Join me at the fab Cinema Museum - occupying the old Lambeth Workhouse - on Thurs 9 April 7pm. Charlie, his brother Syd & their mother Hannah were “in-mates” here, as was my great-great grandfather William Partridge #HardStreets @profilebooks.bsky.social Tix here cinemamuseum.org.uk/scheduled/bo...

Last November, I gave a talk at The London Archives' Symposium on Music Hall, covering a tragic 'unrideable mule' incident that began on-stage at the Clapham Grand in 1906, now adapted as a blog post here 👇️ musichallalice.wordpress.com/2026/02/18/a...

Thank you to everyone who attended our 'In the Limelight' talk with Jan Hunt and Ben Stock. Our next event is on Tuesday, 24th March at 7 pm, featuring Midge Gillies discussing 'The Barbed Wire University' and how WWII PoW camps nurtured future performers. Book tickets here: buff.ly/f8SJxfk

Great BBC News London piece this evening on the National Centre for Circus Arts's Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) youth scheme that Olympic gold medal winner Tabby Stoecker was part of. 12'40" in to the programme. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

💕 #SongSheetSaturday meets Valentine's Day! 💕 "Lovetime (Any Old Time Will Do)" (1908), sung by George Lashwood with words by Harry Castling & music by Fred Godfrey. Forget fancy restaurants & overpriced roses - according to this Edwardian charmer, when it comes to romance, any old time will do!

For LGBTQ+ History Month we're highlighting George Williams (1910-1995) whose archive of scrapbooks & unpublished autobiography is held by the BMHS. After early success, George was imprisoned for homosexuality in 1952 but resumed his career in the 60s. buff.ly/xee50mu

The 3 #victorian incarnations of #Scarborough Spa as seen in paintings on display at Scarborough Art Gallery. First the Gothic Saloon by Henry Wyatt of 1839, then the music hall & observation tower of 1858 by Joseph Paxton & George Stokes, finally the current building by Verity and Hunt opened 1878

New blog post about Kate Castleton intothelimelight.org. Early music hall performer. Married a forger - twice! @musichallsociety.bsky.social #MusicHall #musichall

Next week - Tuesday 17 February 2026 7pm - the remarkable Jan Hunt in conversation with Ben Stock! Very few tickets left - book now to secure your place 👇️ buff.ly/phMWIvS

🎵 #SongSheetSaturday 🎵 A gem from 1901 "Come Out" by Austin Rudd. This piece, with both music and lyrics by Rudd, is complemented by HG Banks' whimsical illustration of a husband in the waves while his wife demands he "Come out!" For the full music, contact our #archive (details on our website)

Join us for our President’s Lunch on Sunday 22 March 2026 with our fabulous President, Su Pollard 💫 Enjoy a three-course meal, a welcome glass of bubbly, and an afternoon in the company of fantastic guest speakers and fellow members. 🎟 £60 members | £75 non-members ✨ BOOK HERE buff.ly/PYgPGV2

116 years ago today Belle Elmore went missing. Her husband, Dr Crippen told her friends, the Music Hall Ladies Guild that she had gone to America to deal with a family emergency. But she hadn’t. He’d poisoned her and buried her in the cellar. They would spend the rest of 1910 bringing him to justice

Check out our next 'Archives on Show' event at Lambeth Archives. To coincide with Women's History Month there will be an emphasis on women in #musichall & #variety. Book here:

Throwback to September 2025, in the latest @musichallsociety.bsky.social ‘Call Boy’, with a little piece about the excellent #MusicHall themed ‘Wax Fruit’ book launch at BAaD Glasgow Follow @waxfruittvseries on Instagram for more updates! @jamiemacdougall.bsky.social

Wishing a very happy birthday to our Patron, Jools Holland! Throwback to 2013 when he joined our then-President Roy Hudd at Wilton's Music Hall to celebrate 50 years of our Society. Images: Doug McKenzie.

Thank you to everyone who attended yesterday's 'In the Limelight' talk at The CAA! Our next event is on Tuesday, 17th February at 7pm with Ben Stock and Jan Hunt, who will share stories from her 55-year career. Book tickets here:

The Winter edition of The Call Boy will be arriving with members this week...if you want to receive your own copy of our journal (published 4 times a year) then JOIN US! Membership details HERE - britishmusichallsociety.com/join-us

A music hall classic for #songsheetsaturday - Two Lovely Black Eyes - first published in 1886 with lyrics by Charles Coborn. Coborn reckoned he performed this number more than 250,000 times throughout his long career. 'Two lovely black eyes, Oh what a surprise, Only for telling a man he was wrong.'

🎭 In the Limelight Talk: The Story of Showtown 📅 Tuesday 20 Jan 2026 ⏰ 2pm @jillc86.bsky.social Exhibitions Manager at Blackpool’s Showtown, shares how the museum was created & the stories behind its galleries ✨ 1st talk in our new venue. Book here www.ticketsource.co.uk/bookings/evt...

Our first #SongSheetSaturday of 2026 – “Come & Cuddle Me”. As the temperatures drop, this might be a solution for seeking that extra warmth. A 1915 #panto hit for Dorothy Ward, composed by Clifford Harris & Jas W. Tate (Clarice’s husband).

Happy New Year from the British Music Hall Society. Thank you for all the support you gave us in 2025 - here's to 2026. Check out what we have on offer on our website britishmusichallsociety.com #MusicHall #Variety #History #Archive

In the month that The Great Vance took his final bow in 1888 on the stage of the Sun Music Hall, Knightsbridge, here is his 'Beautiful Nell' for #songsheetsaturday by Stacey Lee & R Coote with lithography by Alfred Concanen #MusicHall

We've made incredible progress with our Archive this year. Since uploading our first collection in April 2025, we now have over 2,000 catalogue records on Archives Hub (link below). Check out our entries to explore the collection. #MusicHall #archive #history archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/locat...

Dan Leno #BOTD 1860. Massive star of music hall in his day. The panto 'Mother Goose' was written for him! @musichallsociety.bsky.social

Pre-Christmas #songsheetsaturday: 'Ting-a-ling Ting-Tay' by Harry Dacre, sung by Harriet Vernon. A Spanish street musician ('quite the finest and divinest') is courted by a 'gentleman'—until her husband appears. Her only reply? 'Ting-a-ling-a-ling' 💔 #musichall

The celebrated #panto patter song - The Shopwalker - a sketch by the one & only Dan Leno who was born #OTD 1860. Composed by George Le Brunn with lyrics by Walter de Freece (later Mr Vesta Tilley) depicting a humorous take on a department store assistant #songsheetsaturday #musichall #walkthisway

Happy #PantoDay from Theatres Trust 🎭 Pantos are so important to UK theatres The panto is where most of us get our first introduction to the wonders of theatre And the income from pantos support theatres' work through the rest of the year

Today is #pantoday 👏 👏 👏 Music Hall has a long association with this genre and we have a number of interesting pantomime collections in our #archive including a significant recent donation connected to Dorothy Ward who played in over 40 pantomimes from 1905-1957 including costumes, merch and photos.

Harry Rickards, 'King of Australian vaudeville', was born in December 1843. For #SongSheetSaturday: his 1887 song 'That's What the Country Wants to Know' composed by Elsie Phillis (female songwriter - info anyone?) with words by FV St Clair, pub. Hopwood & Crew. Find it in our archive #MusicHall

This documentary was written by Ray Mackender, one of the co-founders of our Society #MusicHall #BMHS

We've just released more stalls tickets for the Silent Comedy Gala! Join @stephenmangan.bsky.social , #RickWakeman + more at Bristol Beacon on Fri 6 Feb for great cinema, live music and lots of laughs 😂 Tickets below 👇

Today, Jack Stanford, 'the greatest eccentric dancer of the day,' will be commemorated with a Blue Plaque at his Mallinson Road home, Battersea. Here's a 1932 showcard from our archive featuring him in a 'non-stop variety' bill at the London Pavilion. Look him up on YouTube to see his incredible act

Vesta Victoria was born November 1873, for #songsheetsaturday here's her 1897 hit written by Fred Murray & Laurence Barclay. 'Our Lodger's Such a Nice Young Man'. He's such a good, goody young man, Mamma told me so, 'he kissed Mamma and all of us, cos Papa was away.'

Annie Adams was born in November 1843 in Newport, Isle of Wight. For #songsheetsaturday here's her c. 1868 hit song, 'Popsy Wopsy!' One of the first successful female Music Hall performers, 'The Queen of Serio-Comic Vocalists.'

We have very few tickets left for our final 'In the Limelight' evening of 2025 - a talk by Mark Llewellin, 'Les & Roy, Cissie & Ada'. If you want to come, book soon to grab those last tickets 🎟️ Book HERE: www.ticketsource.co.uk/britishmusic...

The Varieties (Variety Theatre or Harwood’s Hall) in Pitfield Street, Hoxton, a short distance from Shoreditch church, was built in 1869 behind the White Horse pub. It was designed by the leading theatre architect, C. J. Phipps, who probably devoted more attention to the pub facade t

A charming donkey taking a drink during a #magiclantern show interval. Note the bird - Victorians couldn't resist a pun... #mottoslidemonday

Delighted to pick up The Hanlon Volta Waltzes, 1885 sheet music composed by Charles Seaton who had a stall at Crystal Palace where the five strong aerial troupe performed.

Prolific #MusicHall songwriter Joseph Tabrar was born in November 1857 - for #songsheetsaturday here is one of his offerings from 1897, sung by Harry Randall - 'Poor Pa Paid'. Ma enjoys music hall outings and occasionally ends up in a 'tea fight', resulting in a Police Court fine...paid by Pa.

We were delighted to support the excellent Music Hall Showcase & Symposium on Saturday at @thelondonarchives.bsky.social. The full day featured diverse talks, engaging conversations, and the opportunity to view music hall materials from TLA's collection, including a fascinating ILEA film from 1974.

One of Blackpool's finest - Victoria Monks - was born #OTD 1882 . For #songsheetsaturday here is her 1908 hit song by EW Rogers and J Charles Moore. ‘Call round any old time and make yourself at home, put your feet on the mantle shelf, open the cupboard and help yourself…’ #MusicHall

In honour of #BlackHistoryMonth, today’s #SongSheetSaturday features Winifred Atwell’s ‘Flirtation Waltz’. 🎶 A household name of the 1950s, Atwell was born in Trinidad in 1914. Her Boogie-Woogie style captivated UK audiences — & she became the 1st Black artist to sell a million records ✨

TOMORROW NIGHT - 'In the Limelight' - A History of Black Performers in Morecambe. We look forward to hearing Kirsty Roberts, talking about the Black performers who regularly graced the town's stages—artists like Adelaide Hall, Clayton 'Peg Leg' Bates, and Cassie Walmer. Book HERE

The Royal Albert Hall may not be a regular venue for sumo (omg I LOVE THE SUMO!), but it DOES have a long history as a venue for other wrestling. Here's the Umpire Getting Excited as Hackenschmidt and Jenkins get themselves into A Curious Position. July 1904, Penny Illustrated Paper (via BNA):

Now ere's a funny thing, today's sheet music is for Max Miller's biggest hit 'Mary from the Dairy' , a song released in 1936 becoming his signature tune. Miller paid Sam Kern £4 for the number. This coming Tuesday 21st November would have been Miller's 132nd birthday. #SongSheetSaturday #MusicHall

#MusicHall research down in Lambeth today at the @musichallsociety.bsky.social archive. #Dundee posters, Hetty King’s shoes, Max Miller’s hat, and the trousers of G.H. Elliott! #planning #WatchThisSpace @lambetharchives.bsky.social

Fun & games in Brighton yesterday when we unveiled a replacement Blue Plaque for Max Miller. Jamie Kenna did the honours resplendent in Max jacket & hat…#MusicHall

The blank space soon to be occupied by our new Blue Plaque 😂

Today's Song Sheet in honour of our blue plaque unveiling this coming Thursday in Brighton is the 'Max Miller Songbook' a compilation of hits of 'Cheeky Chappie' Miller. One of the biggest stars of his day who influenced many future turns and is fondly remembered in his hometown #SongSheetSaturday