Clarence Patrick O'Connor (1 July 1899 – 11 January 1997), known professionally as Cavan O'Connor, was a British singer of Irish heritage who was most popular in the 1930s and 1940s, when he was billed as "The Singing Vagabond" or "The Vagabond Lover".

Life and career

He was born in

Carlton, Nottinghamshire Carlton is a town in the Borough of Gedling, Nottinghamshire, England. It is to the east of Nottingham. The population at the 2011 Census was 6,881. It was an urban district until 1974, whose wards (Carlton Hill, Carlton, Cavendish, Colwick, Ge ...

, England, to parents of Irish origin. His father died when he was young, and he left school at an early age to work in the

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

trade. He served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a gunner and signaller in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, after first being rejected by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

when it was discovered that he had pretended to be three years older than his real age.'Cavan O'Connor - Obituary
, ''The Times'', 15 January 1997, p. 19 He was wounded in the war, aged 16, while serving with the Royal Artillery. After the war he returned to Nottingham where he worked in a music shop. He started singing in clubs and at concerts, before deciding to turn professional in the early 1920s.Peter Hepple, "Cavan O'Connor", ''Theatrephile'', vol. 2 no.6, 1985, pp.65-67 Biography, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 22 January 2021
Retrieved 22 January 2021 He won a scholarship to the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in London, where he met his wife, Rita Tate (real name Margherita Odoli), a niece of the opera singer

Maggie Teyte Dame Maggie Teyte (born Margaret Tate; 17 April 188826 May 1976) was an English operatic soprano and interpreter of French art song. Early years Margaret Tate was born in Wolverhampton, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a suc ...

.Richard Anthony Baker, ''Old Time Variety: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2011, , pp.111-112 He made his first recordings, as Cavan O'Connor, for the

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pian ...

label in 1925, including "I'm Only a Strolling Vagabond" from the operetta '' The Cousin from Nowhere'', which became his

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

. Noted for his fine

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

voice, well suited for

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

, he appeared on many

dance band ''Dance Band'' is a 1935 British musical film directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, June Clyde and Steven Geray. It was shot at Welwyn Studios with sets designed by the art director David Rawnsley. Plot When dance band ...

recordings in the 1920s and 1930s, and used a wide variety of pseudonyms, including Harry Carlton, Terence O'Brien, and Allan O'Sullivan. He also joined

Nigel Playfair Sir Nigel Ross Playfair (1 July 1874 – 19 August 1934) was an English actor and director, known particularly as actor-manager of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in the 1920s. After acting as an amateur while practising as a lawyer, he turned ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

company at the Lyric Theatre in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, before moving on to playing lead roles in

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

productions at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

, often performing in French, Italian and Spanish. He turned increasingly towards

light entertainment Light entertainment encompasses a broad range of television and radio programming that includes comedies, variety shows, game shows, quiz shows and the like. In the UK In the early days of the BBC, virtually all broadcast entertainment would b ...

, largely for financial reasons. He started appearing in

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

s around the country, often performing Irish folk songs. Having made his first radio broadcasts for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in 1926, he continued to feature occasionally, but made his breakthrough when he was billed, initially anonymously, as "The Strolling Vagabond" and "The Vagabond Lover" on a series of radio programmes produced by

Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive. Life and work Born in Edgbaston, ...

in 1935. This was the first British radio series based around a solo singer, and when it became known that he was the performer, made O'Connor a star, "one of Britain’s highest paid radio personalities". The series continued for over ten years. From 1946, his Sunday lunchtime radio series, ''The Strolling Vagabond'', was heard by up to 14 million listeners. O'Connor consistently toured and continued to broadcast regularly. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he settled in Bangor,

north Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, and regularly appeared on the ''Irish Half Hour'' radio programmes. His most popular songs included "The World Is Mine Tonight", written for O'Connor by Maschwitz and

George Posford George Posford, born Benjamin George Ashwell (23 March 1906 – 24 April 1976), was an English composer and conductor. Early life Benjamin George Ashwell was born in 1906 in Folkestone, Kent. He was educated at Downside School in Somerset an ...

; "

Danny Boy "Danny Boy" is a folk song with lyrics written by English lawyer Frederic Weatherly in 1910, and set to the traditional Irish melody of " Londonderry Air" in 1913. History In 1910, in Bath, Somerset, England, the English lawyer and lyricist ...

"; and "

I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" is a traditional pop song written by Thomas Paine Westendorf (1848–1923) in 1875. (The music is loosely based on Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor Opus 64 Second Movement). In spite of its Ger ...

", an American song widely assumed to be Irish. He recorded frequently for at least 15

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

s over his career, including

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, at one point recording 40 songs in five days. He made over 800 recordings in total, both under his own name and pseudonyms, and also appeared in two films, '' Ourselves Alone'' (1936) and ''

Under New Management ''Under New Management'', also known as ''Honeymoon Hotel'', is a 1946 British comedy film directed by John E. Blakeley and starring Nat Jackley, Norman Evans and Dan Young. The screenplay concerns a chimney sweep inherits a hotel and calls o ...

'' (known in the U.S. as ''Honeymoon Hotel'', 1946). After the war, he returned to live in London, and toured in Australia and South Africa as well as in Don Ross's ''Thanks for the Memory'' tours. He retired at one point to set up an electrical goods business, but then resumed his music career in the Avonmore Trio with his wife and son, to give occasional performances and make recordings, the last in 1984. He died in London in 1997, aged 97.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Connor, Cavan 1899 births 1997 deaths People from Carlton, Nottinghamshire English male singers 20th-century British male singers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Artillery soldiers Child soldiers in World War I Military personnel from Nottinghamshire