Whittaker Cunliffe (15 December 1875 – 1 May 1966) was an English comic singer. The historian and critic

W. J. MacQueen-Pope Walter James MacQueen-Pope (11 April 1888 – 27 June 1960), known familiarly as Popie, was an English theatre historian and publicist. From a theatrical family which could be traced back to contemporaries of Shakespeare, he was in management for ...

described Cunliffe as a "great singer of great songs and the epitome of what made

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 Bri ...

Biography

Whit Cunliffe was born in

Waterfoot, Lancashire Waterfoot is a historic mill town in the Borough of Rossendale between Rawtenstall and Bacup in Lancashire, England. The B6238 road from Burnley meets the A681 road, and Whitewell Brook the River Irwell. History Like the majority of the in ...

. By 1900 he was performing in

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 Bri ...

s. He was described as being "a bit of a

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...

.
''The Melodies Linger On: the Story of Music Hall''
Allen, 1950 strolling around the stage dressed in a

frock coat A frock coat is a formal men's coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). It is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at th ...

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...

and spats, and was referred to as the last surviving ''

Lion comique The ''lion comique'' was a type of popular entertainer in the Victorian music halls, a parody of upper-class toffs or "swells" made popular by Alfred Vance and G. H. MacDermott, among others. They were artistes whose stage appearance, resplenden ...

''. Among his most successful songs was "There Are Nice Girls Everywhere" (1909). Several of his songs - most of which were written for him by writers such as

R. P. Weston Robert Patrick Weston ( Harris; 7 March 1878 – 6 November 1936) was an English songwriter. He was responsible for many successful songs and comic monologues between the 1900s and 1930s, mostly written in collaboration with other writers, notab ...

and

Fred Godfrey Fred Godfrey (17 September 1880 – 22 February 1953) was the pen name of Llewellyn Williams, a World War I songwriter. He is best known for the songs "Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" (1916) and "Bless 'Em All" (1917), a 1940s hit record ...

- took a highly conservative view of women's roles, and particularly of the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

movement. They included "If the World Were Ruled by Girls" (1905), "It's a Different Girl Again" (1906), "Tight Skirts Have Got to Go", "Let's Have Free Trade Among the Girls", "They Can Do Without Us", and "Do You Believe in Women's Rights". He recorded other topical songs; his 1914 song "Tow the Row Row" laughs at the forced feeding in prison of

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

s a couple of years earlier, and denounced the

Social Insurance Social insurance is a form of Social protection, social welfare that provides insurance against economic risks. The insurance may be provided publicly or through the subsidizing of private insurance. In contrast to other forms of Welfare, soci ...

laws put in place by

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

's government. Cunliffe was an enthusiastic supporter of the allied cause in the First World War and was involved in many concerts raising money to help the war drive. His 1914 song "Hock Hock Der Kaiser" made fun of German pretensions. He recorded many of his songs between 1910 and 1915, including "There Are Nice Girls Everywhere", "There's Something in the Seaside Air", and "Who Were You With Last Night?", which had first been performed by

Mark Sheridan Mark Sheridan (11 September 1864 – 15 January 1918), born Frederick Shaw, was an English music hall comedian and singer. He became a popular performer of lusty seaside songs and originated the J. Glover-Kind classic, " I Do Like to Be Beside ...

. "Whit Cunliffe", ''Fred Godfrey Songs''
Retrieved 28 December 2022 A selection of his songs was released on CD in 2003, as ''Tight Skirts Have Got To Go''. Cunliffe retired after the end of the First World War. He died in

Battle, East Sussex Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the south-east and Bexhill-on-Sea to the south. Batt ...

, in 1966, aged 90.

Other songs

*"I will! I won't! As Soon as the Girl Gets you Home" (wrote) *"Women get the Best of it; Poor Old Father" (composer)Catalog of Copyright
Jan. 1908 Library of Congress *"Hallo Hallo Hallo, It's a Different Girl Again!"The Bystande

(An Illustrated Sixpenny Weekly)April 3, 1907 to June 26, 1907 The Graphic Office London page 446

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunliffe, Whit English male singers 1966 deaths 1875 births People from Haslingden