The Parody King
Charles Osborne (1858-1929) was an important figure in the Music Halls of the 1890s and 1900s but receives only passing mention in the standard histories. He was a sea-side entertainer and organiser of concert party tours but was best known as a songwriter. He wrote over 6000 songs, providing hits for many of the major Music Hall performers including George Beauchamp, Millie Lindon, Hebert Campbell, TE Dunville and others. Many of his songs were in praise of the British Empire and those considered to be its heroes – these songs, like The Last Roll Call and The Wreck of the Lifeboat, were often performed en scena – i.e. in full costume, with elaborate sets and supporting cast. He also wrote many comic songs and parodies – The Hypochondriac and Them Golden Kippers for example.
Songs which have been collected from traditional singers, publication dates and the number of discrete traditional singers are given in brackets:
- And the verdict was (1893, 1)
- Faces (1895, 1)
- For old times’ sake (1899, 2)
- Hypochondriac, The (1894, 1)
- I’m another (1892, 1)
- The Last Roll Call (1892, 3)
- Phew! Them golden kippers! Don’t they tid’ly wink (1891, 4)
- The Scientific Man (1895, 1)
- The War Correspondent (1900, 1)
- Wreck of the lifeboat (1889, 2)
The Download is my attempt to list all the Charles Osborne songs we know about
To sort out: The song Con-stan-ti-no-p-l-e may be RN29761 but I cannot confirm at this time. Its likely that the Osborne song Alice is a parody of the parlour song of the same name (RN25271) – I need sight of sheet music to confirm.
Sources
- A short obituary appeared in The Stage – 25 July 1929
Last Updated on April 22, 2024 by John Baxter | Published: March 1, 2024
