Work in progress…
Arthur Lloyd (1839-1904) was one of the star comedians of the last 40 years of the 19th century. In the 1860s he was acclaimed as the first Lion Comique and by the end of his career was billing himself as The Last of the Lion Comiques. These were the generation of Music Hall stars who caricatured the upper class “swells”, caricatures which would eventually evolve into both PG Woodhouse’s Bertie Wooster, and Charlie Chaplin’s tramp (but that’s another story).
Lloyd did not share the working class background of many of the other stars of the Halls: his mother was an opera singer, and his father was a comedian and actor who tried to persuade his son not to opt for a career in Music Hall. Despite his father’s advice he gained early-stage experience with a local touring company and as a singer of comic songs at the Whitebait Tavern in Glasgow. In 1856 he appeared at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth and stayed there for three years. His London debut was at The Sun in Knightsbridge in 1862 and he almost immediately became a big star, transferring to the prestigious Canterbury Hall for a 12 month engagement.
He was an early adopter of the touring concert party: in 1866 he formed a touring company with Harry Liston. He later took a three-year lease on the Queen’s Theatre in Dublin where he presented a series of variety entertainments, only to return to London to further great acclaim in 1878. He was well-known throughout the country and at one time he was billed as The Royal Comique as a result of being one of the first stars of the Halls to appear before Royalty (The Prince of Wales). He continued performing until the early 20th century, almost until the time of his death in 1904.
There is an excellent website about Arthur Lloyd and Music Hall, compiled by his grandson, you will find a much fuller version of the Arthur Lloyd’s story there.
With such a long successful career , it’s not surprising that he had an extremely extensive repertoire. Many of the great songwriters of the day wrote songs for Lloyd including GW Hunt, but he also wrote many songs himself.
Songs written and performed by Lloyd which have passed into traditional singing (a provisional list songs only fully confirmed when link is visible):
- Beautiful for ever – Mrs. Mary Plucker Sparrowtail.
- Chillingowullabadorie
- A Cow and three acres
- Going to the Derby, in my little Donkey Cart
- I fancy I can see her now
- Not for Joseph
- One-ry, Two-ery, Tickery Seven
- She’d kept them all for me
- Take it Bob
- Tooral-ooral-ooral Lee
- You may look, but you must’n touch
Songs written by others and performed by Lloyd, which have passed into traditional singing (again a provisional list songs only fully confirmed when link is visible):
- Goodbye John (by GW Hunt)
- Ka-Foozle-Um (by S Oxon?)
- The Merman (by WM Thackeray?)
- The Man at the Nore (by James London)
- Married to a Mermaid (by WM Thackeray?)
- Oh! Marigold (by JB Geoghegan)
Parodies of folksong/nursery rhymes written and/or composed by Lloyd:
| Diddle diddle dumpling, my son John | 19709 |
| Old woman and her pig, The | 746 |
| When I prove false to thee | ?? |
Last Updated on April 2, 2023 by John Baxter | Published: March 19, 2021
