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Oh! Mr Porter
"Oh! Mr Porter" is an old British music hall song about a girl who has got on the wrong train. It was famously part of the repertoires of the artistes Norah Blaney and It was written in 1892 by George Le Brunn and his brother Thomas, and taken on an extended provincial tour that same year by Marie Lloyd. The lyrics include this chorus: Birmingham is the second city of England. Crewe is a town better known as a railway junction than as a destination. The fastest route on the West Coast Main Line to Crewe and stations further north does not use the loop via Birmingham. Cultural legacy The song is alluded to in the 1922 novel '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce. The title of Rose Macaulay's 1926 novel ''Crewe Train'' is a reference to the song. The 1937 film ''Oh, Mr Porter!'' starring Will Hay was clearly at least in part inspired by the song "Oh! Mr Porter". Hay's character is called Mr William Porter; although he is not in fact a railway porter, but the stationmaster of a Norther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. 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'' and subsequent, more respectable ''Variety'' differ. Music hall involved 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 public houses during the 1830s, music hall entertainment became increasingly popular with audiences. So much so, that during 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Will Hay
William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' Oh, Mr. Porter!'' (1937), made by Gainsborough Pictures, is often cited as the supreme British-produced film-comedy, and in 1938 he was the third highest-grossing star in the UK. Many comedians have acknowledged him as a major influence. Hay was also a keen amateur astronomer. Early life Hay was born at 23 Durham Street in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham. He was one of two sons and three daughters of William Robert Hay (1851–1920) and his wife, Elizabeth (1859–1910) (née Ebden). When Will Hay Jr. was less than a year old the family moved to Lowestoft in Suffolk. By his late teens, Hay had become fluent in Italian, French and German and secured employment as an interpreter. Career Early career Hay decided to become an actor when he was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dr Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching (21 April 1913 – 23 March 1985), commonly known as Dr Beeching, was a physicist and engineer who for a short but very notable time was chairman of British Railways. He became a household name in Britain in the early 1960s for his report ''The Reshaping of British Railways'', commonly referred to as "The Beeching Report", which led to far-reaching changes in the railway network, popularly known as "the Beeching Axe". As a result of the report, just over were removed from the system on cost and efficiency grounds, leaving Britain with of railway lines in 1966. A further were lost by the end of the 1960s, while other lines were reduced to freight use only. Early years Beeching was born in Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, the second of four brothers. His father was Hubert Josiah Beeching, a reporter with the '' Kent Messenger'' newspaper, his mother a schoolteacher and his maternal grandfather a dockyard worker. Shortly after his bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Su Pollard
Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English actress and singer. Her career has spanned over 45 years; she is most famous for her role in the sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!''. She also appeared in '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!''. Pollard has appeared in over 35 stage plays and musicals, as well as over 40 pantomimes. As a singer, she scored a UK number-two hit with the song "Starting Together" in 1986 and also released an album. Early life and education Pollard was born in Nottingham, the eldest daughter of Don and Hilda Pollard. Her interest in acting began at the age of six when she played an angel in a school nativity play. She attended Berridge Road School, Hyson Green and Peveril Bilateral School, Robin's Wood Road (now Nottingham Girls' Academy). After leaving school at the age of 16, she got a job at the Tennant Rubber Company in Carlton as a shorthand typist [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oh, Doctor Beeching!
''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' is a BBC television sitcom written by David Croft and Richard Spendlove which, after a broadcast pilot on 14 August 1995, ran for two series from 8 July 1996, with the last episode being broadcast on 28 September 1997. The series is notable for being the last in a series of three comedies by co-writer David Croft to use many of the same actors, starting with ''Hi-de-Hi!'' and followed by '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and was also the last full series written by Croft. Introduction ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' focuses on the small fictional branch line railway station of Hatley, which is threatened with closure under the Beeching Axe. The programme was filmed on the Severn Valley Railway. Arley SVR station in Upper Arley was used as Hatley station. Plot Set in 1963, at a rural branch line railway station called Hatley, Jack Skinner (Paul Shane) the porter is acting stationmaster until a replacement is found. Jack deeply loves his wife May (played by Sherrie He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Situation Comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch, and stand-up comedy, where a comedian tells jokes and stories to an audience. Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. A situation comedy television program may be recorded in front of a studio audience, depending on the program's production format. The effect of a live studio audience can be imitated or enhanced by the use of a laugh track. Critics disagree over the utility of the term "sitcom" in classifying shows that have come into existence since the turn of the century. Many contemporary American sitcoms use the single-camera setup and do not feature a laugh track, thus often resembling the dramedy shows of the 1980s and 1990s rather t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The two cities and the surrounding towns form one of the United Kingdom's most populous conurbations, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area, which has a population of 2.87 million. The history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort ('' castra'') of ''Mamucium'' or ''Mancunium'', established in about AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. Historically part of Lancashire, areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated into Manchester in the 20th century, including Wythenshawe in 1931. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beat Music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and around Liverpool, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle, traditional pop and music hall. It rose to mainstream popularity in the UK and Europe by 1963 before spreading to the North America in 1964 with the British Invasion. The beat style had a significant impact on popular music and youth culture, from 1960s movements such as garage rock, folk rock and psychedelic music to 1970s punk rock and 1990s Britpop. Origin The exact origins of the terms 'beat music' and 'Merseybeat' are uncertain. The "beat" in each, however, derived from the driving rhythms which the bands had adopted from their rock and roll, R&B and soul music influences, rather than the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s. As the initial wave of rock and roll subsided in the later 1950s, "big beat" music, later sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.24 million. On the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, Liverpool historically lay within the ancient hundred of West Derby in the county of Lancashire. It became a borough in 1207, a city in 1880, and a county borough independent of the newly-created Lancashire County Council in 1889. Its growth as a major port was paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the Industrial Revolution. Along with general cargo, freight, and raw materials such as coal and cotton, merchants were involved in the slave trade. In the 19th century, Liverpool was a major port of departure for English and Irish emigrants to North America. It was also home to both the Cunard and White Star Lines, and was the port of registry of the ocean li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenny Lynch
Kenneth Lynch, OBE (18 March 1938 – 18 December 2019) was an English singer, songwriter, entertainer, and actor. He appeared in many variety shows in the 1960s. At the time, he was among the few black singers in British pop music. He was appointed an OBE in the 1970 New Year Honours list. Early life Lynch grew up in Stepney, East London, as one of 13 children; his sister Gladys (stage name Maxine Daniels) was a jazz singer of some note. His father was born in Barbados and his mother was mixed-raced British and Jamaican. After leaving school at 15 and working various jobs, he did national service in the Royal Army Service Corps and was the regimental featherweight boxing champion. Career Before Lynch had several UK hit singles in the early 1960s, he released "Twist Me Pretty Baby" with Bert Weedon in 1962 (HMV-45 POP 989); the label's credit reads "Shouts by Kenny Lynch". Two top ten hits were " Up on the Roof", in January 1963; and " You Can Never Stop Me Loving You" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK and in America, where they ranked as one of the most successful acts in the Beatles-led British Invasion. They also appeared in four films, two of them vehicles for the band. Recordings Their chart debut was a cover of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "I'm into Something Good" (a then recent US Top 40 hit for Earl-Jean). In September 1964 it replaced the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" at number one in the UK singles chart and in December reached no. 13 in the US. The Hermits never topped the British charts again, but in America in 1965—when '' Billboard'' magazine ranked them America's top singles act of the year (with the Beatles at no. 2)—they topped the Hot 100 with two non-UK releases: " Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Password Is Courage
''The Password Is Courage'' is a 1962 British comedy-drama war film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on John Castle's 1954 World War II memoir of the same name. Written, produced, and directed by Andrew L. Stone, the film stars Dirk Bogarde, Maria Perschy, and Alfred Lynch. It is a lighthearted take on the true story of Sergeant-Major Charles Coward, written under the pseudonym John Castle by Ronald Charles Payne and John Williams Garrod. Plot Sergeant-Major Charles Coward (Dirk Bogarde) is a senior British NCO incarcerated in the prisoner of war camp Stalag VIII-B. He encourages his fellow inmates to escape, and tries to humiliate the German guards at every opportunity. When he was being transferred to Stalag VIII-B, the injured Coward escaped from a forced POW march, finding refuge in a French farmhouse and barn that is soon requisitioned by a German army unit needing to set up a field hospital. Inadvertently thought to be a wounded German soldier, Coward is taken to a hospit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
