Flanders and Swann were a British

comedy duo A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...

. Lyricist, actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922–1975) and composer and pianist Donald Swann (1923–1994) collaborated in writing and performing comic songs. They first worked together in a school revue in 1939 and eventually wrote more than 100 comic songs together. Between 1956 and 1967, Flanders and Swann performed their songs, interspersed with comic monologues, in their long-running two-man revues ''

At the Drop of a Hat ''At the Drop of a Hat'' is a musical revue by Flanders and Swann, described by them as "an after-dinner farrago". In the show, they both sang on a nearly bare stage, accompanied by Swann on the piano. The songs were linked by contemporary socia ...

'' and '' At the Drop of Another Hat'', which they toured in Britain and abroad. Both revues were recorded in concert (by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

), and the duo also made several studio recordings.

Musical partnership

Flanders and Swann both attended

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

(where in July and August 1940 they staged a revue called ''Go To It'') and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, two institutions linked by ancient tradition. The pair went their separate ways during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but a chance meeting in 1948 led to a musical partnership writing songs and light opera, Flanders providing the words and Swann composing the music. Their songs have been sung by performers such as Ian Wallace and

Joyce Grenfell Joyce Irene Grenfell OBE (''née'' Phipps; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English diseuse, singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in revues and later in her solo s ...

. In December 1956, Flanders and Swann hired the New Lindsey Theatre, Notting Hill, to perform their own two-man revue ''At the Drop of a Hat'', which opened on New Year's Eve. Flanders sang a selection of the songs that they had written, interspersed with comic monologues, accompanied by Swann on the piano. An unusual feature of their act was that both men remained seated for their shows: Swann behind his piano and Flanders in a wheelchair (having contracted

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...

in 1943). The show was successful and transferred the next month to the Fortune Theatre, where it ran for over two years, before touring in the UK, the United States, Canada and Switzerland. In 1963, Flanders and Swann opened in a second revue, ''At the Drop of Another Hat'', at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

. Over the next four years they toured a combination of the two shows in the UK, Australia, New Zealand,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, the United States and Canada, before finishing at the Booth Theatre on Broadway. On 9 April 1967, they performed their last live show together. Ten days later, they moved into a studio and recorded the show for television. Over the course of 11 years, Flanders and Swann gave nearly 2,000 live performances. Although their performing partnership ended in 1967, they remained friends afterwards and collaborated on occasional projects.

Timeline and venues of the revues

Discography

Their records were originally released on the Parlophone label; CD reissues are on

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

45s

* 1957 – " A Gnu" b/w "Misalliance"

EPs

* 1957 – ''More out of the Hat! (EP) * 1959 – ''Excerpts from at the Drop of a Hat'' ( EP) * 1959 – ''More Excerpts from at the Drop of a Hat'' (EP) * 1962 – ''The Bestiary of Flanders & Swann'' (EP) * 1964 – ''Favourites from at the Drop of Another Hat'' (EP) * 1964 – ''More out of the New Hat'' (EP)

LPs

* 1957 – ''

'' (50th performance and one a few days later, PMC 1033) * 1960 – ''At The Drop of a Hat'' (Final performance produced by

) * 1964 – '' At the Drop of Another Hat'' (produced by George Martin) * 1967 – '' The Bestiary of Flanders & Swann'' (produced by George Martin) * 1975 – ''And Then We Wrote...'' * 1977 – ''Tried by the Centre Court''

Cassettes

* 1996 – ''EMI Comedy Classics'' (''Hat'' and ''Another Hat'' on two cassettes) * 1997 – ''More out of the Drop of a Hat – Again!'' (double cassette)

CDs

* 1991 – ''The Complete Flanders & Swann'' (first three albums in a boxed set) * 1994 – ''A Transport of Delight: The Best of Flanders & Swann'' * 1999 – ''The Flanders and Swann Collection'' * 2000 – ''A Drop of Hilarity from Flanders & Swann'' * 2007 – ''Hat Trick: Flanders & Swann Collector's Edition''

Bibliography

* 1977 – ''Songs of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann'' (Michael Flanders & Donald Swann, scores) * 1991 – ''The Hippopotamus Song: A Muddy Love Story'' (Michael Flanders & Donald Swann, children's book)

Videography

* 1992 – ''The Only Flanders & Swann Video'' (recorded New York, 19 April 1967, 10 days after the close of ''At The Drop of Another Hat'') * 1998 – ''Flanders & Swann'' (recorded in New York, 1962 & 1967)

Songs

Flanders and Swann's songs are characterised by wit, gentle satire, complex rhyming schemes, and memorable choruses. Flanders commented during the recorded performance of ''At the Drop of Another Hat'', They wrote over a hundred comic songs together. The following selection gives an indication of their range. A very rare song, "Vendor Librorum Floreat" (Let the bookseller flourish), was released as a single in 1960. It was written for the annual American Booksellers Association, the only known time Flanders & Swann accepted a private commission.

Monologues

Flanders' comic monologues include: * "By Air"—about the vogue for air travel. "I agree with the old lady who said, 'If God had intended us to fly, He would never have given us the railways. * "Tried by the Centre Court"—a

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

match between Miss L. Hammerfest and Miss Joan Hunter-Dunn, as told by an exasperated umpire. "They are bashing a ball with the gut of a cat". * "Greensleeves"—about the background to the composition of the famous English air. An annotated version explains all the jokes. * ''Los Olividados''— a satire on

bullfighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...

, about "the almost unbearable drama of a corrida d'olivas, or festival of olive-stuffing". "A cruel sport: some may think it so. But this is surely more than a sport, this is more than a vital artform. What we have experienced here today is total catharsis, in the acting out of that primeval drama, of man pitted against the olive." The title is a reference to ''

Los Olvidados ''Los olvidados'' (, Spanish: ''The Forgotten Ones''; known in the United States as ''The Young and the Damned'') is a 1950 Mexican teen crime film directed by Luis Buñuel. It was filmed at Tepeyac Studios and on location in Mexico City. Produ ...

'', or ''The Forgotten Ones'', a 1950 movie by the director Luis Buñuel. * "Built-up Area"—a prehistoric inhabitant of

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

complains about a new development:

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

Homage and parody

The British comedy

double act A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...

Armstrong & Miller have a recurring sketch on ''

The Armstrong and Miller Show ''The Armstrong & Miller Show'' is a British sketch comedy television show produced by Hat Trick Productions for BBC One. It features the double act Armstrong and Miller and a number of notable scriptwriters including Andy Hamilton, co-creator ...

'' in which they parody Flanders and Swann, as Donald Brabbins (Armstrong as Flanders) and Teddy Fyffe (Miller as Swann). The parodies begin like a typical Flanders and Swann performance, but the songs are far more

bawdy Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy". Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...

, often being mock-censored for comedic effect. British singer-songwriter

Frank Turner Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981), is an English Punk rock, punk and Folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primar ...

covered "The Armadillo" in his "Mittens" EP.

References

External links

Flanders and Swann
at h2g2
Flanders & Swann Online
(archived)
An Evening of Flanders and Swann

tribute act A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as Elvi ...

(archived)
Flanders and Swann: At the Drop of a Hippopotamus
tribute act {{DEFAULTSORT:Flanders and Swann English comedy duos Angel Records artists British comedy musical groups English musical duos Parlophone artists Musical groups established in 1956 1956 establishments in the United Kingdom