into the early twentieth century but the end of the First World War marked its decline. The music hall derives its origins from the eighteenth-century coffee houses, saloon bars and taverns that offered a space to have a drink or a meal and do business, while simultaneously enjoying musical entertainment. This guide explores the development of the popular entertainment and identifies star performers who became synonymous with the genre. It then traces the gradual decline of music hall, with the advent of the First World War.

Terminology

• Chairman: the master of ceremonies, introducing singers, dancers and specialty acts.
• Lion comique: a type of popular entertainer in the Victorian music halls, a parody of upper-class toffs or 'swells'.
• Mime: the theatrical technique of suggesting action, character, or emotion without words, using only gesture, expression, and movement.
• Trapeze artist: a performer or acrobat who walks along a free-swinging bar attached to two ropes.

Key Dates & Events

• 1842 - 1884 - Life of George Leybourne
• 1856 - Construction of the Canterbury Music Hall (London), the first purpose built tavern music hall
• 1860 - 1904 - Life of Dan Leno
• 1866 - The song “Champagne Charlie” was first performed by George Leybourne
• 1870 - 1922 - Life of Marie Lloyd
• 1900 - The song “Burlington Bertie” was first performed by Vesta Tilley
• 1907 - Music Hall Strike
• 1914 - Alcohol banned in music hall auditoriums